Midwife vs Doctor

I had mine in a hospital. I was lucky in that the midwife on duty was very keen to follow my birth plan as closely as possible and so followed all my wishes and allowed me to have the birth i wanted.
The gynae still did all his stuff and was a little bit more hands on than i would have liked, but i also never really asked him to step back so there is every chance he would have if asked. He really was compltely and utterly dumbfounded at the end of it though. Every time during my pregnancy that i'd asked how it goes at birth, when does he come etc, he'd say "well i'll come and do the epidural..." and i would say every time "but i'm not having one" to which he'd just utter "we'll see". When i was in labour (around 8pm) I said to him he can come back at 1am. He said he'll see me at 3am to do the epidural (still convinced i'd need one). At 1:20 the nurses called him to say it was time, i was full dilated. He just responded "oh my hat". My son was born at 1:53. no epidural, no pain relief, no pain

Thank you huggles! Xxx

Isn't it astonishing how men are the biggest converters! My own hubby refused to come to classes with me because he thought it was some hippy nonsense, until he witnessed my 1hr 48 minute pain free labour (my first was 18 hours of hell)
I currently have a couple on a course who my hubby convinced to do HypnoBirthing almost a year ago (before they were pregnant) in a pub while talking cricket with the husband!

HypnoBirthing can be applied to ANY birth ANYwhere! I have taught about 30% planning homebirths, but almost more important to have tools to stay calm and relaxed in a hospital environment. It helps any birth

Thank you Kim and Huggles !!

I would love to do a hypnobirth.
Where do you do it then? At your home or the hospital?

I don't have anything to add regarding midwife or doctor, but i can HIGHLY recommend kim's course. I had a hypnobirth and it was the most amazing and most empowering experience of my life. My gynae was completely and utterly stunned at how i handled the labour and delivery and could barely utter more than "oh my hat".
Even my husband talks about it to complete strangers! We met a pregnant woman the other day at a party, never seen her before, and next thing I know he's going on and on about how she really must look into hypnobirthing and how amazing it is. He was seriously impressed.

Would love to have you on my course!

Most moms start around 28 weeks but any time from 20 weeks onwards is perfect.

If you have a midwife you can have your scans at a feotal assessment unit, or see their back-up gynae, your midwife will tell you the process, and she will remain your primary care giver, the gynae is purely a back-up, and better to have them, occassionally emergency Caesareans are necessary - then they are needed.

It sounds like your pregnancy symptoms are all prefectly normal, your hormones will be going haywire for a little bit (hence the emotion!) but it will calm down in the 2d trimester

X

Hallo Kim

Nice meeting you. Thank you for your advise. I had a look at your website and would love to do your course. Will speak to my husband about it. At what time do I have to start the course? During the end?

I am feeling fine so far. Just very tired, period stomach pains, over active stomach ( more than usual) and very emotional. I am very healthy and not over weight. I have been training in the gym for years.

If I have a midwife, where do I go for scans? Do I really still need to go to a gynae? Thank you for the help.

Hi Marina,

Congrats on your pregnancy!!

Nicolene is a wonderful midwife (they all are!) she is based in Paarl, so closest to you, otherwise Natasha Stadler is in Somerset west.

Basically a midwife is a nurse that has trained specifically in midwifery, they have a very mother- baby type focus on natural birth and supporting you through it.

A gynae is a highly skilled surgeon trained in obstertics and gynaecology and specialises in looking for abnormalities in pregnancy and is best suited for high risk pregnancies or emergency scenarios.

All midwives have a back up, so even if you found yourself in the unlikely event of having an unexpected turn during your birth the back-up gynae would be on call.

I hope that helps?

Kim