Why choose care with a home birth midwife?

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(click the colored text to be directed to supporting research)

Home births attended by Certified Professional Midwives are safe for low risk women

and have lower rates of interventions than births which occur in a hospital setting. The evidence on

has recently been analyzed by Rebecca Decker with Evidence Based Birth. Her discussion is a great

starting place to learn about midwifery care.

You deserve to be treated with respect and have plenty of time with your care provider to

talk and be able to ask questions and have them answered. We believe every woman

wants a healthy baby and seeks her best possible pregnancy outcome, therefore we

seek to support and empower you in this. When pregnant women and their families are

treated with respect, stress levels go down and this reduces and even eliminates the risk

of having a baby preterm.

Using midwives can save you money because they cost less and have lower rates of

cesareans. One study showed that using a home birth midwife saved money in health

care costs over the first month postpartum.

Midwives support:

• Eating and drinking in labor which leads to shorter labors

• Intermittent monitoring during labor as the best standard of care for low risk women

• Giving birth in the position of your choice

• Delayed cord clamping (we’ve been doing this way before it was even cool). If the baby needs some help to breathe, we keep the cord intact during neonatal resuscitation because this is the time when the baby needs the extra oxygenated blood the most. Up to a third of the baby’s blood volume is in the placenta after they are born. This benefits the infant for years to come.

  
  

Midwives create the best environment for skin-to-skin contact in the first hours after birth. Why does this matter?

• Skin-to-skin contact immediately after birth results in higher rates of breastfeeding

• Skin-to-skin contact immediately after the birth stabilizes the baby’s heart rate, respiratory rate, temperature, and transition score.

• Skin-to-skin contact in the first eight weeks of life develops the baby’s amygdala, which is the emotional control center of the brain.

• Skin to skin contact after birth facilitates oxytocin and maternal bonding. Oxytocin is the hormone needed for uterine contractions and for the prevention of too much bleeding after birth

• Skin to skin contact after birth is associated with 64 different positive outcomes

• Skin-to-skin contact is for fathers and other family members also!

Use of synthetic oxytocin (pitocin) during labor increases maternal postpartum mood

disorders (depression and anxiety)

Laboring in water is an excellent way to reduce pain in first stage of labor, even

shortening it. There is no evidence of harm to mother or baby with waterbirth.

Midwives are well-versed in alternatives to medical analgesia, and support unmedicated births.

• Epidural anesthesia increases interventions, including cesarean section, and can lead to

decreased breastfeeding ability in newborns.

• Newborns have epidural anesthesia in their system for up to 30 days after birth

Midwives work collaboratively with physicians and help to facilitate a smooth and safe

transport to a higher level of care, should mothers develop health complications making

them no longer a good candidate for a home birth. We use online medical records so we

can fax records right away in the event of a transfer.

Midwives provide you with plenty of in-home and office postpartum visits and support.

We know the immediate postpartum period is the time when you need support the most!

Midwives provide home visits in the first week of life, followed by office visits.

Midwives provide you with:

• Informed decision-making about all aspects of your maternity care

• Information about benefits and risks of Vitamin K

• Evidence about Group B Strep testing, treatment options, and risks of infection. Is it worth it to give antibiotics routinely to group b strep positive women in labor?

• Circumcision information, including history, risks and benefits

• Direct support in-home and in-office for breastfeeding concerns as well as resources for breastfeeding information and local breastfeeding support groups

• Evidence about safe bedsharing

• Counseling about eating in a way to help support a healthy pregnancy, customized to the client’s needs, which can look like anything from a low-carb diet to a vegan diet

• How to safely use aromatherapy or herbs to support you in pregnancy

• The evidence on inducing at term if your water breaks before you go into labor

• ...And so much more!