How to Choose Your Childbirth Team

Looking for a care provider and birth site that you love? Hoping to have a birth experience that you'll love to share with others for the rest of your life? Follow this plan, and you will be likely to have a great relationship with your care providers, which will undoubtedly help you have a wonderful experience!

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• A bun in the oven
• A need for common ground between you and your support team through pregnancy and childbirth

1. Before you decide on your doctor or midwife, and before you decide on your birth site, take some time to consider your own ideas of a fulfilling birth experience. A vital step in that process should include taking an early pregnancy class if you can find one locally.
2. Decide on your own answers to the following questions regarding prenatal care:
   
   How many visits will you have during the course of your pregnancy? What kind of prenatal testing do they require? If you would prefer to not have a particular test performed, how will your care provider respond? What are your feelings, and your care providers' feelings on pregnancy and childbirth? Do you agree that childbirth is normal, natural and healthy? Or do you prefer the thought that pregnancy is a medical event that should be closely monitored by your doctor?
3. Decide on your own answers to the following questions regarding labor and delivery:
   
   Would you prefer to receive pain medication, or labor unmedicated? If you have given birth by cesarean in the past, would you prefer to birth via cesarean again, or have a vaginal birth? What type of labor support will be allowed or given to you while you are laboring? After your baby is born, will they be given to you to immediately breastfeed? Or will they be examined first? Will your birth site have someone on hand to assist you in learning to breastfeed, regardless of the hour of your baby's birth? Will your care providers, labor support and birthing site allow for your cultural or religious needs during your labor and birth?
4. While answering these questions for yourself, take some time to research the possibilities. (When you research the possibilities, it is extremely important that you find your information in reliable places. Any website, person, or book that states they have evidence-based information, be sure that person, book or website is open with their sources, and is comfortable with telling you where they got their information.)
5. Discuss your research and feelings with your potential care providers and your potential birth sites.
6. Choose your care provider and birth site based on who you share the most in common with.

Tips & Warnings

• If you have already chosen a care provider and birth site, you, by law (in the United States), you are allowed to change providers at any time if you find there is a deep difference in beliefs. If you have health insurance, your health insurance company is required to allow your change in providers and birth site, as long as your new choices are within their network (if that is required).
• After looking for a care provider that best fits your needs, if you come up empty handed, it is important to understand that YOU are the one in charge of your pregnancy and birth. You have the legal right to fully informed consent, which means if you and your care provider have a difference in opinion, they are required to respect your wishes over their own. So take some time to learn why they differ in opinion, and choose what feels right to you.