Homebirth Midwife Interview Questions

Transcription

1 Homebirth Midwife Interview Questions Interview date and time: Midwife s name: Name of practice: Training/Experience/Qualifications: How long have you been in practice and in what settings (hospital, birthing center, homebirth)? What training and education have you had? Are you certified with any midwifery organizations? Are you licensed by the state? Are you certified in basic life support and neonatal resuscitation? Do you have former clients or community members that can provide a reference? How many births have you attended? How many births do you attend on average yearly? Have you had any losses (baby or birthing parent) in the past year? Why and what happened? Do you have a limit on how many clients you will accept that are due in the same month? Do you regularly attend midwifery conferences, seminars, and workshops to further your education? What experience do you have working with non-traditional families, such as queer or single parents? I am an abuse survivor, which may affect my experience. Do you have training in counseling or other trauma-healing work? My partner has xyz fears or doubts about homebirth. How have you dealt with this in the past? Philosophy/Model of Care: What is your basic philosophy about pregnancy, birth, and nursing? How do you see your role at my baby's birth? Do you encourage family participation at visits and during the birth? What do you expect of your clients regarding self-care and decision making during pregnancy and birth?

2 Prenatal Care: Where do prenatal visits happen in my home or in your office? What are your goals for prenatal care? What is the schedule/overview of prenatal visits? How long are prenatal visits and what is covered during each visit? Do you have/use a fetoscope? Do you have/use a doppler? Do you require ultrasounds and/or vaginal exams? What prenatal tests do you routinely recommend? What if I have a concern about a specific test? What nutritional counseling do you provide? What do you recommend to prepare our older child(ren) for the birth? Do you offer or recommend childbirth preparation classes? Will you help me develop a birth plan or review with me one that I've written? Transfer of Care: During pregnancy, what conditions would require me to transfer to the care of a doctor? During or after the birth, what situations would require me to transfer to a hospital? What are your policies for handling higher risk situations, such as twins or breech? If transfer becomes necessary, what is the back-up hospital and who are the back-up physicians? Can I arrange to tour the hospital and meet the physicians? Do you have hospital admitting privileges? If not, would you be able to remain active in my care if I need to transfer to a hospital? What is your rate of transfer during labor? What is the most common reason for transfer? What percentage of laboring people who transfer have cesarean births? Could you give me some examples of emergencies that might arise during labor and birth and how you would handle them? Under what circumstances would my baby need to be transferred to a hospital? Which hospital would it be? What is the procedure for newborn transfer?

3 Labor/Birth Care: Do you have a specific policy or time limit if I go past my due date? At what point would you suggest/ recommend an induction? What natural labor stimulation measures might you suggest? Are you comfortable working with doulas if I decide to hire one? When do you come to my house when I m in labor? Will you stay with me during early labor? What standard and emergency equipment do you carry? What herbs or medicine do you use? What supplies do you bring to the birth and what supplies will I need to purchase myself? How do you monitor the baby s well-being during labor? What is your policy concerning vaginal checks during labor? What if I don t want any? Are you familiar with other ways of assessing for dilation? How would you recommend that I prepare for managing labor pain? What comfort measures do you suggest during labor to help me deal with labor pain? What methods of labor augmentation do you typically recommend when labor is slow or has stalled? What positions do you recommend during active labor and pushing? Do you practice/support physiologic or directed pushing? What are your feelings about waterbirth? Do you have a tub or know where I can buy/rent one? What if I or my partner want to catch the baby ourselves? Are you okay with that? Do you perform episiotomies? Do you sew up tears? Can I have my baby placed immediately skin-to-skin with me after birth? What is your policy regarding management of the third stage? What is your policy regarding delayed cord clamping? Do you offer VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) at home? If yes: What's your success rate with VBAC (60-80% is the norm)? Postpartum/Newborn Care: What newborn care is routinely provided or offered if my baby is healthy?

4 What breastfeeding resources are available? Do you have special expertise in this area? Do you have special expertise in this area or work in collaboration with lactation consultants? I want to eat/encapsulate/bury my placenta. How can you help me with any of these? What immediate postpartum care do you provide right after birth? How long do you stay at my home after birth? What follow-up care and support do you provide in the first few days after birth? Do you provide information or give breastfeeding or emotional support over the telephone? When and how often will I see you for postpartum care? Do you work with or recommend a particular pediatric provider? Communication/Availability: What is your communication system like? Do you prefer phone, text, or ? What is your availability for routine questions between prenatal visits? How can I reach you in an emergency? Have you ever missed a birth? If so, what were the circumstances? Professional/Community Relationships: Do you work alone or in a practice? If you're solo, who covers for you when you're not available? What back-up arrangements do you have if you are not available to attend my birth? Will I be able to meet them? If there are other midwives in the practice, will I get a chance to meet them before the birth? Will they handle my care as you would? (Do you share the same philosophy and style of practice?) What is the training, experience, and qualifications of the other midwives? What is your assistant s role at the birth? What is their training, experience, and qualifications? Cost: What is the fee for a homebirth? What is included in that fee? Are there any possible extra costs that I should know about? How do you want the fee to be paid?

5 Is there a separate fee for the assistant? Do you participate with my insurance plan? How often do your clients succeed in having their health insurance provider reimburse them? (You should also check with your insurer to confirm coverage.) Who handles insurance claim submission? Us or you? Is there an additional fee for this? What if I have to transfer to a doctor during the pregnancy or birth? Will the doctor/hospital fees be covered by insurance? Is your fee competitive with what other homebirth midwives in this community are charging? Do you accept alternate payment arrangements, such as a sliding scale or extended payment plan? Miscellaneous Who handles the application for the birth certificate/social security card? Us or you? Do you have recommendations for doulas, childbirth/vbac classes, placenta encapsulation, pain management techniques, pediatric providers, etc.? Are you connected to a birth/parenting community I could get to know? If we decide to hire you, what are our next steps? Questions to Consider After a Homebirth Midwife Interview Do I like this midwife? Is this midwife s philosophy of pregnancy and birth compatible with mine? Do I feel comfortable in this midwife s presence? Can I be honest with this midwife? Will this midwife be honest with me? Can I trust this midwife, and yet feel free to make my own decisions? Do I feel comfortable having this midwife in my home/at my birth? What does my overall intuition say? Other notes/observations: