Services:
Pre-natal Care
Good prenatal care is crucial to a great birth outcome. The physical well
being of the mother to be as well as that of the baby needs to be
monitored on a continuous basis throughout pregnancy. In addition to
the physical, prenatal visits allow time for the midwife and family to
discuss and monitor all of the aspects of pregnancy, emotional,
relationships, educational, as well as develop a friendship and closeness
to each other.
Midwife Services
We only experience pregnancy and the birth of our children a few times
in our lives. Using a midwife for a home birth lends itself to a higher
level of personal care. I do not take on a huge client base, this allows me
to offer time with each client, and offers you easy accessibility to your
midwife.
Water Births
I have found through my years as a home birth midwife, that laboring
and birthing in water is not only a gentle beginning for your baby, but
also a soothing way to spend your labor. I have available for use by my
clients an out door pool to labor and give birth in during the warmer
months. You can rent a birth pool through a number of companies I can
put you in touch with, for the colder months.
At-Home Births
I would like to quote Mayer Eisenstein MD, from his book The Home
Birth Advantage, pages 45-46, titled: CAN HOSPITALS BE SAFE FOR
BIRTH?
“If I could change the hospital and somehow make it as safe as home for
laboring woman, would I do it? I’d argue, “No.” There is something
about just walking into a hospital that changes the dynamics of labor.
Under any circumstances labor time is doubled in the hospital. If you put
any woman in the hospital, her labor will slow down or stop because her
hormonal balance has changed. Her energies have to go into dealing
with her surroundings, not into the birth
When the mother has been in labor for a reasonable amount of time at
the hospital, the doctors want to interfere with the course of things.
However, they themselves have changed normal labor into abnormal
labor by prolonging it in this strange environment. The reasonable
amount of labor didn’t deliver the baby so now they feel they must
intervene to get the baby out.
Many interventions such as drugs, intravenous fluids, electronic
monitoring and forceps come in the hours of labor that wouldn’t have
existed at home. Hospitals that allow you to labor naturally for the first
ten hours won’t allow you to labor naturally for the next ten hours. At
home these next ten hours are spent getting to know the already
delivered baby, not trying to push the baby out. In other words,
hospitals create problems of delivery and then obstetricians have to try to
solve them.
Home births occur before the miserable second half of hospital labor has
a chance to start. Home births occur before problems happen. If woman
knew that most of them could have half as much labor and no
complications, they would all choose home birth!
Prior to this century, birth always took place in the comfort of home with
close friends and family surrounding the mother. Giving birth requires
privacy and intimacy, as does the sexuality between man and woman.
Birth is a very sexual and personal experience. A warm and intimate
environment allows us to function as we were intended to. It is really
very basic instinct that we have lost touch with in the United States.”
Assisted Birth
Home birth with a midwife is not only different because you are at home.
The care and comfort from a midwife is unequalled. There is no shift
change of care givers, you have met and know each one at your birth.
You are never left alone, unless that is what you want. I have the
philosophy that it is your birth, I don’t manage labor, I assist the family
in the labor process. I am open to many, many birth positions, what ever
feels right to the laboring woman at the time. My goal is to help the
woman to experience birth in her way, while making suggestions to her
along the way
Access to ultrasound through local Physician
If the need arises for an ultrasound, or some families want to know the
sex of the baby, I have access to an ultrasound machine at a local
physician’s office.
Physician back-up
In order to abide by Tennessee law and maintain my license. All women
in my care will be seen at a physician’s office at some point in their
pregnancy. This visit is to file an emergency plan with such physician.
Also at that visit we will have the prenatal profile (blood work) drawn,
and the necessary prescriptions for the birth written. I have available a
physician that provides all of afore mentioned tasks. His office is close to
mine. I usually schedule his visit at the time that a prenatal is scheduled,
so we can do both on the same day. The visit with the doctor including
the intake, lab and scripts takes about 35 minutes
Post partum care
I feel that woman in our country that has a hospital birth do not get near
enough after care. I will stay with the new family after the birth for 3-4
hours, depending on what they want. I never leave a new family unless
everyone feels comfortable with my going. I return for a postpartum
home visit on day one. I also see the new family on day 7 and day 14 at
my office.
I am always available by phone if I am needed.
