Our Search for an OB Doctor or Midwife in Mississippi

As some of you may know from conversations with either Hugh or I, we have been trying to find a good, trustworthy OB Doctor or Midwife to deliver our sweet Karis in May.  This search has been an on-going one for months now due several factors, but in early February, we realized that we needed to get even more serious because our due date was fast approaching.

I should also say (as a partial preface) that doing a homebirth in our region of Mississippi is not something that Hugh and I feel comfortable with, mainly because we feel most confident using a CPM (Certified Professional Midwife) as opposed to a lay midwife, and the closest CPMs are at least 2-4 hours away.  We also feel most confident having a CPM who is a Christian, and those are even harder to come by (there is one we may consider using next time, but she was already booked near our due date by the time we contacted her).  And the reason that choosing an OB carefully is that Mississippi has HORRENDOUS c-section rates (see the map above)!!   And in my opinion, having a natural, intervention-free birth in the hospital (with a supportive OB) is the best way to avoid an unnecessary c-section.

So, when we first found out that we were pregnant, I had heard that there were 2 OBs in our town (out of maybe 6 or 7 within Starkville's only OB practice) who were open to natural childbirth.  I started seeing one of them who I'd specifically heard good things about from some women in town who had delivered with her.  Looking back now, I wish that I would've taken our birth plan (a one page paper stating the most important things for us about how labor/delivery/post-partum care should go) to our first meeting with her just to see where she stood.  But I didn't because usually doctors don't want to see those until you're closer to delivering... not to mention that I didn't have ours ready yet..  lesson #1 learned - the hard way!!  

This was our OB in AR, Dr. Chris Johnson.

Since you only go in 1x per month for the first 30 weeks of pregnancy, I wasn't able to show her our birth plan until week 24 (I tried at the 20 week appt, but she was too busy and frazzled from a long night of being on-call that she wasn't able to go over it, which is understandable.).  Anyway, at my 24 week appointment, several issues from our birth plan came up that she was unwilling and/or unable to compromise on,  as well as a handful of things that she would be okay with but not many of the other OBs in her practice would do for us. (In this practice, when you go into labor, you get whoever is on-call unless it's Tues-Fri, 7am-5pm.   This is not how our OB in Arkansas worked (we saw him until we were eligible for home birth at 37 weeks)... He delivered all of his patients' babies unless he was out of town.)  Anyway, some of the things that she was unable to compromise on or guarantee were: delayed cord clamping, in-room post-partum care for baby, having a doula in the room to help us labor, and natural delivery of the placenta (just to name a few).  After talking through many of these topics with her, I realized that she was not on the same page as me with what a "natural" labor/delivery meant.  Even though she was more open to some of the things we wanted, she seemed more medical-minded than I was hoping for, and I was unsure of how much trust I could put in her to follow through with specific parts of our birth plan that she wasn't as accustomed to.  So, we decided to put that OB practice on the back-burner as a satisfactory back-up plan while we searched for a care-provider that would fit our preferences more.

Unfortunately, by this point I was 24 weeks along!  I tried to make an appointment with an OB in a town 30 minutes away who I'd heard good things about, but she refused to see me, I think because I was considered a "transfer" patient rather than a new OB patient due to how far along I was.  At this point, our options were slimming down because the only other hospital within an hour of us has a c-section rate of 85% (stat found here from 2011 data, just search for "west point" and you'll find it on page 70)!!  So, we started looking at options a little further away from Starkville.

Thankfully, we had some friends recommend a few good options.  First was a hospital about 1.5 hours away in Meridian, MS where they have 6 midwives delivering babies alongside the OBs.  The other options were around 4 hours south in Gulfport or around 5 hours west in Baton Rouge.  So, I started making appointments with each, and thankfully through God's provision I was able to schedule them in such a way that I could make it a road trip and visit each one w/in a 3 day window.  :)  This was such a blessing for us because by this point I was 28 weeks pregnant and feeling more and more anxious about finding someone we trusted.

This was the hospital in Gulfport we
visited.. don't you love the palm tree?

So, Enoch and I loaded up this past Monday morning and headed south.  Our first stop was in Meridian, and we really liked the midwife that we met with there.  She answered all of our questions and "what-if" scenerios (which I hope to post about later) and reviewed our birth plan with me.  She was super friendly and helpful, and I feel like she's much less medically-minded (meaning that she wants to assist a woman's body to naturally deliver the baby while closely watching for any signs that the woman or baby needs help... because not every delivery goes smoothly).  I drove away feeling good about that option.

Next, Enoch and I met with a midwife in Gulfport who also delivers alongside OBs in a hospital (though there are only 3 midwives in this practice).  She was nice and willing to answer many of my questions, but she was a newer midwife (only 1 year of licensure under her belt) and seemed to be more medical-minded than the one in Meridian.  And, she was pretty concerned about the 4 hour drive to get to her since Karis is baby #2 (labor can shorten immensely with #2).  So she actually advised us to use the midwife in Meridian.  ;)

We met the homebirth midwife at Panera,
which was such a treat since I haven't even
seen a Panera since we left AR!!

Then, on Tuesday, Enoch and I met with a home birth midwife in Gulfport.  We have a few friends who've delivered with her, and she is the one who actually comes to Starkville for delivery if she doesn't have anyone else with a due date close to yours.  I really loved talking with her, and I feel like she might be a good option for one of our future babies.  Unfortunately, she already has someone with a due date close to ours this time.  And, I think Hugh and I don't want to chance the 4 hour drive since there's only one hospital on the way.  :)

 After talking with Hugh about the midwives I'd met with, we decided to move forward with the midwife in Meridian.  So I canceled the appointment in Baton Rouge (since it was also a long drive from Starkville and wouldn't have been a good idea w/ baby #2).  This worked out well because Little Guy and I were able to enjoy a free afternoon in Gulfport (pictures coming soon!) and then make our way home leisurely on Wednesday.

Overall,  I'd say the trip went well, and we are both so thankful to feel comfortable with the midwife in Meridian.  I still have my next appointment in Starkville that I plan to keep since I need to get a Rhogam shot.  I scheduled it with a different OB this time though so that I can meet her just in case we end up delivering there in an emergency (this hospital actually has one of the lowest c-section rates in our state).  And then, I plan to transfer my care to Meridian.

Sorry this ended up being such a long post!  If you read through all of it, I hope you feel updated about where we are in this decision.  Hugh and I loved our home birth with Enoch, and I feel like the Lord perfectly blessed and protected that birth with those women (including my mom).  However, Hugh and I have always said that using a midwife at a birth center or hospital would be our ideal option.  The closer we move toward using the midwife in Meridian, the more confident and comfortable I feel about this decision for this birth (no guarantees about future babies), and that's a good place to be patiently waiting for Karis' arrival.  :)


**I have tried to leave most of these care providers' names off of this post, but if you are in our area and interested in more details about any of the providers I mentioned, please just contact me via email, and I can give you more details.**