Oh, well, I still have to turn it in, but we have completed our current quest to interview providers. (Yes, yes, blatant WoW reference. It just seemed appropriate.)

Today was the Puget Sound Midwifery and Birth Center, in Kirkland. They are two blocks away from Evergreen Hospital, which makes it even closer than the Eastside Birth Center is to their backup hospital. They operate three birthing rooms, shared by two sets of three midwives who work as a group. We had an interview with one of the three who would be in the group that I would be with, the Lake Washington Midwives. We saw Sunita, who is also a naturopathic doctor, so I’m not sure if she should have a Dr. in front of her name or not.

The facility was easy to get to, and inviting. They had a library of books on conception, pregnancy, childbirth, and early childhood/parenting in the waiting room – and I mean something like 15 (short) shelves of books. We did the ‘interview’ in one of the birthing suites, as they tend to do their prenatal appointments there. She had a very personable style, while answering questions, and went over most of the same stuff we’d been asking, sometimes answering questions before I even got to them. They have a low transfer rate, and most of their in-labor transfers are done for maternal exhaustion. They have a very low episiotomy rate, as well. She noted that they can do sterile water injections, but her experience is that they tend to be more irritating than painful, and she has been trained in TENS and uses it on occasion, but doesn’t use it often. Like the other birth center, when I asked about how they tend to manage coping with pain there, she pointed towards the tub (and they do birth in the tub as well). (Yes, “how do you, a birth center, manage pain and discomfort in labor” is a totally leading question trying to get at the mindset they have during the process, but that’s kind of the point of the interview.)

She was the first person who asked us, after she answered all of our questions, to tell her a little about ourselves. And she had a good hearty laugh (along with appropriate sarcastic response!) to Jason’s “Well, we tend to be pretty analytical people.” She even helped answer the “why are hospitals so anti-water birth”; her opinion being that it has a lot to do with provider convenience, since tub births are a little hard on them (hard tub sides and all) and there isn’t much in the way of visual access during one.

At the end of our visit, she showed us a little tour of the place. One of the birthing rooms was in use for a labor, and the other one was in use for an appointment, but the other provider (and patient) was fine with us checking in. Turned out to work perfectly, as the other midwife in the room was one of the other people on the team that I would see. And when we walked out into the hallway, I got to meet the third (who immediately said “wow, you look familiar” after I introduced myself). They all seemed quite friendly, and warm.

Really, that’s the impression I got from the whole place – a warm, inclusive welcome. Very homey, if not entirely in decoration (there’s only so much you can do with that who “homey hotely” setting), then very much in spirit.

This leaves me torn. I understand the “Oh! We have to be in a hospital because something could go horribly wrong and it’ll be awful if we’re not at a hospital” emotional reaction, but I also know that it is a primarily culturally ingrained irrational fear. There are certainly benefits to be had being in a hospital! But there are risks from every intervention, which is also closer at hand, and more likely to be used, in a hospital, not to mention just being able to be really comfortable and trusting of EVERYONE in the room.

I’m going to be sleeping on it, but I definitely have a preference in mind. 🙂