If you would prefer that a midwife manage your birthing process, you can ask your OBGYN or obstetrics professional for a recommendation and/or a referral. Unless the midwife also has a medical degree higher than a registered nurse in obstetrics, you need to be aware of some things your midwife cannot legally perform. It may change your mind about having a home birth, but the important thing is that you know the limits and limitations of what a midwife can and cannot do.

A Midwife Can Cut the Cord but Cannot Do a C-Section

While cutting the umbilical cord is a simple enough procedure, it is not considered a surgical procedure. A C-section, however, is not only considered a surgical procedure, but also one that cannot be performed legally and safely in your home. If you are having a lot of trouble delivering your baby vaginally at home and the baby is in some sort of breach position, your midwife cannot cut you open and remove the baby. You will have to go to the hospital so your OBGYN can help you deliver.

A Midwife Can Administer Pain Relief Via an IV but Not an Epidural

Despite the fact that you want to deliver your baby as naturally as possible, you may change your mind if your pain is causing you to pass out with every contraction. Unfortunately, a midwife is not typically trained to administer pain medication via your spine, otherwise known as a "saddle block" or epidural. He or she can administer pain relief via an IV, and that is sometimes enough for some women. If you decide you need more pain control than what you get from the IV, you will have to go to the hospital and request that a licensed anesthesiologist give you something stronger.

You Cannot Have a Midwife and a Home Birth If You Have a High Risk Pregnancy

A high risk pregnancy diagnosed by your OBGYN is any pregnancy where you, your baby or your babies could die before delivering fully. Women with a history of embolisms (floating blood clots), aneurysms, preeclampsia, multiple babies in a single birth, placenta previa, etc., are all considered high risk pregnancies and cannot deliver at home with just a midwife. You can be at home under the care and watchful eye of a midwife up until your contractions begin, but a home birth is not an option if you have any of these conditions.