Homebirth

“Birth is not only about making babies.  Birth is about making mothers – strong, competent, capable mothers who trust themselves and know their inner strength.” –Barbara Katz Rothman, Phd

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During Pregnancy

Our midwives offer care on a similar schedule to hospital-based providers but for more time at each visit, allowing outstanding care you can not recreate any other way. For the first part of your routine prenatal you’ll share whats important to you right now. Often that is some of the normal pregnancy needs every woman has. We will also cover our extensive list of teaching guidelines. Cheryl’s years with hundreds of families has helped hone the list to include issues both social and medical. We will talk about your individual needs for each item and create a shared care plan to serve you best. This can include lab testing and ultrasounds as you choose. Then the fun part! Listening to the sound of your baby’s heartbeat never loses its shimmer. We also monitor your blood pressure, fundal height, and baby’s presentation and lie. Once your due time arrives we will come to your home to talk about how to best prepare your home. We like to look through your birth supplies and discuss the best areas to plan to use for the birth to allow emergency workers access on the rare occasion it is required.

During Labor

Our team of midwives, paired with midwives-in-training, make birthing at home both comfortable and safe. During labor we tailor our support to your needs as often as we can while monitoring you and your baby to ensure you remain low risk. There is no singular answer for how we support you during your labor because each woman has different needs. However, we continue to listen to fetal heart tones, assess blood loss, monitor blood pressure and temperature, and prepare for birth while matching that information to the standards that give us the best outline for keeping your family safe. If we identify an issue and have time, we will transfer care to the appropriate hospital for your birth; in some instances we will recommend certain hospitals we know to give outstanding care. If the transfer is emergent we will transfer to the closest hospital, even using an ambulance if needed. When we need help, we will always choose the manner and time frame that allows the hospital receiving us to have the most options for your care left as possible. For most families we will never see a concern but we keep a watchful eye none the less. Compassionate kind care combined with wise shared decision making is what sets us apart.

After Birth

Postpartum is where home care really is exceptional. In the immediate minutes after your birth, base is to be a guardian without disrupting your golden hour. The opportunity for bonding is crucial to every aspect of the postpartum experience. Immediate skin to skin and delayed cord clamping are the norm. We are there to help in the rare event that your baby is struggling to breathe or your bleeding is heavier than expected. Before we leave we are there to help as your baby latches for the first time and you find your feet again. Our team and your supporters will tend to the birth trash and gather the laundry with instructions on stain removal if needed. During this time you will be getting to know your new baby, introducing siblings, getting first photos, and eating a nourishing meal. We do our best to balance distance to allow those experiences while gathering the information we need to ensure you and your new baby are both recovering well.

In the following days we often call to check in as needed and come for a home visit for an exam of you both. Breastfeeding support is crucial in the first weeks to give your baby the best start. We bring in help if needed sooner rather than later to get you off to a good start. We offer the newborn screening test, the CCHD testing, hearing screening. Our job is to know what is normal. If you or your baby step beyond our scope of normal-centered care, we will educate you about what we see and work with you to reach out for the level of help that is needed.

Having given birth ourselves, we know how important the next coming weeks are. It is usual for a mother and newborn to have have 3 more visits in our office. However, we will add more if that is what is best for you. Our commitment to a solid start to your baby moon is a standard in our practice.

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