Choosing a doctor, midwife, or nurse-practitioner can seem like the stuff of which pregnant fantasies are made if you live in a community with a chronic shortage of healthcare providers.
But, if you do have the luxury of choosing a healthcare provider (as opposed to having to settle for whatever healthcare provider is taking on new patients), here are the types of questions you'll would ideally want to ask that person:
Who will be present at the birth—you or one of your associates?
What hospital(s) and/or birth center(s) are you affiliated with?
Is home birth an option? If so, under what circumstances?
What are your basic philosophies about pregnancy and birth? (Consider how these philosophies compare to your own.)
What is your recommended schedule of prenatal visits and prenatal tests?
Do you encourage your patients to write birth plans?
Would you support our plans to use the services of a birth doula?
What is your recommended schedule of prenatal visits and prenatal tests?
Do you routinely use electronic fetal monitoring during labor?
What percentage of women in your practice have episiotomies? cesareans?
Under what circumstances would my baby and I be separated after the birth?
Do you or anyone else in your practice provide breastfeeding support and/or postpartum care?
Does the healthcare provider someone you would like to work with during your pregnancy and someone you would like to have present at the birth of your child?
