Essential Questions to Ask At Your Midwife Interview

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Affiliate, I can earn a commission off of products at no additional cost to you. You can read my full disclosure here.

Congratulations! You’re expecting a new baby! There’s so many things to plan and do now. Although nine months seems like a long time away, there’s a lot of to-dos that need to happen before your little one’s arrival. One of the biggest decisions to make is where to have your baby and who to help you deliver. Recently, I wrote a post about having a baby with a midwife. In order to make the best informed decision, you’ll want to ask some questions at your midwife interview.

If you’ve reached the decision to hire a midwife, your next biggest decision is who exactly you’ll want to use. In some instances, this may be an easy decision. Perhaps the midwife who delivered you is still in practice and you’ve known her for years.

It could be, though, that you’ve relocated to the area or choosing a midwife is completely new to you and you need some help deciding who to hire for the job. Coming up with midwife interview questions is overwhelming, especially if this is a brand new ballgame for you.

Additional Things To Keep in Mind

Before your actual interview, there’s a few steps you can take to make sure you’re experience at the interview is a positive one.

1. Bring the Dad Along

To start with, make sure your S.O. is with you at the interview. In my situation, with Bert’s job there were several appointments for the baby that he just simply wasn’t going to be able to make. He was gone for longer periods of time and it just wasn’t going to be feasible for him to take off for each appointment we had.

I made sure he was at my first one, though. He’s a part of the interview process as well and you want to make sure he and midwife meet at the start. Also, it’s a whole lot easier to discuss the interview afterwards, rather than repeat everything that was said with the hopes that your pregnancy brain doesn’t forget some details.

2. Leave the Kiddos at Home

If you have other children, try your best to find a babysitter for them for the midwife interview. I loved including my boys in on as many appointments as possible because it gave them a tiny bit of understanding on what was going on. However, at the very first appointment I wanted them at a sitter to alleviate as many distractions as I could.

3. How’s Her Personality?

Lastly, pay attention to your midwife’s bedside manner. During your pregnancy, labor, and post partum, you want somebody who you can trust. It’s a thousand times easier to do what your midwife suggests or recommends when you’ve built a relationship on trust. This can be as simple as taking the prenatal vitamins and supplements she recommends or following her coaching during labor.

You’re also going to find yourself more comfortable asking questions and reaching out to her throughout your pregnancy is she’s got the experience and rapport you need. Basically, be aware of how your personalities mesh. You’re going to want someone you truly love and respect as your midwife.

Essential Midwife Interview Questions

This list is not exhaustive, but hopefully this provides you with enough information to make the best decision for your care.

Payment Questions

You’re going to want to be up front and direct about how the fees work. Here are some questions to keep in mind:

• Do you have a global fee or bill sheet?
• Are there any *hidden* bills
• Do you bill your labs separate?
• Is any portion of the midwife cost refundable if I have to move my care to an OB?

General Questions

These questions are designed to better understand your midwife’s protocols, preferences and procedures.

• What is the best way to contact you with questions or concerns during pregnancy?
• If you are unable to be at my birth for any reason, who will attend in your place?
• What happens if myself and another client are in labor at the same time?
• Do you have rules about how many people can attend the birth?
• How long will you stay with me/my baby after the birth? What is your follow up protocol? How many visits after birth do you make, and where do those visits take place?
• Do you have a post partum care plan? What are your suggestions?
• How frequent will my appointments be?
• What tests/screenings do you do?
• Will you work with me on my health/levels if my blood work comes back with low levels?
• Do you offer alternative gestational diabetes testing?
• Do you do Group B Strep testing? What is your protocol if I test positive?
• Do you recommend the Vitamin K?
• Do you do water births?
• Do you do VBAC?
• What is your transfer rate?
• How far along do I have to be to be considered safe for a home birth?
• At what point do your patients become too high risk to work with?
• Would you be able to deliver in a hospital if transfer were to occur?
• Do you offer breastfeeding support?
• Do you offer antenatal classes?
• How do you handle a breech baby?
• What are your views on cord clamping?
• Do you perform episiotomies?
• Do you do membrane sweeps?
• Would you ever break my water?
• What are your views on circumcision?
• What happens if I go past my due date?
• What are your views on chiropractic care?
• What are your views on vaccines while pregnant and for newborns?
• Do you require newborn screen/heel prick?

My Pregnancy Related Questions

• What is your opinion on weight gain during pregnancy?
• Are there any activities I should avoid during pregnancy?
• Do you have prenatal nutrition opinions? What foods I should avoid and what I should eat?
• Do you have a certain prenatal supplement you recommend?
• How many ultrasounds will I need to have?
• What items will I need to purchase myself for my home?
• Do I need a doula?
• Do you use herbal remedies/tinctures for birth and/or post partum?

In Conclusion

Again, this list of midwife interview questions is not all-exhaustive. Hopefully what these questions do is guide you through a conversation between you, your S.O., and midwife about everything you need to prepare yourself for the rest of your pregnancy, labor and delivery, and post partum care!