Midwife Advantages versus Disadvantages

After seeing the first part of The Business of Being Born in class on Thursday I got interested in the advantages of a midwife births versus that of a doctor in a hospital. The first that I found was that a midwife is able to give their full attention to your child’s birth. Where as in a hospital a doctor has to complete their rounds and visit other patients.  The second one that I found was that midwives specialize in childbirth. The process of childbirth is their sole focus and making it as painless as possible for the delivering mother. I also found that midwifes are more open to what the family wants such as a home delivery. Unlike if you voiced your opinion to a doctor they would tell you to take the best course of medical action. This usually ends up being the easiest for the attending physician.

I also wanted to look at some major disadvantages. The first of which was that midwifes for the most part only carry the basic tools needed to deliver a child. The next was that they are often not trained for a high risk pregnancy. If it gets to the point in a delivery where its considered high risk or a cesarean section is need you’ll have to be transferred to a hospital and once there the midwife will be left out of the birth. The next I found is that insurances will not always cover a midwife/ home birth. If you get pregnant and then want to do a midwife birth it may not be covered by your insurance. And once you become pregnant you will not be able to switch the coverage that your insurance provides.
A midwife birth defiantly has positives, but there are also negative that go along with them. When it comes down to it, it all depends on what you as the expecting parents want to do. Because even though it maybe the wife that is pregnant they parents will have to agree on what is best for the child and the mother giving birth.