Tip #2: Finding a midwife

Like everything else in life, referrals are the best way to find a midwife. But with less than 1% of births taking place at home, the chances of you knowing another home birther are, well, 1 in 100. This doesn’t bode well for referrals.

So here are some places to start:

•  The Web.  The Midwives Alliance of North America (MANA) has a search function to locate midwives in your area (go to www.mothersnaturally.org). But the list that comes back is crude, and you can't tell which midwives practice homebirth. On the plus side, this list includes direct-entry midwives and certified nurse-midwives.  The American College of Nurse-Midwives has a similar search function at www.midwife.org and you can filter by midwives who practice homebirth. On the downside, this list only includes CNMs, so if you're looking for a direct-entry midwife, you'll need to press on.  Try both of these sites to get an initial list going.
• Natural birth advocates. Reach out to HypnoBirthing instructors, Bradley Method practitioners, prenatal yoga teachers, and doulas.  These folks are well tapped into the homebirth network and will be happy to throw some names at you.
• Parent groups.  Seek out a breastfeeding support group or a store that caters to alternative-minded parenting (think baby wraps and co-sleepers) or find an online group dedicated to home birth and midwifery. Ask for some recommendations.
• Ob/gyns. Okay, I realize this seems counterintuitive. But if you ask your ob/gyn for a midwife referral, he or she may be willing to indulge you. At the very least, you may learn which midwives don’t have great reputations in the medical community because of poor care or high transfer rates. 

After awhile, you'll start to hear the same names over and over again. Once you have an initial list of midwife names, it's time to make some calls and set up some interviews. Stay tuned for advice on how to choose your midwife...