Finding an Evidence Based Care Provider—Special ‘Know Your Options’ Series
When it comes to finding a doctor, does it ever make you feel completely stuck? How do you know if they will be right for you?
Today Stephanie and I are talking about why we recommend finding an evidence based care provider and how you can tell if the person you’re interviewing (YES, you should absolutely be interviewing your doctors!) is practicing evidence based care. Stephanie is a doula, lactation consultant and certified childbirth educator so you will definitely want to soak in all of her amazing knowledge!
Grab your free download — Guide to Finding an Evidence Based Doctor!
I was disappointed that this episode seemed to forget all about midwives!! Every woman should be aware of midwifery-led care, be able to access it, and consider it as an option. Your listeners should know that, according to a 2013 Cochrane review (highest level of evidence), women who see midwives throughout their pregnancy “are less likely to have an epidural, an episiotomy (an incision made from the vagina to anus during delivery), or a delivery using instruments, such as a vacuum or forceps.” They are also less likely to have a baby before 37 weeks of gestation, or to lose their babies before 24 weeks. And, high-risk women included in the review did not have worse outcomes than low-risk women. It’s a bummer that the interview did not mention midwives as leaders in evidenced-based and patient-centered care–who are available in every kind of setting from home to hospital. Your provider is always your choice, but midwifery-led care is a great option for many women. Your guest seemed to want to steer you toward more appropriate language like “care provider” but the episode missed a big opportunity here. You mentioned discussing midwives in a future episode, but we should include midwifery care alongside OB care as a safe, evidenced-based, option for women. It doesn’t need to be excluded or separated from a mainstream discussion of provider choice.
Hi Kate,
I totally agree! We discuss midwives quite a bit in the Facebook Live though. As a mom who’s had two homebirths I’m all about midwifery care—at the same time through surveys of my audience I’m aware that the majority of women will be choosing an OB and we wanted to provide valuable information to them to find an evidence-based doctor. We also have an entire video coming up about the two most important decisions you will make and they are where you give birth and who your care provider is. That video focuses heavily on how the midwifery model of care will set you up for a very different type of birth than one with an OB. Thanks for listening!
I loved the provider neutrality. As a doula, I want my community to be using the same critical thinking regardless of whether it is a midwifery model or an obstetric model. I think most birth workers would agree that those models are not exclusive to the credentials after a primary care providers name. There are times when an OB acts more like a midwife, and times when a Midwife acts more like an OB. It is all about each individual providers standard of care. I look forward to sharing this podcast with my clients.