Here’s the list of questions that ICAN of Louisville co-leader Erin used when she was interviewing doctors and hospital-based midwives for her VBAC (birth story and Homebirth midwife interview questions coming soon). Feel free to use this as a guide when interviewing care providers, and add additional questions and points to consider in the comments section.
Remember that you are shopping around. You are doing the interview!
Consultation & Pregnancy
- Do you feel a VBAC is a safe option for women?
- Approximately how many VBACs have you attended?
- Of those patients in your practice who wanted a VBAC, how many were successful?
- What do you think my chances are of a VBAC success, given my childbirth history?
- What is your rate of cesarean sections and under what circumstances do you usually advise them?
- Who is your back-up? Is he/she VBAC friendly? Would he/she support my birth plan?
- What hospital(s) do you have privileges at? (Which would you recommend for a VBAC?) (Natural birth?)
- What book(s) would you recommend that I read?
- Are you familiar with ICAN?
- What prenatal tests/procedures do you usually require? Recommend?
- What do you think of Birth Plans/ Preferences?
- How do you usually manage a postdate pregnancy? Or a suspected Cephalopelvic Disproportion (CPD)?
- Do you have a vacation scheduled near my estimated due date?
Questions regarding Labor & Delivery
- What’s a reasonable length of time for a VBAC labor if I’m healthy and my baby appears to be healthy?
- Do you know any kind of restriction I should expect from the hospital on a VBAC? (Who do I need to have policy exceptions approved through?)
- How many people can I have with me during the labor and birth?
- How do you feel about doulas?
- What is your usual recommendation for IVs? Pitocin? Confinement to bed?
- What’s your approach if the bag of waters has broken at full term but the mothers feels no contractions?
- How often do women in your care give birth un-medicated? How many with minimal medication? In what percentage of your patients do you induce labor?
- Approximately how many of your patients have un-medicated births?
- Do you do breech deliveries?
- What would you suggest if I had another breech baby? (Before labor? During?)
- At what point do you arrive at the hospital during labor/delivery?
- What labor positions do you recommend to your patients? Do you encourage movement during labor?
- How much fetal monitoring do you routinely use during labor? Intermittent?
- Do you allow light eating/ drinking during labor? Does the hospital?
- Are you OK with No IV – but a Hep Lock?
These questions should be asked fully clothed, in an office.
This is your baby’s birth — there are no repeats, so make sure you are comfortable and on the same page with your care provider.
