Oof. A dilemma.

I really didn't see this coming.

I got a call from the Birthcare center near us - when I say near, I mean 1 mile away. I called them originally in August about getting into the midwife practice for Butterbean's pre-natal care and birth. They only take 25 births per month, and I was number nine on the waiting list. So I was completely unprepared for them to call me yesterday and offer me a spot in their practice.

I like our current midwives, but it's not like I have some deep spiritual connection with them. I feel a little bit flaky for considering the move, but Birthcare is so much more convenient. First, it's super close to us. No worries about a 45 minute drive to the birthing center. I could walk there if I really wanted. (But that option is not on the table right now.) And, as an even bigger bonus, our insurance accepts them as a care provider! Our current midwives don't qualify because they are "certified professional midwives" rather than "certified nurse midwives". The midwives at Birthcare are CNMs.

While they've never pushed it on us, I have also been vaguely uncomfortable with our current midwives religious affiliations. There seems to be a big focus on "God's plan" on their website, and while I think that they are entitled to their own beliefs, I don't share them. In fact, not only do they seem to be fairly religious, their practice seems heavily weighted with fairly religious people. I can name four people off the top of my head at that practice that have more than eight children, for example. That's pretty rare outside certain religious ideologies. Having said that, however, I think it might also be a sampling bias. Certain religious groups prefer to labor and deliver with midwives, for a variety of reasons, so it's not necessarily that the practice as a whole is religiously oriented.

It's entirely possible that I am trying to justify changing providers and using unfair criteria. Our current midwives have been nothing but kind and caring, and haven't made us feel uncomfortable in any way. Well, other than a brief (and entirely incorrect) lecture about nutrition. But having just gone through an ugly incident of alienation with my OB, I am a little gun shy about changing. But that kind of makes me mad, too. Why should I be afraid to change to something that's easier and more convenient for me and my family?!

We went to an open house at the Birthcare center last night, too. They gave us until Friday to decide about changing, and I wanted to tour and meet at least one of the midwives before we decided. We kind of lucked out that they happened to have an open house. We've been to the center before - our Bradley Method birthing classes are held there - but we've never met the midwives or seen the offices and birthing rooms. The birthing rooms are small, and there are only two of them. The NOVA birthing center that our current midwives just opened is much bigger and nicer. The midwife we met last night was knowledgeable, patient, friendly and open. I don't know if I've ever met a midwife I didn't like, come to think of it. We really liked her, so she was kind of the icing on the cake. One of the best things about the new place is, in the event of a catastrophic snowstorm, they can actually come to me! She had no qualms about traveling to us if we got snowed in, and made a point to tell us that they would do whatever we felt comfortable with - come to us, meet us at the hospital, whatever. Our current midwives kind of made me feel like I was on my own in the event of a snowstorm.

So, after careful consideration, we're changing. It just makes sense logistically and financially, and I feel much more comfortable with my options in case of emergency. Now comes the hard part... "Breaking up" with my current midwives.