Our takeaways:
- Pick your dream birthing team members whose philosophies align with yours, and more importantly, whom you can see yourself working with in a physically- and/or emotionally-challenging condition.
- Expect potential changes in the dream team as the pregnancy and your maternal and fetal health evolve.
- While forming your birthing team, consider your need (physical and mental), a lot. At the end of the day, you are the captain leading the team.
Just like there’s a dream team behind every successful product launch, every successful baby delivery has a team of backstage heroes that we don’t often see. On top of your family physician, you probably have heard of ob-gyn, midwives, doulas, and etc. But who are they exactly? What are their responsibilities? How are they working together with you and your family from pregnancy to delivery? Let’s find out today and equip you with the knowledge you need to form your dream birthing team!
Potential birthing team members
First, let’s take a look at all potential team members.
Family Physicians (FP) – commonly serve as your PCP (Primary Care Provider), FPs have trained in primary care, maternal care, and pediatric care. In other words, they care for patients of all ages, from infants, kids and teens, to adults and the elderly.
Obstetrician (Ob) – who has had post-medical school training in women’s reproductive health can also serve as your PCP. They care for all aspects of pregnancy from end-to-end, and from the most obvious question to the most obscure complication. Additionally, they can take care of all your non-pregnancy female healthy needs like Pap smears and breast exams. On the other hand, gynecologists (Gyn) specialize in gynecology only and care for non-pregnancy issues that are related to female reproductive health.
Maternal-fetal medicine (MFM) – also known as a perinatologist, is an ob who has undergone 3 years of specialized training to manage high-risk pregnancies.
Midwives – trained health professionals who help healthy women during labor, delivery, and after the birth of their babies. Midwives may deliver babies at birthing centers, at home, or at a hospital. Depending on their levels of training, you can find 5 types: Certified Nurse-Midwife (CNM), Certified Midwife (CM), Certified Professional Midwife (CPM), Direct-Entry Midwife (DEM), and Lay Midwife. You can find the differences in detail here.
Doulas – a word from ancient Greece indicating the most important female servant in the household. Nowadays, it refers to persons professionally trained in childbirth to provide emotional, physical, and educational support to mothers. Doulas can also act as a mediator/advocate to speak for you as needed, translate medical terms, and explain procedures.
Things to consider when picking your birthing team member(s)
Now you know all the potential team members. Next, how do you figure out who’s right for your dream team? In additional your insurance network coverage, here are a few things to consider:
- Your current health provider. What type of PCP do you have now? For example, if you already have a FP that you trust and like, it’s probably easier to start with them for your pregnancy. Because they have a holistic view of your health (and probably your husband’s). If things get more complicated afterward, your FP can refer you to an ob (obstetrician).
- Your preferred birthing philosophies. Do you prefer no medical intervention at all? Do you like to be more/less involved in decisions during pregnancy/labor/delivery? Where do you prefer to give birth (home/hospital/birthing center)? Make sure to discuss those preferences with your potential team members and pick the one(s) whose philosophies and experience align with your preferences.
- Your location. Both in relation to that of your team member (i.e: how far is the hospital/birthing center/doula from your home?), and your physical location. Your physical location matters if you decided that midwives should be part of your dream team and you are in the US. Each US state or territory has different rules and regulations. Here’s a tool I found that can help you easily find the info by state.
- Your current and potential health condition during pregnancy. For example, you might need a MFM if you are having a high-risk pregnancy. That includes: 1) Had pregnancy problems in the past, 2) are pregnant with twins or more, or 3) had pre-pregnancy health conditions. See more here.
- Your need (physical and emotional). For example, you may prefer a birthing room with a tub or a facility with a room-in option for the dad. Sometimes you might even want to bring in other health professionals such as chiropractors or acupuncturists to help cope with the birthing pain. Or you may simply want an ob who has a sense of humor to relieve some of your anxiety during the journey.
Some final notes
Finally, I picked up some of my notes from What to Expect When You’re Expecting related to forming your dream birthing team.
- Safety: Studies show that for low-risk pregnancies, deliveries by CNMs are as safe as those by physicians. Most CNMs and CMs use a physician as a backup in case of complications.
- Finance: If you will be paying some/or of your costs out-of-pocket, consider CNM for prenatal care.
- Intervention: A birth attended by a CNM is less likely to include medical interventions.
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