Midwife or MD?

[ChiefRocker]

Our birth took place in the hospital with the midwife.
I was a doubter at first, and only felt comfortable with the thought of a OB but then we went to a information session and it changed my mind. It has a level of care/compassion that you just don't get from a doctor, lise 3am visits before you go to the hospital to make sure that it is not false alarm, and that you won't waist time there.

If you live in Ottawa you can contact these folks to see when the next information session is.
http://www.midwiferyconsumers.org

[BlueMax]

I may be wrong, but I think that doulas are there for support only, and are not covered by OHIP, whereas midwives are fully trained (4 year degree) professionals, and are covered by OHIP.

Exactly. A Doula is there to help you, mostly just keeping mom comfortable and keeping her from losing her head. She does NOT do any birthing, nor is she qualified to do so.

[Rehan]

There's an interesting article at http://www.thestar.com/Health/article/217456 ...with a surprising statistic:

According to the Association of Ontario Midwives, 40 per cent of women seeking midwifery care can't get it.

[3boysmom]

For babies # 1 & 2 I had my GP. I was supposed to have her for #3 as well but she went on vacation.

As it turned out I had a hospital delivery by a midwife. She was a staff nurse working the night I came in.

With 20 minutes from the time we arrived at the emerg doors to baby in my arms the GP covering missed it.

As it turned out I had some post delivery complications that required beyond midwife allowed intervention and was very glad to see the covering GP walk in. (better late than never)

[pipolchap]

Anyway... The OP asked which would you use a MD or a Midwife. The OP never asked if you could use both would you? If you must chose between one or the other you need to chose MD 100% of the time. Myself, and anyone who knows what midwifes are qualified to do, would chose the MD over the Midwife. Any complications which occur during birth can have life long effects on both child and mother. This is why I would not want someone who is not qualified to deal with such complications assisting in the birth of my child.

I also agree that using a midwife in a hosipital would be much better then using one at your home... However, just remember that certain complications, even if they only last a few minutes, could harm the baby... Those few minutes that you need to inform the MD about the problem or for him to now figure out what's going on because the midwife was in charge.

Ok.... Time for everyone tell me how my advice is terrible.. To the OP: do some research on what midwifes are qualified to handle and then make your own decision...

To clarify my question, I wanted to know how many people chose an MD or a Midwife as their PRIMARY care giver. I guess I didn't know enough to formulate a concise question...

From what I understand about midwives, they act as primary caregiver up to delivery, iff there is no complication. If there arises any indication of complication, there will be a "transfer of care" to an MD. The midwife will still be there for support and post-delivery care for the mother and baby. So depending on circumstances that cannot be predicted, having a "100% midwife" is not an always, however there is always a "100% MD".

Thanks for all your responses, we've already made our decision since the start of the topic, and have opted for a midwife with an in-hospital delivery. It was an offer my wife and I couldn't refuse!