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A midwife is a professional medical care provider who specializes in reproductive wellness care. They may provide care from preconception to prenatal visits, home or birth center birth, postpartum visits, wellness care, and more! Midwives can work in hospital or out of hospital settings, depending on their type of license and the state they work in. Licensed Midwives, Direct Entry Midwives, and Certified Professional Midwives are typically out of hospital based midwives who work under an autonomous license, meaning they do not require oversight by any physician or other provider. Certified Nurse Midwives typically work in hospital settings, and are overseen by an OB/GYN or other physician. While most types of midwives have overlap in their scope of practice and abilities, you’ll usually find there are some differences in the style and approach to birth between midwives.

A doula is a person who comes to a birth, postpartum, or other major event to serve as a support person. Unlike a midwife, a doula does NOT perform any medical tasks or assist in the birth, although they can offer physical support such as massage or counter pressure, help changing positions, and more. You might compare a doula’s role to something your mother, auntie, or friend might do for you in labor. Many doulas also offer postpartum support, which may look like cooking, cleaning, baby care, or watching other children to allow families to rest in the first few weeks after birth. I would HIGHLY recommend using a doula, especially if it’s your first time birthing out of hospital. Doulas have a wonderful “tool bag” of ideas to help a labor progress smoothly, and will usually be available for hands on support earlier in the labor process than your midwife would. I have a list of amazing doulas that I love working with, and would be happy to make introductions if you are looking for doula support!

Families pay for midwifery care in many ways, depending on their individual circumstances. I am currently able to accept cash payments, cashier’s checks, Venmo or PayPal, debit or credit cards, and HSA/FSA cards. If you have insurance, the good news is many policies do cover midwifery care! Sometimes the process of getting coverage can be tricky, since we midwives are outside of network and bill in a special way. I work with a wonderful billing company that specializes in out of hospital care, and they are fantastic at what they do! My clients with insurance pay an out of pocket cost, and are reimbursed by their insurance once billing is submitted after the birth. A verification of benefits is always available to help estimate each family’s coverage and reimbursement rate. I ask for payment in full of the out of pocket amount by 37 weeks to be available for a birth, although I am open to payment plans should there be a need for an alternate schedule. Please contact me directly with any questions about pricing, payments, or insurance!

I would never want a family to feel they must choose another form of care simply due to the price. Although quality care does incur costs, I would much rather come to an agreement that allows a family to access the care they need than profit off a birth. If you know you want care with me and the only thing stopping you is the cost, PLEASE speak with me directly about my sliding scale option. I am here to help ANY family, not just those that can afford my full cost.

One of the things I love most about home birth is that I bring to your home all of the same standard safety precautions you would expect in a birth center environment. When it comes time for your birth, I bring a few big bags which include an oxygen tank, positive pressure ventilation bag & mask for baby, anti-hemorrhagic medications, IV supplies, and the many disposable supplies typically used in a birth. Although I rarely find myself using the emergency equipment, I am so grateful to always have it with me just in case! I train regularly on birth emergencies and am prepared and ready to care for you and your baby, whether your birth is easy or difficult. Myself as well as any birth assistant I bring (usually this person is another Licensed Midwife) will always hold a current Basic Life Support/CPR as well as Neonatal Resuscitation certificate. If you are interested in obtaining CPR certification, please let me know and I can connect you with in-home training before your baby is born.

If you ask around, most people know midwives work out of hospital, and are more holistic or open to non-Western medicine and techniques. However, many people don’t know how different midwifery care looks from the very first visit! Typically, my visits with my clients are at least 60 minutes, sometimes closer to 2 hours. We spend a lot of time discussing questions or concerns, diving into diet and supplementing to prevent common pregnancy discomforts, and touching on childbirth education to feel prepared for the big day or night. While I offer all of the same standard bloodwork, genetic screening, and other labs, we will discuss all of your options in full before you decide what procedures and monitoring you would like for your pregnancy. Whether you choose to do all or none of the testing, the choice is YOURS, and I am merely here to support you.

Another great perk of midwifery care is that you know EXACTLY who will be showing up for you in labor! In a hospital setting, you will have whoever is on call that day showing up for you- which may be a doctor you have never met before. Although they will have access to your charts and information, they don’t know you! In contrast, my clients and I have usually spent at least 10-12 hours together by the time they give birth, most of which was spent discussing their wants and needs for the birth process. I am grateful to be a friendly face in the birth room, and am grateful to know my clients well enough to be able to respect the vision they have for their birth whenever possible.

In rare cases, I may be out of town, at another birth, or fall sick when a labor is happening. I make a backup plan with each client for this very reason, so you never feel left out in the cold. I have wonderful midwifery partners who can help step in for me in an emergency, just as I would do for them. Whenever possible, I always try to have my clients meet the person who would be backup for me prior to labor, so this person is also a friendly face and someone you’ve agreed is alright to attend you. I take very few vacations per year, and am extremely careful about supporting my immune system to avoid illnesses so that I can remain available for my families. However, I do have a firm boundary about not attending births or any appointments if I am ill, to avoid possibly passing an illness on to a newborn who has no immune system of their own.

Thankfully, most healthy people are great candidates for out of hospital birth. With the absence of major medical conditions, midwifery care is available for the majority of pregnancies. If during any visit we have questions or concerns about yours or your baby’s health which we cannot answer, the first step would be a consultation with a high risk provider to determine whether their care is more appropriate. Many families will pursue midwifery care alongside the other provider, to continue receiving the benefits of the longer visits and personalized care. Sometimes, we are able to return the pregnancy to “normal” and the out of hospital birth plan can still be honored! In other situations, hospital birth may be the safest route, in which case I am still able to follow your care and attend you in a support role during your birth, rather than as your primary provider. This way, we can blend the best parts of both approaches, and have as close of a birth to what you envisioned as we can. I have attended some absolutely beautiful hospital births and transfers which left the family feeling fulfilled and at peace, despite the plan having changed majorly!