Choosing Your Midwife/LMC
These questions may help you decide who the right person is to care for you, your baby and family.
- Do you provide full continuity of care (all care during pregnancy, labour and birth and after baby is born?
- Do you work by yourself; in partnership with another LMC; or as part of a group maternity care practice?
- If I choose you to be my LMC, where can I give birth?
- Who will provide back-up care if you are not available for any reason. Will I meet your back up?
- How many other women will you provide care for whose babies are due in the same month as mine?
- Do you take regular time off-call (e.g. weekends) and are you planning to go on holiday around the time my baby is due to be born?
- Approximately how many times will I see you during my pregnancy and how much time do you allocate for each pregnancy check-up appointment?
- Where will I see you for my pregnancy check-up visits?
- Do you provide care for women planning a homebirth?
- Are you happy to support women who are interested in waterbirth?
- Where do you stand on medical interventions e.g. induction of labour, caesarean section, episiotomy etc.
- Will you visit me while I’m in the maternity unit after I’ve given birth?
- Who will visit me and my baby, at home, after I’ve given birth and how many home visits can I expect?
- If you have any strong beliefs or views about pregnancy and childbirth etc, make sure that your LMC is able to provide care that is compatible with and supports your beliefs.
- If you have any special needs or requirements (e.g. health, cultural, religious etc) for maternity care, is your LMC able to support and provide for these?
You can also ask any LMC if s/he participates in an annual professional review or audit process for the maternity services they provide. Who is responsible for this process and what does it involve? If not, why not?
You can change your LMC at any time during your pregnancy etc if you do not feel comfortable with her/him, or if you feel that the LMC you are registered with is not able to provide you with the maternity care you need.
(sourced from MAMA Maternity – mamamaternity.co.nz)
