Birth Choices Preview | Page 7

Choosing a Care Provider STEP 3 TAKE ACTION If you are looking for a care provider or simply want to get to know your chosen provider a bit better, use the following questions to help you learn more about their approach. Use one or more of these questions to engage in an open and mutually respectful conversation, rather than “grill” your provider. PREVIEW General Questions Physiologic Birth 1. Please tell me about a “typical” birth that you attend. This open-ended question will help 5. What percentage of your patients have spontaneous childbirth with few or no interventions? A provider with a high you understand the provider’s perspectives, philosophies, and standards of practice. 2. What do you do when someone is “past due”? A provider who routinely induces labor at 39 or 40 weeks without a medical need is not a good fit if you wish to avoid induction. 3. How many partners are in your practice and what percentage of your patients’ births do you attend? If there are many providers and you will get the person on call, you may end up with a provider with a different philosophy or standards of practice. Induction and Cesarean 4. What is your rate and most common reason for labor induction? What is your rate and most common reason for cesarean section? This doesn’t necessarily tell you the whole story, but these numbers help you better understand your risk. percentage most likely has a philosophy of being patient and supporting non-medical approaches to handling labor variations. 6. What is the most common choice for pain relief among your patients? What options are available for coping without medication? If you want to birth with few or no interventions, including pain medication, be cautious about hiring a care provider who encourages pain medication. The opposite is true if you plan to have an epidural and your provider discourages them. While the choice is always yours, your care provider’s attitude and support can influence you during labor. Routines at Birth 7. How quickly do you clamp and cut the umbilical cord? If everyone is healthy, will I be given immediate and uninterrupted skin-to-skin contact with my baby? This is widely recognized as beneficial to both mother and baby and should be standard practice. It is concerning if a provider insists on routine immediate separation. Be aware of the difference between a provider who is simply agreeable and nice as opposed to a provider who is genuinely supportive in practice. A provider may say they do interventions only “when necessary,” but find the interventions “necessary” in most or all of their patients. Asking specific questions will help you learn more about their philosophy and give you insight into the support you will receive in labor. Step 3: Take Action 15