Y'all've gone through all the test sticks in the box, and those little lines keep staring back at you lot. Information technology's confirmed: you lot're pregnant! First come a mix of emotions ranging from completely thrilled to terrified. Then come the questions:

"How volition I tell my family unit and friends?"

"Am I having a male child or a girl?"

"What exercise I exercise next?"

1 of the most important next steps is deciding who will treat you throughout your pregnancy and during your labor and delivery. Then the next question is: Should you choose an OB-GYN or a midwife?

"You want a trusted, reliable partner who tin help y'all navigate your pregnancy with care and compassion," says Dr. Katie Krumwiede, medical managing director for HealthPartners' OB-GYN. "This is a very personal decision to make. Information technology'southward of import to know your options."

To help you learn more about your options, let's swoop into the similarities and differences between midwives and OB-GYNs, where doulas and family medicine doctors factor in, and what yous should consider when choosing who to trust with your intendance.

What's the difference between a midwife and OB-GYN? Permit'south talk nearly similarities first.

You probably know that both an OB-GYN and a midwife can deliver babies. Just they share far more in common.

Midwives and OB-GYNs are both highly trained and certified

Midwives and OB-GYNs are experts in women'southward wellness and pregnancy care who accept extensive specialty training and experience in their field. In addition, each has received a relevant certification, which means they have demonstrated knowledge and skill within their expanse of expertise.

Midwives and OB-GYNs are committed to your prophylactic and comfort

Midwives and OB-GYNs are extremely passionate most what they practise. And they desire to make sure you and your babe are happy, healthy and safe throughout your pregnancy feel. So, they'll work with y'all to honor your pregnancy goals and birth plan, while besides offering their expertise and information on all your care options as your pregnancy progresses, including pain management during labor and delivery.

Midwives and OB-GYNs strive to give you the all-time feel

You probably have a vision or plan for how y'all want your prenatal care, and labor and delivery to get. However, yous might remember you demand to trade feel for expertise (or vice versa) depending on the type of care provider y'all choose. But that's non truthful.

At HealthPartners, our OB-GYNs, midwives and pregnancy intendance teams strive to deliver your infant, your way. That means we all want to assistance you accept the care and child birthing experience you're hoping for, regardless of who you choose equally your primary specialist.

Now, allow's talk about the differences betwixt a midwife and an OB-GYN

OB-GYNs and midwives both provide great pregnancy care and safely deliver babies. But there are some central differences.

OB-GYNs and midwives have different credentials and educational backgrounds

While OB-GYNs and midwives are office of the same specialty area, the preparation, education requirements and credentials they hold are different.

OB-GYNs are medical doctors

An OB-GYN – which is brusque for obstetrician-gynecologist – is a medical physician who specializes in women's reproductive wellness, as well equally pregnancy care and delivering babies. They're also surgically trained and tin can perform Cesarean sections (C-sections) when necessary. You lot may already visit an OB-GYN for your annual well-woman's visit.

When it comes to training and education, OB-GYNs consummate four years of medical school, a 4-yr residency program and a three-year fellowship.

Board-eligible vs. Lath-certified OB-GYNs

OB-GYNs – like other medical doctors – can also pursue certification from the American Lath of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ABOG) after they've completed their residency and gotten their license to practice. Board-certification is optional but a mark of distinction, implying that a doc has gone above and beyond the minimum standard of education in their field.

The path to certification requires passing a qualifying exam, preparing an all-encompassing case list demonstrating expertise in multiple categories, so passing a certification test. At HealthPartners, all our OB-GYNs are board-certified.

Midwives are trained and experienced health professionals

Similar OB-GYNs, many midwives tin provide a broad range of women's health services such equally annual checkups, nascence control and menopause care. But pregnancy, nascence and postpartum care is what they're most widely known for.

They piece of work closely with the rest of your health care squad (e.g. OB-GYN or family doc) to encounter your needs during your pregnancy. Many women continue to apply their midwives for care afterward their commitment, as well.

There are three levels of midwifery credentials:

  • Certified professional midwife (CPM) – Certified professional midwives are specialists who have demonstrated their noesis and skills in providing midwifery services, and been certified by the North American Registry of Midwives.
  • Certified midwife (CM) – Certified midwives are not-nurses who have earned a post-graduate degree in midwifery, and have also been certified by the American Midwifery Certification Lath.
  • Certified nurse-midwife (CNM) – Certified nurse midwives are registered nurses (RNs) who have master'southward or doctorate degrees in nursing. They have likewise received their American Midwifery Certification Board certification.

In the U.s., the vast majority of midwives accept completed graduate degrees. At HealthPartners, all of our midwives are CNMs.

OB-GYNs and midwives accept different birthing specialties

Birthing specialties are one of the most important differences between midwives and OB-GYNs. Why? Depending on your needs, sure specialized care may exist required for you and your baby'south health and safety. And depending on your preferences, you may be looking for someone who has specific experience. Here are a few examples:

  • Loftier-gamble vs. low-risk pregnancies – OB-GYNs can manage high-risk or complicated pregnancies such as women who are expecting twins or have preexisting medical atmospheric condition. Midwives, on the other hand, can manage low-take chances pregnancies and births.
  • Water births – While water births (or tub births) are condign increasingly common in hospital settings where OB-GYNs are the principal care provider, they are very mutual inside the midwifery specialty. And so, if you are leaning toward a midwife, chances are high that h2o births are amid their top specialties.
  • C-sections – Midwives tin can't perform C-sections, whether they're planned in advance or become needed to safely evangelize your infant. OB-GYNs accept the surgical training to perform scheduled, unplanned and emergency C-sections, which is one of the reasons they tin can handle loftier-hazard or complicated pregnancies.

Midwives sometimes deliver babies outside a hospital setting

OB-GYNs most ever deliver babies within a hospital-based nascence eye. But midwives can deliver babies in a few different ways:

  • Home births – When women with depression-risk pregnancies programme domicile births, midwives are the professionals who back up the labor and delivery procedure.
  • Freestanding birth centers – Freestanding birth centers are non role of a hospital and they're designed to provide a abode-like, non-medical environment for nascence. While some freestanding birth centers may have OB-GYNs on their intendance squad, midwives are usually the main care providers.
  • Hospital-based nativity center – Midwives – like our certified nurse-midwives – tin can also exist part of a larger intendance team at a hospital. A hospital setting is the safest place for giving birth. There, midwives can offer more pain management options and connect yous with other specialized care if demand be. All our midwives evangelize at hospital-based birth centers.

Ready to start your search for an OB-GYN or midwife?

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Midwife vs. OB-GYN: A side-by-side comparison

Desire to see the differences between a certified nurse-midwife and an OB-GYN at a glance? Here'southward a quick overview of OB-GYNs versus midwives:

Doula vs. midwife: Another part of the pregnancy care equation

Equally you're considering your options, midwives and doulas may come up up in your research and conversations with friends. And it's of import to know what sets them apart.

And so, what is a doula?

Doulas are trained professionals who provide physical, emotional and informational back up throughout the pregnancy, birth and postpartum experience.

What's the difference between a doula and a midwife?

While doulas are trained professionals, they're not trained health professionals like midwives. Doulas practice not deliver babies, rather they provide support through the process. Midwives (and OB-GYNs) deliver babies and are responsible for the health and well-being of their patients. At HealthPartners, we can help connect expectant mothers with doulas and welcome them in our hospitals.

What about family unit doctors? Tin they provide pregnancy care?

Yes. Family unit medicine doctors can provide intendance during pregnancy, delivery and postpartum. Just not all family doctors practice pregnancy care. And for those that do, non all have trained to perform C-sections.

So, if you already accept a family unit doctor and think you may desire to continue to run across them, check with them to see if they tin can provide you the right care.

Think a family unit doctor may be right for you pregnancy?

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Choosing between an OB-GYN and midwife for pregnancy care: What to consider

Choosing who to trust with your pregnancy care and child'south nascence is a very personal decision. Your goals, preferences, and wellness and prophylactic should all be top of mind. Here are some things to consider as yous weigh your options.

Is your pregnancy considered high run a risk?

If your pregnancy is accounted high risk or complicated, you'll work with an OB-GYN who may also coordinate care with a maternal-fetal medicine doctor, who specialize in loftier-gamble pregnancies. Remember, midwives focus but on low-take a chance pregnancies and births.

What is a high-risk pregnancy? If you lot have a preexisting medical status like diabetes or high claret pressure, you may be considered high risk. If you're expecting twins, triplets or other multiples, your pregnancy may exist considered both loftier risk and complicated.

Where do you lot want to deliver your baby?

If you lot're low gamble and are considering a home nativity or a freestanding birth center, a midwife is likely at the meridian of your list of potential care providers.

Merely the vast bulk of births happen at hospitals or their fastened nascence centers, where both OB-GYNs and midwives can deliver babies. Hospitals are always the safest place to evangelize your infant.

However, nigh OB-GYNs and midwives only evangelize at ane or two select hospitals. So, when you're choosing betwixt a midwife and OB-GYN, you may also be choosing a hospital to give nativity at.

How practice you lot want to deliver your babe?

If you're low take chances and leaning toward a water nascence or hypnobirthing, an experienced midwife is who you'll desire to look into. Merely regardless of risk, if yous think you'd be more comfy with a medical dr. providing your care, then an OB-GYN might exist the best fit.

If you want a broad range of birthing and pain management options so you can have flexibility when birth day arrives, finding a midwife or an OB-GYN who delivers at a infirmary is fundamental.

How do you want to manage pain during labor and delivery?

Whether you're planning to forgo hurting medication or y'all know you want an epidural, both midwives and OB-GYNs can provide y'all with a range of options.

That said, midwives oft specialize in natural or little-to-no pain medication births. So, make certain to ask whatsoever midwives you're considering about their feel in this area.

Your pain direction options will as well be limited if yous choose a home birth or a freestanding nascency centre. So, if there's any run a risk that you may want more options or you simply want some peace of mind, make certain you lot cull a hospital to deliver at.

What kind of squad do they work with?

The person you lot choose will likely be part of a larger team. Some teams are multi-disciplinary, meaning they work alongside a lot of different specialists. Other teams may be more than focused inside their specialty area.

It'southward important to understand what kind of squad your midwife or OB-GYN works with for a few reasons:

  • If you choose a midwife for care, you lot'll want to make sure they accept the ability to coordinate care with an OB-GYN and other specialists if complications ascend.
  • Depending on the appointment type, you lot may non come across your OB-GYN or midwife for every prenatal appointment. So, it's adept to find out who you may exist getting care from on a regular ground.
  • The midwife or OB-GYN you choose for prenatal care may or may not be the one to deliver your babe. Every clinic is different but OB-GYNs and midwives usually share infirmary on-call duties with a group of others in their field. That means "your" physician may non be on-call when baby decides to make their entrance. So, for peace of mind, it's good to know who'due south on their team.

What kind of ongoing care do yous want?

OB-GYNs and midwives can provide ongoing intendance for your reproductive health. Then, as you're looking at your options, think about whether you desire someone y'all can see for years (and maybe even pregnancies) to come. Think nearly the qualities and areas of expertise that are important to y'all, from preventive care to fertility.

What kind of coverage does your insurance program offer?

Many women wonder if at that place is a cost difference for an OB-GYN versus a midwife. But the price of delivering a baby primarily varies based on where you deliver and what type of delivery you take, non who delivers your infant.

It all depends on your health insurance plan. The one exception here may be home births. Home births are unremarkably not covered past most insurance plans.

Also, it's quite possible that not every hospital or birthing centre is included in your specific insurance plan. As well, there are different insurance coverage levels associated with C-sections and vaginal deliveries.

So, before you lot make any appointments, it'south best to bank check with your health plan to empathize your coverage. There's no such thing equally a airheaded question. Member services representatives are there to answer exactly these types of calls.

If yous accept HealthPartners insurance, you can log into your HealthPartners online account. Or, call Fellow member Services at the number on the back of your fellow member ID menu.

Set to find your pregnancy person? Nosotros can aid.

We attempt to make it equally uncomplicated every bit possible for yous to find the right specialist for your pregnancy intendance.

Through our medico match tool, yous'll reply a few unproblematic questions and we'll friction match you lot with doctors and certified nurse midwives who fit your preferences. From there you can make an appointment with the person of your option, or you can explore their private profiles and reviews to assistance you choose.

Another manner we arrive easy for you to get dandy care is by offering a range of engagement options, which includes in-person and video visits for prenatal care.

Commencement your search today

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