What is the Difference Between OB Care and Midwifery Care?
When choosing between a hospital or birth center, women often wonder how care with an OB/GYN differs from care with a midwife. While what you choose comes down to personal preference and your health, here are some differences to give you a better idea.
Natural Approach
In midwifery care, we view pregnancy as a natural, physiologic process that people go through. It is not always inherently a health complication. Usually, things are normal, so we are looking to identify normal, support normal, and only intervene when necessary.
So, when it comes to care provisions, we take a natural approach to pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum period. We don’t believe in protocol-driven blood work or tests, so we only prescribe the required ones. Similarly, we don’t have a one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to labor. We don’t use medicines or interventions unless necessary. At the birth center, we offer natural methods or patient-controlled options for pain control.
The idea is to encourage natural birth, not intervene in or take charge of it by any means.
Time
We spend more time with clients during appointments, so a usual appointment can last 30 minutes or longer if needed. On the contrary, a typical OB appointment may only be 5-10 minutes long.
A long appointment gives families the time to ask questions and discuss concerns. It also allows us to get to know our clients, their health, and their requirements better. This two-way communication results in better patient care and less anxiety.
Education/Shared Decision Making
At the birth center, we prioritize educating our clients about their health and experiences during pregnancy. This education enables families to make their own decisions about their health and pregnancy.
Empowering our patients with knowledge of their pregnancy and the pros or cons of their prospective decisions helps ensure that the patients know how their decision affects them. It also helps us ensure that the patient is fully aware of what’s happening to them.
In the hospital, most processes, tests, and interventions are applied to all patients without taking much input from them. It can induce anxiety and mistrust in the patient, which can disrupt their health and normal labor.
If you want to learn more about our care, send us a message!