provwife: magdalina.h: If I remember correctly, a lot of midwives don't do an early u/s.
Oh really? I have never heard that. Is there any particular reason?
You may want to read up on the differences between the OB style of care and the midwifery style of care. They are very different and if you don't understand why midwifes don't do u/s as often, you don't seem very educated on this subject and may quickly find that the midwifery style of care is not what you are wanting.
There are lots of different types of midwifes, so it really does depend on whether your midwife practices in a hospital under an OB or as a separate practice, but in general midwifes tend to be more "hands off" with their care. You talk a lot, but they don't touch you a lot. I'm 11 weeks and have had one midwife appointment that lasted an hour and a half. Besides shaking my hand the midwife did not touch me. We just talked about my diet, feelings, thoughts, hopes, and she answered my questions. To a midwife these things are important when providing care. My midwifes will not do u/s, and won't do a physical exam at each appointment. I haven't had blood tests yet (just a pee test) or any labs run for anything yet and won't until the second trimester. Midwifes tend to be a great option if you are wanting a med-free births and midwifes tend to slower to jump to suggest interventions.
OBs are a bit more hands-on. The ones I'm familiar with will do a physical exam at each appointment, they will likely do more u/s, will check the heartbeat at each appointment, and you will have access to genetic testing which you likely won't have through a midwife. You will also get labs done a lot sooner. The downside is some are very busy and they don't schedule as much time for an appointment so you won't always have as much time to talk to them about any concerns or questions you may have, although they usually leave time for this at each appointment, just not as much. They also tend to like to use modern technology in birth, like epis, monitors, etc.
Again, there are some OBs that do use some midwifery practice ideas and some midwifes who utilize OB techniques, it really depends on the individual OB/midwife and their practice. These are just general ways that midwifes and OBs differ.
ETA: This really only applies if you live in America, btw. In other countries the OB/midwife relationship is a bit different.