One essential factor in ensuring a safe birth is a positive, healthy, and communicative relationship with your birth care provider. While midwives usually seem to be the choice for the best care for labor, there are some doctors who also provide excellent care; don’t unnecessarily limit your choices—remember to be open minded.
Before making the decision regarding your birth plan and the professional who will attend to you during labor and delivery, it is important to take some time to research your options. You will find that there are many qualified people to choose from, and some doctors or midwives may be a better fit for you than others. As you are interviewing potential midwives and doctors, ask them about their experience, their beliefs and practices regarding required medical procedures during the pregnancy, as well as their overall philosophy about the birthing process. Also, it’s a good idea to consider how well their personality matches your preferences. 
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Safer Pregnancy and Labor With Midwives

Statistics show that midwives will increase your chance of a safe and natural birth. In one study, neonatal death was on average 26% lower with midwives, and the likelihood of a low birth weight was 31% lower with a midwife providing pregnancy care than with a physician.

These studies indicate how crucial emotional care is for the mother. The mother’s feelings influence her choices and therefore her health. Some midwives are very caring and supportive. They act like mothers to the mother. Many mothers-to-be did not receive the full nutritional or emotional support they needed as children.

This can have effects later in life, and make the birthing process more difficult. A good midwife can fill in this role, and the mother will feel cared for and supported. A mother-to-be who is  cared for will feel that it is safe to give birth, will make good choices for herself, and will love her new baby dearly. Another study showed that women attended by midwives are  30% less likely to undergo cesarean section, and the diagnosis of fetal distress is made 50% less often in babies delivered by midwives, compared to those delivered by physicians.

Quality of Care and Attention During Labor

Another common reason why midwives are sometimes preferred over doctors is because of the fact that a midwife will stay with you through the entire labor and delivery process. On the other hand, doctors work closely with nurses in the facility and the staff is all responsible for multiple patients. So the nurses will be checking on you during labor, and the doctor is called in on an as-needed basis and also for the actual delivery.

Some women don’t mind having the responsibility of their care divided out among several nurses, and other women prefer to have the consistent care from a person such as a midwife. Usually, a relationship has already been developed with the midwife during the 9 months of pregnancy, whereas nurses are usually strangers. These nurses are still qualified to provide the physical care that is needed, and they are also skilled in the emotional aspects of giving birth, but they may not know you very well on a personal level.

Photo Credit: Magpie372 from Flickr