Finding a Caregiver for Your Pregnancy, Labor and Birth

Finding a caregiver who shares a similar philosophy surrounding labor and birth is key in achieving your goals. While choosing the right caregiver can be a timely process, in the end it will be worth it to find a caregiver who is supportive of your choices. The following are questions you may want to consider asking your caregiver to help you decide if he or she will be best suited to care for you.

What can you tell me about yourself and your practice?

It is always good to get the general background on the caregiver's training and education. Finding out about how they practice and what philosophical beliefs he or she incorporates into their practice can tell you a lot as well.

What kind of labors have you attended?

Find out what percentage of the births attended were natural births (no paid medication), vaginal births, or cesarean births. If the caregiver is telling you that he or she highly encourages natural births but has a cesarean rate of 42%, then his or her numbers say differently. Now would also be a good time to find out his or her rates of other interventions, such as episiotomy, epidurals, vacuum extraction, induction, etc.

Tell me more about your practice.

If the caregiver works with other practitioners, find out if you can meet them and what their philosophies are. Ask how often the care provider is present throughout an entire labor and birth. If you are speaking with an OBGYN, ask if they work with nurse midwives. If you are speaking with a midwife, ask if they have a backup physician and what conditions precipitate a transfer to that physician's care.

When is it decided that a c-section is necessary?

Will the physician schedule a c-section at the first sign of worry, or will he or she let you start labor on your own? Are VBAC's allowed, and if so, what is the success rate?

What conditions precipitate labor induction or augmentation?

Find out how long the caregiver is willing to wait past your due date before wanting to induce. Also find out their protocols when it comes to pre-labor rupture of membranes.

What methods do you recommend to deal with labor pain besides drugs?

Will the physician allow/encourage different positions, walking, massage, counter pressure, etc?

How much freedom do your clients typically have during labor?

Does the caregiver allow freedom of movement, or does he or she prefer confinement to the bed? What type of fetal monitoring does the caregiver utilize? Will mom be able to eat/drink/move/use the bathroom/use the shower or tub as she pleases? Is the caregiver comfortable catching the baby if the mom is pushing in an upright position?

Have you worked with doulas before?

If the caregiver discourages the use of a doula, or has reservations against working with doulas, it might be a sign that he or she isn't as supportive of your choices as he or she may seem.

Tell me about the benefits of natural childbirth.

If the caregiver can answer this question in detail, then it is a good sign that he or she supports natural childbirth.