Hi
Firstly, congratulations on your pregnancy! It is indeed a wonderful time in a woman's life and pregnancy, labor and becoming a mum are all huge, life changing experiences. Good on you for wanting to think through your birthing options at this stage. Women who take control, inform themselves of their options, ask questions and do the preparation have consistently been shown to have more positive birthing experiences and better outcomes both for themselves and for the baby.
You are so right to question who will be there at your labor because that will profoundly affect the type of labor and the experience you have. I am from the UK but came over here three years ago after which i shortly became pregnant for the first time. Being in a strange country I had to start from scratch in terms of finding providers and working out your system. I am also a Clinical Psychologist who has specialized in physical health so i know the importance of getting these choices right. Did you know that the USA is one of the only countries in the western world who uses ob/gyns to deliver babies? Did you also know that ob/gyns are predominately trained to be surgeons and are not trained in the 'art; of delivering babies. In fact very few ob/gyns ever get to observe a natural labor, (i.e. one that is not induced, not hurried according to a hospital scheduled and not restricted by keeping a woman lying on a bed unable to move and unable to eat or drink)? In virtually every other developed country we use midwifes who are trained in the art of supporting a woman's body to do what it knows how to do. I would like to challenge you on birthing being a life-threatening situation. It rarely, rarely is. Interestingly, the USA who uses ob/gyns (you would think the safest option) to deliver 99% of babies has one of the the highest infant and mother mortality rate in the western world ( i think only second to Cuba?).
I had my daughter with an independent midwife practice (A Womans Place) at a birthing centre in a hospital. I can honestly say it was the most incredible day of my life. I had a small team - my amazing husband, my wonderful midwife and an incredible doula (Tanya McHale - did you know that the research shows that having another supportive woman with you who is experienced in labor can shorten your labor and make it a more positive experience for you). I was encouraged to eat, drink, move around, get in and out of a hot bath and do it all in my own time. How any woman can birth without these basic things is beyond me - labor is a physical marathon and to not be able to eat and drink would have been tantamount to torture...and physically impossible...no wonder ob/gyns have to resort to drugs, cutting, suctioning or c-sections. I gave birth without any intervention, needed no stitches and two weeks after the labor, it was as if i had never given birth. This is not uncommon amongst my group of friends back in the UK but seems to be unusual for women i have met here.
If you are interested in learning more about this (and I appreciate it goes against USA cultural norms, beliefs and service provision - it's a big ask to get anyone to think outside of the box they are used to) I found the following very useful in beginning to understand the choices available to pregnant women:
Ricki Lake's documentary The Business of Being Born - watch the trailer at the website (you can rent it from netflix)
http://www.thebusinessofbeingborn.com/
Ricki Lake's book 'Your Best Birth"
http://www.mybestbirth.com/
Ina-May Gaskin's book Guide to childbirth - if a pregnant woman was to do only one thing to prepare for her labor it should be to read this book. The first half of the book is just beautiful, gentle, positive birthing stories that help you to remove the cultural bias we have been indoctrinated with that birth is all about panic, rushing to hospital, beeping monitors and PAIN!!! It also covers the mind/body aspects of labor - that just like every other mammal, we need privacy, peace and quiet and time in order for our bodies to labor efficiently, for the hormone pathways to work optimally. Strangers, bright lights, being required to fill out a million forms (?!), fear etc all switch off your birthing hormones (hence the almost ubiquitous need for pitocin in the USA).
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss?url=search-alias%3Daps&...
The documentary Pregnant in America, also available on Netflix.
http://www.pregnantinamerica.com/newsite/trailer/youtube/
It is quite a journey to go on - to get your head round all of this - but for me, one so worth it. I don't think you can put a price on having the birth day of your baby being the most incredible experience. It is so wonderful for my husband and i to be able to look back at the day our daughter was born as the most magical day of our lives. It also meant that she had a gentle beginning to her life and neither of us had to cope with getting over any hangovers from medication or recovering from head wounds due to ventouse/forcep delivery, or even having six weeks without being able to hold her easily due to recovering from a c-section - you just hit the ground running so to speak!
And yes, to finally answer your question, one provider you know well is preferable. There is no place for a stranger or even a practitioner you do not like and trust at a normal birth - that alone can switch off birthing hormones and switch on our animalistic 'flight or fight' hormones.....
I wish you all the very best with whatever choices you make. There are more conservative and sensitive ob/gyns out there if you decide to continue on that path - just make sure you ask the right questions and know your rights - Ricki Lake's book is fabulous for this.