Six Questions You Should Ask When Interviewing Midwives – and my answers.

Are you considering midwifery care? Trying to choose between several midwives? It’s an important decision, and there are many factors to consider to make an informed choice. Here are the top 6 questions I believe should be asked when interviewing a home birth midwife.

Interested in learning more about my practice as a Licensed Midwife attending home births in the Port Orchard and Kitsap County area, and how that blends with my chiropractic practice? You’ll find my answer to each question below! I am happy to meet with you for an initial interview to answer these and other questions more in-depth. Reach out today to arrange a time.

1. Why did you become a midwife? What do you love most about it? What is the hardest part of your job?
2. What do you feel your role is at my birth? Who will come with you and who will do what tasks? Do you require I have other people at my birth and if so, why?
3. What are the most common reasons you transfer clients out of care in pregnancy? During Labor? After birth?
4. When a transfer of care is needed, do you continue to offer supportive care at a hospital birth or prenatal or postpartum co-management?
5. What is unique about your practice or what sets apart your care from others? What do you do differently during pregnancy or labor and delivery?
6. What tools do you prefer to use when common complications or labor difficulties arise? What kind of complications have you managed?

Why did you become a midwife? What do you love most about it? What is the hardest part of your job?

My midwifery story ultimately started with realizing most moms and babies go through a lot more difficulty and trauma in pregnancy and delivery than is necessary. You can read my full story HERE. I believed the nature and creation of our bodies intended it to be a different way and felt a fire under me to help mothers in my community have the option for a different experience.

My favorite part of midwifery is watching the transformation that happens when a client gathers information, makes decisions for their family, prepares for childbirth, and ultimately discovers the strength and power ready to break through this life transition.

It is a joy and gift to watch and be a part of. The hardest part is two-fold: on-call life and shouldering the emotional/mental challenges that sometimes accompany clients during this challenge. Our country and community does not support or offer many resources for these challenges so the midwife takes on a lot of it. I keep my practice small so I can continue to be a healthy provider and strong resource.

What do you feel your role is at my birth? Who will come with you and who will do what tasks? Do you require I have other people at my birth and if so, why?

My role at your birth is to observe, reassure or advise and step in to assist when needed. I like to say I am very hands-off, though also proactive. My experience as a chiropractor and midwife gives me increased skills to evaluate progress from a more holistic perspective. If I see signs that a baby is not in a good position, I will be quick to ask questions, discuss possibilities and encourage changes with non-invasive supportive care in order to avoid longer and more difficult labors and invasive interventions to “fix” a bigger problem later.

I typically bring another licensed midwife or experienced, senior student with me to assist.

What are the most common reasons you transfer clients out of care in pregnancy? During Labor? After birth?

I have transferred very few clients out of care prior to delivery and they have been due to complications that absolutely ruled out home birth, polyhydramnios with an unstable lie for example. The most common reason I have transferred to hospital care during labor has exhausted all of my tools and tricks to help labor progress and maternal exhaustion. You can find all my homebirth statistics, from the average length of labor to transfer rates on my midwifery care page.

Occasionally, extra tools are necessary and I am thankful we have hospitals that can provide them. In this situation, I have typically had many discussions with my clients about what was happening, possible reasons, and ways to try and correct it allowing the client to understand when all tools have been exhausted and feel more secure, though still disappointed, in their decision to call it and transfer. So far in my practice, I have yet to require the assistance of a hospital postpartum for a mom or baby.

When a transfer of care is needed, do you continue to offer supportive care at a hospital birth or prenatal or postpartum co-management?

I am happy to continue co-managed prenatal and postpartum care for clients who require a hospital birth. The only time I would not transfer to the hospital with my client and remain as a support person would be due to hospital requirements and client request (if restrictions in the number of support people and family is prioritized), or if I had another client in labor. Increasing the opportunity for informed discussion prenatally and postpartum support are crucial hallmarks of midwifery care that everyone can benefit from.

What is unique about your practice or what sets apart your care from others? What do you do differently during pregnancy or labor and delivery?

The biggest difference in my care comes from my chiropractic specialty and experience. I am very proactive in encouraging and supporting optimal health and function. I look out for signs that additional support is needed and work with you to improve them naturally long before they become problems that require medical intervention. My combination of chiropractic and midwifery allows me to address certain challenges with a larger tool bag.

I have cared for over a thousand pregnant patients as a chiropractor which has allowed me to correlate certain pregnancy challenges and alignment or function issues in pregnancy to complications in delivery and increase my skills on how to correct them during delivery when needed. I utilize a lot of bodywork techniques during pregnancy and when needed during delivery, as well as optimal fetal positioning techniques, rebozo, homeopathy and herbs. Because of this, I rarely utilize pharmaceuticals or require invasive medical interventions.

What tools do you prefer to use when common complications or labor difficulties arise? What kind of complications have you managed?

The most common complications that arise during childbirth are shoulder dystocia and hemorrhage. Midwives are well-trained and equipped to handle these scenarios with maneuvers and medications of which I am well-experienced and have at hand. The greater complications that I have assisted have included manually removing the placenta or clots (which is a more rare circumstance of hemorrhaging) and surprise breech and twins, both of which were births I assisted as the second midwife and not my clients.

Want to connect with more community midwives?

As a chiropractor specializing in pregnancy, I am super motivated to help EVERY single pregnant patient have a positive pregnancy and be as prepared for birth as possible but as a midwife, I want to work with only those that trust me as a provider and feel that I am the best fit for the experience they are looking for. Because I am not the RIGHT midwife for everyone I have featured other midwives in the area below so you can interview and seek out the one that fits you best.

Gig Harbor Midwifery – Niki Coraggio. LM and Brandy Stuart, LM
Salt and Cedar Midwifery – Morgan Hughes, LM, CPM and Meredith Milholland, LM, CPM
Kin Midwives – Louisa Severn, LM, CPM
True North Birth Center – Group practice
Tranquil Healing Center – Terra Sowinski, LM, ND