Homebirth Midwifery is a philosophy and a way of life. Midwife means “With Woman.” With Woman does not only mean that I am with a woman from active labor through postpartum at the birth. It means that I walk with a woman through the entire child bearing year. This doesn’t just mean more face time than an average Obstetrician appointment (my average prenatal appointment runs about 45 minutes to an hour), it also means lots of time spent in conversation about well being, and how to be well during pregnancy to be well during labor, birth, and post partum. The family who chooses a homebirth understands that in order to have labor and birth at home, it is THEIR responsibility to make informed choices about diet, exercise, and overall lifestyle. Women who labor and birth at home do not typically say that they were “told to do” something by their midwife, as they are active participants in the decision making process in regards to pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period.
The United States has the dubious distinction of having the highest rates of injury and death in the industrialized world, for both mothers AND babies! This is NOT because we have sicker women who are less capable of giving birth safely. In the United States' Obstetric System, we use three times as much technology as any other industrialized country, spend FOUR times as much money as any other country, and have the highest rates of injury and death to both mothers and babies. This is because we intervene so much with technology! As a homebirth midwife, I DO NOT induce or augment labor. I do not routinely rupture membranes. I do not offer chemical pain relief. Avoiding routine interventions helps to ensure that mother and baby stay safer and are able to stay at home. We have one other glaring difference, as well. In the typical Obstetric Model, a woman is told to eat whatever she wants in pregnancy and take a lab produced prenatal vitamin. When this doesn't work to keep a mother well, the surgeon will then intervene chemically or surgically. In the midwifery model of care, we keep a mother well by teaching her about diet and exercise. A woman builds a million cells a day when she is growing a baby! Her body cannot do this well unless she gives her body the proper tools to do so--protein, fat, vitamins, minerals, water, and exercise. When an expectant mother follows that protocol, there is much a much less frequent need to intervene because the body has what it needs to be well.
I will monitor your well-being during pregnancy from visit to visit with palpation/measuring of your belly, dipping your urine, taking your blood pressure, and other ways as well. I offer blood work at the beginning of pregnancy, a beta-strep test at the end of pregnancy, and any other lab work that you may need if we notice possible abnormalities that may (but most likely will not) crop up. If you prefer an ultrasound in mid-pregnancy, you will have access to ultrasound services, as well. I have a family doctor who is available for out of hospital consultation, and use a practice of midwives and OBs at a local hospital for in-hospital consultations, monitoring, or transfer of care, if necessary. Studies show that having a hospital backup to make a seamless transfer of care is one of the very important ways to insure safety when it comes to homebirth. The likelihood is that we won’t need it, but having it available is essential!
Having a homebirth in my practice means that you will not have to perfectly time when you leave the house in labor to avoid interventions. You won’t have to leave home AT ALL! This means that you will not have a car ride while in very active labor or transition. It means that you and your partner and newborn will be more comfortable in your surroundings, because they are YOUR surroundings, not that of the hospital. You will stay in your very own (much more comfortable than a hospital) bed to recover. You will not have to wait for somebody to discharge you to go home, you will not have people waking you up at odd hours for their convenience, your baby will not be taken away from you to go to the nursery. I WILL strongly encourage you to have support in your postpartum period so that you can take your Babymoon and heal from your labor and birth (which are the physical equivalent of running a back to back marathon!), and make sure that the dinner plate sized wound in your uterus caused when your placenta separated is well healed, as well. Before the baby is born we talk about ways to make that possible, which will help to keep you and your baby safe and well in your immediate post partum.
Having been a childbirth educator and a doula for several years, I have many tricks up my sleeve when it comes to dealing with the work of labor. This includes making water birth available for my clients, talking about physical, mental, and emotional preparedness during the prenatal period, and having tools like herbs, homeopathics, TENS, and sterile water papules available as well. Labor will always be hard work, but it is certainly work that we are made to do, and midwifery tricks help to make it more manageable!
Homebirth is a journey! It’s one about which I am passionate, and I hope that you are as excited as I am to walk the journey together.
The United States has the dubious distinction of having the highest rates of injury and death in the industrialized world, for both mothers AND babies! This is NOT because we have sicker women who are less capable of giving birth safely. In the United States' Obstetric System, we use three times as much technology as any other industrialized country, spend FOUR times as much money as any other country, and have the highest rates of injury and death to both mothers and babies. This is because we intervene so much with technology! As a homebirth midwife, I DO NOT induce or augment labor. I do not routinely rupture membranes. I do not offer chemical pain relief. Avoiding routine interventions helps to ensure that mother and baby stay safer and are able to stay at home. We have one other glaring difference, as well. In the typical Obstetric Model, a woman is told to eat whatever she wants in pregnancy and take a lab produced prenatal vitamin. When this doesn't work to keep a mother well, the surgeon will then intervene chemically or surgically. In the midwifery model of care, we keep a mother well by teaching her about diet and exercise. A woman builds a million cells a day when she is growing a baby! Her body cannot do this well unless she gives her body the proper tools to do so--protein, fat, vitamins, minerals, water, and exercise. When an expectant mother follows that protocol, there is much a much less frequent need to intervene because the body has what it needs to be well.
I will monitor your well-being during pregnancy from visit to visit with palpation/measuring of your belly, dipping your urine, taking your blood pressure, and other ways as well. I offer blood work at the beginning of pregnancy, a beta-strep test at the end of pregnancy, and any other lab work that you may need if we notice possible abnormalities that may (but most likely will not) crop up. If you prefer an ultrasound in mid-pregnancy, you will have access to ultrasound services, as well. I have a family doctor who is available for out of hospital consultation, and use a practice of midwives and OBs at a local hospital for in-hospital consultations, monitoring, or transfer of care, if necessary. Studies show that having a hospital backup to make a seamless transfer of care is one of the very important ways to insure safety when it comes to homebirth. The likelihood is that we won’t need it, but having it available is essential!
Having a homebirth in my practice means that you will not have to perfectly time when you leave the house in labor to avoid interventions. You won’t have to leave home AT ALL! This means that you will not have a car ride while in very active labor or transition. It means that you and your partner and newborn will be more comfortable in your surroundings, because they are YOUR surroundings, not that of the hospital. You will stay in your very own (much more comfortable than a hospital) bed to recover. You will not have to wait for somebody to discharge you to go home, you will not have people waking you up at odd hours for their convenience, your baby will not be taken away from you to go to the nursery. I WILL strongly encourage you to have support in your postpartum period so that you can take your Babymoon and heal from your labor and birth (which are the physical equivalent of running a back to back marathon!), and make sure that the dinner plate sized wound in your uterus caused when your placenta separated is well healed, as well. Before the baby is born we talk about ways to make that possible, which will help to keep you and your baby safe and well in your immediate post partum.
Having been a childbirth educator and a doula for several years, I have many tricks up my sleeve when it comes to dealing with the work of labor. This includes making water birth available for my clients, talking about physical, mental, and emotional preparedness during the prenatal period, and having tools like herbs, homeopathics, TENS, and sterile water papules available as well. Labor will always be hard work, but it is certainly work that we are made to do, and midwifery tricks help to make it more manageable!
Homebirth is a journey! It’s one about which I am passionate, and I hope that you are as excited as I am to walk the journey together.