When you have already found out that you are pregnant, you may need to come to a decision as to where and who would take care of you and your child throughout the pregnancy.

In Bulgaria, the choice is down to two possibilities: an obstetrician-gynaecologist associated with the national insurance system or a private practice. 

Since the beginning of last year, there is one more possibility that has come to light at Saint Lazar Hospital – the follow-up of a normal pregnancy with a midwife at the newly founded Midwife Unit “La Vita Nova” at Saint Lazar Hospital. 

The midwife consultation is a new possibility with an custom approach in the follow-up of a normally developing pregnancy. Apart from the routine check-ups and examinations, you can also discuss and work through other aspects of your life connected to your pregnancy. 

At the Midwife Unit, the duration of a consultation is approximately 40-60 minutes. The midwife will get to know your health status in detail, as well as your way of life, your meal habits, sports, favourite hobbies. She is able to you five you the special time and attention for all of your worries that accompany your pregnancy, as well as your complaints and fears. She will be able to help you make a choice about the place and how you want your birth to proceed, as well as the post-natal care of your child. You will be able to discuss you birth plan, place, and ways. 

The midwife is a qualified specialist, who is will acquainted with normally developing pregnancies and is able to discern a normal pregnancy from a pathological one. 

In cases of complications during the pregnancy she can direct you to an obstetrician-gynaecologist. All specialized examinations, such as Ultrasound scans, foetal morphology, and genetic testing are performed by a specialized obstetrician-gynaecologist. 

The possibilities for a midwife consultation at the Midwife Unit at the Saint Lazar Hospital are several:

• You can choose a full package for a pregnancy follow-up that includes 12 visits. These visits include blood tests, urine test, blood pressure measurement, weight measurement, diet planning, foetal heart monitoring, and preparing a custom birth plan. In this manner, you are able to get to know your midwife and build the needed trust, so that your pregnancy can go smoothly and the birth – safe. The birth can take place at a private birth hall, where you will be accompanied throughout your birth by your midwife. You can receive care and support when it comes to your wishes, view, and feelings.
• Separate visits that include follow-ups of the specific pregnancy markers that correspond each lunar month. You can discuss a personal birth plan and choose where, with whom and how to give birth.
• Visits in the last month of your pregnancy with check-ups of the foetal heart monitor. If your conditions correspond to the possibilities that the private birth hall offers for a natural birth, we are able to prepare your custom birth plan with the midwife, who will be with your throughout the whole process, as well as after your birth, helping you with the care for the baby. 

Very often the choice as to where you should give birth is well-discussed with you and your partners and the practice at a certain hospital, and depends on the work-place of the doctor, which you trust. In those cases, the main role in the birth process is the doctor’s work.

However, at the Midwife Unit, the leading role is you. The midwife is with you throughout the whole process, as the support you will receive is emotional comfort, a quiet atmosphere during your birth and a place where you are safe, heard and understood. She is able to make you feel special and is confident in the capabilities of your body, which will bring about a natural birth with only positivity and happiness.