Questions to ask your care provider

From www.choicesinchildbirth.org 

Here are some suggested questions to encourage dialogue and to help you get a sense of your care provider’s approach. It is a good idea to interview at least two or three providers. It is never too late to change providers if you are not comfortable with the answers you receive.  

1. Is there a limit to the number of people who can accompany me during my birth? How do you feel about a labor support professional such as a doula or massage therapist joining my team? 

2. Will I be able to eat and drink in labor? 

3. If I were interested in having a natural, unmedicated birth, how will you help me achieve my goal? 

4. What comfort measures do you recommend? 

  • Freely changing positions and walking around 

  • Water therapy (shower or tub) 

  • A doula 

  • Epidural 

  • Narcotics (Fentanyl/Demerol) 

5. What would you recommend I do if my water breaks before contractions have begun? How long after my water breaks would you recommend induction if my labor doesn’t start on its own? 

6. What are your protocols regarding my due date, i.e. inducing labor at 40 weeks? 41 weeks? 

7. Do you believe in active management of the first stage of labor? For example, would progress of less than one cm per hour call for artificial rupture of membranes (AROM) or  Pitocin? If everything is fine with me and my baby, will I be able to labor at my own pace and for as long as I need? 

8. If you feel that labor has to be stimulated, what methods do you recommend?

  • Herbs 

  • Nipple stimulation 

  • Castor oil 

  • Intercourse before spontaneous rupture of membranes (SROM) 

  • Enema 

  • Acupuncture  

  • Stripping of membranes 

  • Artificial rupture of membranes (AROM) 

  • Pitocin 

9. What is your protocol regarding the following procedures and how often do you perform them? 

  • IVs 

  • Continuous versus intermittent fetal monitoring 

  • Internal fetal monitoring 

  • Artificial rupturing of the membranes (AROM) 

  • Epidural

  • Assisted vaginal delivery (forceps/vacuum) 

  • Episiotomy 

10. What is your cesarean rate? What factors do you believe contribute to the rate? What is your VBAC rate? What are your standard protocols for VBAC mothers?  

11. Will I be able to choose the position in which I will push and give birth such as sides-lying, all fours, or squatting? 

12. Can my baby remain with me at all times from the moment of birth? Do you support skin-to-skin contact between me and my baby immediately after birth? 

13. (For home birth midwives) How long will you stay with me after my baby is born? 

14. (For home birth midwives) What is your rate of transfer to the hospital? Who are your consultant obstetricians? Will I be able to meet or interview them? 

For more questions to ask your care provider, visit www.choicesinchildbirth.org