How should one choose between an a nurse-midwife, an obstetrician, or a family practitioner?

How did you choose and why?

I chose according to my philosophy of birth, which is that birth is normal and natural and it is the mother who delivers the baby - not someone else.

A midwife or doctor is merely a "birth attendant," who is there to help if need be.

I prefer midwives because they treat pregnancy as a normal natural event in a woman's life - not as a "condition" requiring a lot of testing, scrutiny and medical intervention.

A midwife also provides a more relaxed delivery setting compared to the stirrups and medical equipment you see in doctors' offices and hospitals.

The more relaxed I am, the better my labor progresses.

If I ever find myself in an emergency, then I will go to a hospital. Otherwise, I stay away from them because of the high risk of infection and complications. Why would a healthy mom and baby want to deliver in the germ-infested hospital environment unless the pregnancy was high risk?

I also chose a midwife for financial reasons. My last two babies cost $3800 TOTAL for prenatal care and delivery and my insurance paid half. So we were able to pay cash for both deliveries (about $1900). Compare that to the thousands (average is $10,000) spent at a hospital!

Again, I don't mind forking over thousands for a medical emergency or high risk pregnancy....but for a natural normal birth? It make no sense!

It is completely up to the person. Some choose midwife because they can have the birth at home and naturally. I probably would have gone this route if I didn't have a high risk pregnancy. I chose an ob because I wanted a woman who specialized in OB, I wanted the very best for my babies and I felt like an OB could provide that (plus she was awesome!) Some choose an practitioner because they can care for their baby as well.....not a bad route to go, makes things simple so you don't have to interview pediatricians

i didnt want a midwife.. i wanted an obstetrician who was an md... it seems that when you see a midwife, you see the nurses or whoever you get that day.. i want the same person every time who knows what they are doing so i dont have to repeat myself

I think most people decide the above due to financial reasons. I had an Obstetrician and I was very fortunate since I didnt realize that I was high risk OB and delivered my first child 8 weeks premature. If I had not been seeing a Physician I dont think my son would be as healthy as he is now.

Well you have to think about an ob has specialized training in Obstetrics, A family practioner is good if you wanna continue seeing that doctor after you have the baby and the baby to see that doctor. He would essentially be the "family" doctor. A nurse-midwife is good but still not a doctor if something goes wrong. You going natural or for the epidural. It hurts get the epidural

I had an OB with my first pregnancy and I have a CNM for my second. I chose the OB the first time because I couldn't find a CMN in the area and since I didn't have any issues, the OB was fine, he was the one I had seen since I was 18, so I was comfortable with him. If you are looking for a more naturalist type of birth experience, you have a better chance of getting that with a midwife. A family pract. or midwife, they will have to refer you to an OB if you have a high risk pregnancy. I think a midwife/nurse-midwife have more experience in the labor process because they are the ones who are usually with you throughout the labor, and more open to allowing your labor progress naturally. The OB tends to come in during the pushing stage only, and tend to have a more medical model approach and more likely to suggest a C section.
Go with who you are most comfortable with.

Depends on the person and where you live. Are you planning on having the baby in a hospital, birthing center or at home? If you have a high risk pregnancy go with the OB. Nurse midwives are good for normal, low risk pregnancies. They can deliver in hospitals or somewhere else. You are less likely to have a c section if you are delivered by a nurse midwife. Family practitioners are good because you have the same doctor for everything and can build a good relationship with her. They can be the baby's doctor after it is born which is convenient.

I used an OB with my pregnancies. I wanted to try a nurse midwife because I didn't want to be subjected to all the routine interventions that an OB does, but there weren't any that were practicing in my area. The family practicioners I knew were great but they weren't delivering babies anymore.

I have to agree with "Veritas" on this one!

Midwives Rock!!!