Mr. Midwife

That's what our new midwife calls himself, well at least his website. His real name is Patrick. We met with him this morning for an hour and we've decided he's the one. He's going to be our prenatal provider. He really took his time and answered all of my questions and I had quite a list!!! Here were some of my questions (for those who may consider a midwife at some point):

1. Can I have meds if needed? Yes, he is able to order them if I desire.
2. Do you have a back up doctor? Yes, he works with a small OB practice who will step in should I need more intensive intervention (lets hope not).
3. Hospital Privileges? At the one I really like
4. Who performs prenatal testing and ultrasounds? He orders them and we go to Magee to get them done.
5. Are you available in April? Yes
6. How do we contact you if needed? He gave us his cell phone number and said we can call him. We can also shoot him an email if needed. He doesn't use an answering service.
7. What do you do post birth? He stays 1 hour post birth to help with anything we need at the hospital and then leaves us to bond with the baby. If possible he will do one home visit but it's not a promise.
8. Will you help with breastfeeding after delivery? Yes and No. He said he knows the basics but a lactation consultant will help us in that area (or better yet, my mom will help me seen as she did it with three of us). He even gave us a place to attend a free breastfeeding class prior to birth. Most of the ones offered by the hospital are not free.
9. Where are you while I'm in labor? He said we stay in contact by phone until labor intensifies and then he'll meet us at the hospital. He said it's best not to go to the hospital without him because the hospital is very methodical in their process of birthing and will try to start us on pitocin or other meds even if it's not in our birth plan. He said he acts as a buffer and advocate for us at the hospital. We can use a jacuzzi prior to birth to ease the labor pain if we would like.
10. Do I have to birth laying down? No, the beds can break down into birthing chairs, you can get on your hands and knees, squat or stand. I asked this because over the weekend we watched "The Business of being Born" and they said that laying down actually makes your pelvis smaller and isn't the most efficient way of birthing. I was also inspired by the women on this movie who birthed standing or squatting.
11. How often will you see me during my pregnancy? Monthly until my 7th month at which time we'll meet every two weeks. During my last month I go weekly.
12. What's a typical visit like? Take my blood pressure, pee in a cup, listen to the baby's heartbeat, measure my tummy, review any test results and discuss any concerns or questions I may have. Each visit is one hour long.
13. How long do you suggest laboring at home? Said in a joking manner, best would be until 7cm. But who knows how to measure that? We'll have to discuss that later on down the line.
14. Does the hospital I like have private rooms? Yes.

I didn't get to ask: the percentage of births that turn into c-sections. I also didn't get around to asking how many babies he delivers weekly/monthly.

When I raised my concern about weight gain, Mr. Midwife challenged me to no sweets during this entire pregnancy. That's going to be sooooooooooooooooo difficult. I already failed today with two, three pieces of chocolate.