So you’re 30 weeks pregnant, welcome to the 3rd trimester.
But oh no, what do you do, if you realize now that your baby’s birth is on the horizon, the provider you’ve been with thus far is not the right doctor (or midwife) for your baby’s birth???
Are you stuck???
No!
FIRST:
Take a deep breath.
This has happened before. This happens often.
SECOND:
Remember, just like everything else in life (do you personally prefer dunkin over starbucks or vice versa??) not every single OBGYN and not every single Midwife is perfectly suited to every single pregnant mom.
THIRD:
Give yourself some grace. Sometimes you won’t know what exact qualities you are looking for in a Midwife or OBGYN until you can actually see the finish line in your viewfinder. It’s not uncommon to realize you not with a provider who does not emulate your hopes for your birth experience. But that is why birth workers (such as birth photographers and labor doulas) have valuable input on which providers their past clients have had positive experiences with, depending on what they were looking for out of their birth experiences.
Specialties:
There are providers who specialize in and do high volumes of vbacs (vaginal birth after c-section), there are doctors who support water birth and those who have never attended one, there are obstetricians + hospitals where gentle c-sections are administered to all cesarean deliveries automatically, there are midwives (CNM) who are more hands-on and others who are more hands-off, there are OBGYNS who are more soft spoken, and others who are very outspoken. Th ere are newer faces in the birth world and seasoned providers who’ve been doing birth for as long as you and I have been alive.
LAST BUT NOT LEAST:
Every single provider, whether doctor or midwife, has their own unique philosophy of birth. It’s completely OK and Encouraged to seek the one whose philosophy is one that makes you feel safe, empowered and excited.
