Midwifery Care

❊   Meet the Midwife

Free one­ hour private midwifery consultations are provided in our Florence office for those who wish to learn about homebirth; you are welcome to make this appointment while you are trying to conceive or at any point in pregnancy. Some people come to this appointment to explore both homebirth and expert doula care for hospital birth. First trimester is ideal, but we can often accept clients transferring to or commencing home-birth care later in pregnancy. There are also occasional public offerings of our Exploring Home Birth session, offered in conjunction with another area midwifery practice.

Book your Free Midwifery Consult

❊   Midwifery Prenatal Care

We provide prenatal visits averaging an hour long. The physical check­up (blood pressure, pulse, measuring growth, and listening to baby’s heartbeat) takes about 10-­15 minutes, and the remainder of our time is spent in thoughtful discussion together. We have ample time to hear your thoughts on welcoming this child to your family, the changes which you are already experiencing, your vision of your birthing time. These relaxed conversations allow for a deep relationship of trust and understanding to evolve between midwives, birther, and family. You are welcome to bring your older child/ren to many appointments.

The typical prenatal visit schedule is every four weeks until 28 weeks; then every 2 weeks until 36 weeks; then every week until your baby’s birth. The 36 week visit is at your home; other prenatal appointments are in our Florence office.

In preparation for your birth, we encourage you to:

• Cultivate confidence and pleasure in your body
• Eat nourishing foods
• Develop awareness and conscious connection with your baby
• Involve your community and beloveds in your pregnancy
• Express yourself freely
• Move and exert your body with exercise and healthy activity
• Enhance your emotional or spiritual awareness
• Make educated, individualized choices about your birth and parenting.
• Plan for the early weeks and months of parenting this baby.

You may find all of this comes quite naturally to you; if so we are simply your admiring witnesses as you ripen in this pregnancy!

If any of this feels challenging to you, we are ready with ideas and experience to help you brainstorm solutions that are congruent with your values.

❊   Collaborative Care with Midwives and OBs

We have collaborative relationships with local hospital based Certified Nurse Midwives and OBs, who are happy to meet with our home-birth clients 1­ to 3 times in pregnancy. They bill insurance for labs and any needed or desired ultrasounds, and are available for consultation or transfer of care if anything unusual arises.

❊   Home Birth

Two midwives and an apprentice will be present at your home birth. Our calling is to use our extensive training and life experience to promote health and wholeness in the birthing family. During labor, we unobtrusively watch over the well­-being of birther and baby. We work with our clients to nurture their natural strength, courage and knowing, as they give birth with confidence and trust in their bodies.

We stay for several hours after the birth, making sure you have all you need and seeing that baby is feeding well. The midwives do a head­-to-­toe newborn exam. Laundry is started and rooms are cleaned before we head home.

❊   Midwifery Postnatal Visits

Your midwifery care continues after the birth with five postpartum visits. One or both of us will come to your home for postnatal visits at 24­- 36 hours; 3­-5 days; 7­-9 days; and two to three weeks.

In between visits, clients often reach out with questions about breastfeeding, their own body’s changes, or family adjustment. We gladly give phone support and additional in­-person visits if need be. An office visit at six weeks concludes our official course of care with you. However, we love to stay in touch with the families we’ve cared for.

We look forward to seeing you for a Family Picnic in the summer, Pride Parade, or other fun events through the year­ or your next homebirth!