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Well it wasn’t so much an issue of a survey - who would leave such an important decision up to a simple survey, vote or contest? (haha, jk) It was more of a judgment based on our experience with them, and we definitely took our friends’ experience into consideration. The verdict? We’re going to stick with the midwives until experience/research tells us to consider otherwise!

I’ve been doing a fair amount of research and it seems like a great option for a pregnancy that seems normal and healthy thus far. Plus, this particular group of midwives is within my OB-GYN practice, so they work closely with the doctors and, should the delivery/pregnancy become anything but normal at anytime, the transition back to a doctor is pretty seamless, whether it’s in 2 months or in the last 10 minutes of my delivery. We’ll still deliver at Saratoga Hospital too, so it’s not like I’m delivering in my bathtub or anything! I’m not quite that hardcore. Plus, unlike the midwives of yore, ours are in full support of whatever drugs we opt for (which, at this point, is pretty much all of them). So although I can’t say this is the best way to go for everyone, we’re sticking with it for now.

The first visit sealed the deal. Brian and I both agreed that the whole experience was less clinical and much more personal. It appealed to the first time parents-to-be who want to know more than just the fact that a heartbeat is there; we liked hearing more about what the rate means, if it’s “strong” or “weak” (relatively speaking), and all the little fun things, like “that sound is your baby moving.” Altogether we got more time and it was “warm and fuzzier;” I guess we’re into that. Plus, the way my OB practice works, if you work with the Dr’s you see all 6 of them and have a 1 in 6 chance of getting the one you like on the day of delivery. There are 3 midwives and you have a 1 in 3 chance of getting the one you like on the day of. Not to mention, we like 1 out of the 2 dr’s we’ve met so far, and 1 out of 1 midwife. So it really came down to simple math :) 

The only thing I didn’t like about the midwife is that she asked me point blank about how my diet was. How dare she make me responsible for the nutrition of my baby! Either way, I kind of love her at the same time, because her little trick totally worked. I had salad for dinner last night, and I’m eating one now. I also had a Frosty and a “stack attack” (Wendy’s, one dollar, try one) at 9pm last night. But that’s ok b/c my motto is to focus on getting the good in, not so much keeping the bad out. Maybe I will grab some fries after I finish this salad…