Each child birth is unique whether it’s your first or your tenth.Every birth is different just like every mother has different preferences on how she wants to be taken care of during pregnancy.

Would a doctor be better than a midwife?The answer goes both ways.Everything has pros and cons – it’s a part of making a choice. 

A doctor can perform cesarean sections and can manage complications for women with high-risk pregnancies such as those with high blood pressure, diabetes, multiple pregnancies and the like.

All these things a midwife cannot do.  Although a midwife is trained to recognize symptoms of medical issues as they develop, she cannot perform operations to correct such issues – she can only transfer you to the care of a doctor.

This is not to undermine what midwives can do.  Although a midwife did not spend as many years in medical school as a doctor did, she is qualified to handle prenatal, antenatal and postnatal care of women with low-risk pregnancies as much as a doctor can. 

What midwives can do—which most doctors cannot provide—is giving personalized care.  This is the main reason why most women with normal pregnancies choose midwives to care for them.  

A doctor has a lot of “clients” which prevents him from being personal with any particular patient.On the other hand, the philosophy of a midwife is to practice a personalized approach to pregnancy and she either works alone or with a midwife collective.

The care midwives give is traditional but with modern medical skills incorporated with it.This method is more comfortable for first-time mothers as opposed to the somewhat detached approach of doctors.  They feel they are real people experiencing a normal phase of life, not someone with a medical condition.

Because women under the care of midwives have been taught a more natural approach to pregnancy, they are more mentally and emotionally prepared come labor time.  They are calmer and don’t need as much medication as others.  They also have shorter labor times.  

The role of a midwife doesn’t end after birth.Midwives will also educate women on breasftfeeding and other after-birth-related issues just like a doctor could.She provides medical attention gives instructions and offer emotional support before during and after pregnancy. 

Will it be a doctor or a midwife for you?In the end the decision falls back to what would best serve the mother-to-be.It’s good to know you can choose a medical provider who has the same beliefs you have about pregnancy.

Having a baby is the one of the most precious moments for a woman.The joys of bringing in a new life into the world is like none other.Although it has an enormous amount of pain, most women agree that it is well worth it. 

As a San Diego midwife I would like to share with you a method that you might not be aware of.It is also known as waterbirth.

Waterbirth of all the methods of delivery has been described as one of the gentlest of methods.It utilizes and requires the use of a bath or pool that is heated.  Some women use the water just for the labor part.  They do this because the heated water is pain relieving.It is relaxing to the tissues.

Other women will also delivery the baby through it.They don’t leave the water till the delivery is all the way through.Even till the placenta is delivered all the way through.

The whole procedure is usually overseen by a person called a midwife.  If you are in San Diego there are plenty of midwives San Diego.  You will want to find an experienced one. 

Why do quite a few women pick this way of delivering over the hosptial method? As mentioned previously, it is very painful the labor and delivery part.A majority of women will use the drugs to try and stop the pain.But for a few women, the last thing they want to do is have drugs harm the new baby.  Using a waterbirth method helps with the pain.Because of the
heated water it soothes the tissues and helps with the pain.

Most women will have this procedure usually done naturally.They won’t ask or use any drugs to help lessen the pain of labor and delivery.  Often times this actually helps the labor happen faster.Because when you use the drugs it can really slow down the labor. 

It is actually a very safe alternative of delivery.For a few women who might want to have a natural birth this could be the method to go with.  I have seen many happy deliveries as a San Diego licensed midwife.All it will require of a woman is to do a little research and see for themselves
how safe it is.

One of the sad effects of our modern day and age in medicine is how birth and delivery have become a medical procedure.

That may sound strange because most people consider delivery to be a medical event.  But that is the problem.It isn’t a medical event.It is an occassion that can be kept as private and as natural as possible through alternate methods.  Women
should be made known to the other alternatives.

I would like to present one of those main alternatives from the perspective of a San Diego midwife.

That main way is by having a midwife assist you in a homebirth during your delivery.  This practice is known as midwifery and there are plenty of midwives San Diego.

As the amount of c-sections and induction rates rise in hospitals, it has transformed a very happy moment of delivery into a possible negative experience.

That is one of the main reasons for the push for more natural births through a licensed midwife or certified midwife.

Labor and delivery doesn’t have to include drugs, invasive procedures, constant probing of private areas, etc.   It can be done safely and effectively in a home environment through that homebirth method or even a waterbirth San Diego method.

It’s definitely an industry that is regulated highly.You are able to find out about the skill and experience of the midwife who you are considering hiring.

But getting past the stigma of passing up having the baby in the hospital takes education.But most women can see if they looked and through experience that statistics prove that a good amount of times having a baby in a hospital can negatively effect the process.From potent drugs that are used ot slow the pregnancy down, or used to increase the speed of the pregnancy.  To having to go through a c-section.Hopefully women can see the comparisons and the contrast and see the success of using a midwife.

So for women who seek to keep a birth and delivery a happy occasion, midwifery might be something to look into.

With the day and age of the internet, finding information about the natural process is as easy as doing a search on the internet.

There they can find very helpful information so they can understand the process fully.They are able to see if there are any safety issues and how they are handled.  And most of all they can see how they can truly keep child birth a momentous occasion that can happily and privately as possible.

Pregnancy, what a beautiful time in the lives of a woman.  Well, I guess aside from the sickness.  But beyond that, the expectation of a new baby coming is exciting.

Usually, for women in general, the question of how you are going to have the baby isn’t that big.Because for most women they will choose the standard procedure which is the medical procedure which means hospitals, doctors, and drugs.

But for a few women, they do have an alternative.That alternate way is going through a midwife and having the baby naturally.  And it is that alternative I am going to share from my experience as a San Diego midwife.

For those unfamiliar, midwives help women go through a natural delivery with no drugs.  This means usually no doctors.

Often times midwives in San Diego perform these services at homes.Although, maybe unusualy for most people, this alternative way to deliver a baby is safe and regulated.

The midwives in this service industry are fully regulated.They can come in two forms which are a certified midwife or a licensed midwife, both of which are regulated and overseen by a board. 

Sometimes the midwife can be a nurse, but that doesn’t have to be the case. 

This form of delivery is an option a lot of women choose and includes waterbirth in San Diego. Mostly this choice is made by women who don’t want any drugs during delivery to keep the new baby away from drugs.Also it is for women who want to avoid invasive procedures like episiotomys.

Well when you are making decisions as big as how you are going to deliver, you obviously want them to be the right choices.With most things, you want to pick the right person.

Like I mentioned before, this is a highly regulated industry. With that being the case, finding a good licensed or certified midwife is easy. 

All you have to do is find your state regulatory board that  oversees midwives and do a background check to see if there have been any complaints or issues with your prospective midwife.

Something as simple as this step will help you determine if this is a midwife you can trust.Of course when you do see that there are no complaints or bad reports about your midwife, you still want to check references. 

You want to find someone who has clients that only speak highly of them.  With something as intimate and important as a delivery following these few steps will help you find the right midwife for your delivery.

Pregnancy and delivery; a source of joy and pain for the woman.  Obviously joy because of the new baby, but ask any woman, and they will tell you a source of unspeakable pain.

Well because there is that pain involved, two schools of thought have come about on how to deal with labor and delivery.  I am going to offer some perspective on one particular school of thought that I have gained first hand experience with by being a homebirth midwife San Diego.

There is the medical model for delivery which is associated with drugs to kill the pain, and sometimes cesarean to complete the delivery.

While there is another model, which though not widely accepted, for those who believe in it and have experience it consider it much safer and natural for the woman.

That model is called the midwifery model.  That model is in stark contrast with the medical model.  Where the medical model relies heavily on medicine, hence “medical”, midwifery relies on the natural.Midwifery philosphy believes that pregnancy, labor, and delivery should happen as naturally as possible because it is a natural process.

This model is a profession practiced by midwives. Midwives San Diego are generally woman, who attend the birth, often times at the mother’s home.  This midwife would then assist the woman in trying to get through labor as naturally as possible without medicine.

Contrary to popular belief, the non-use of medicine actually allows the labor to happen much faster because most pain killers actually slows the labor down.

The midwife is a professional with a regulatory board that certifies and licenses the individual. 

Although usually not a nurse or doctor, a midwife can be a nurse as well.

Even though they are not a doctor or nurse, they do carry with them some medical equipment, such as resuscitation devices and suturing equipment.

So this describes what a midwife is and what midwifery is about in relation to pregnancy and delivery.

Their goals are to let the labor and delivery happen as naturally possible.This makes the likelihood of a c-section less likely.  Doesn’t allow you to be subject to invasive hospital procedures such as episiotomys.There will be less use of managing it with medical techniques such as breaking the water or using any types of drugs for the pregnancy.And the part woman love the most, usually labor and delivery happen much faster naturally.

Hopefully this was informative and helped you understand some of the benefits of midwifery and having a midwife there for your pregnancy.At the very least, it gives you some different options to look into and explore.  Remember this is first hand knowledge from a San Diego midwife.

Having your child in the home?  Who would do such a thing? Didn’t that just happen when there weren’t many hospitals and doctor’s had to go to the home to deliver babies?

Not quite.  There is a large group of women who are discovering the benefts of having a baby at home, or homebirth as it is sometimes called.

It is called midwifery the practice of having your baby at home.  Although usually not nurses or doctors, the people who are in midwifery are professionally regulated.  I myself have seen the steady rise of homebirths through my practice as a San Diego certified midwife.

The people, generally women, who perform this line of work are called homebirth midwives.  Midwives is a more common term that people are familiar with and means a person who attends childbirth and provides support during labor and delivery.

Now why a midwife is usually not a doctor or nurse is because the practice of having your baby at home, or midwifery is generally the belief that pregnancy and birth are natural normal events.  This is contrasted with the medical model which believes that pregnancy and delivery should be accompanied by medicine to assist and improve the situation.

With that taken care of, lets examine why women are choosing to have babies at home.  What are the benefits that are causing women to have homebirths?

First off, with the continued presence of the midwife, the length of labor can be reduced.  Most women do not know that pain medications, although they do help with pain, actually makes the labor slow down.  This really causes more pain and the labor actuallly lasts longer.

Second, midwifery techniques in reality reduce the need for forceps or other intrusive devices during delivery.  The technique of letting the birth and delivery to occur naturally is what reduces the need to use those devices.

Third, the possiblity of c-section deliveries are actually reduced.  Most c-sections happen when during labor, it was thought that a natural birth process was not possible.  Either because of the safety of the baby was in mind or the safety of the mother.  Well in reality, complications were caused when the natural process was stopped and not allowed to continue.

These were 3 benefits of having a homebirth naturally.  There are a lot more benefits, but I am positive most women who are pregnant would say these are 3 huge benefits. 

  So even though some might call it strange to have a child at home, recent studies indicate that allowing a natural birth to happen is much safer for the mom and the baby.  With over 300 births attended as a homebirth midwife in San Diego, this has proven to be the case time and time again.