Perinatal care with a homebirth midwife is a mystery for so many. It’s been hidden in our culture for quite some time (that is an interesting history lesson).

Many of us have seen a beautiful Instagram photo with affirmations perfectly strung on the wall…. There are white string lights reflecting in the birth pool… as the peaceful mother holds her fresh baby close. She has an epic look of joy and pride on her face, as her family surrounds her completely saturated with peace, joy, and happiness. We can almost hear the beautiful music playing in the background. The joy is tangible. Oxytocin is released just witnessing it from afar. We want that!

We might also just want a home birth because we don’t feel comfortable in the hospital, we want to save money, we want more support people than hospital policies allow, etc. That’s okay, too. Regardless of our reasoning, it might feel a little scary. No one wants to do anything reckless surrounding their pregnancy or birth. How do we know if homebirth is a good choice for us? (Because it’s not for every birth). How do we even know what happens with a midwife during prenatal care? Or at the birth? How will she handle an emergency that might come up? Will she check up on us afterwards?

Let’s discuss the care that Emily offers, giving you some insight into what care looks like with her.

Prenatal Care:

We meet regularly throughout the pregnancy. During office visits Emily collects plenty of quality clinical information. She will assess your vitals during each visit. This includes, but isn’t limited to, blood pressure, pulse, temperature, oxygen saturation, labs (as needed) and a urinalysis. She will also ask you plenty of questions about potential symptoms - with the shared goal of catching anything abnormal quickly. If things start to veer off the low-risk path, our first goal is to correct it quickly when possible. We focus on prevention.

There is also time to discuss lifestyle, stress, and anything else going on in your life at each visit. There is plenty of time to get to know one another really well. Emily will also assess your baby (*babies* when expecting twins) at each visit. She will use her skilled hands to palpate for the baby’s size, position, fluid level, your fundal height etc. She will always listen for reactive heart tones and really get to know your baby too. She can draw labs in house and refer for ultrasounds. Some families also choose to receive co-care with physicians and hospital midwives that they also trust and love. Emily values getting to know you - and building mutual trust along the way.

IN LABOR:

Emily will come to your home with plenty of equipment and supplies. It could even be described as her bringing the birth center to you. She always brings at least 1 birth assistant and/or midwifery student (sometimes more) and sometimes even another midwife or more (as needed and discussed). During labor she will assess you and the baby (or babies when expecting twins) using hands-on intermittent fetal monitoring. You are free to move as you please. You are encouraged to eat and drink, as we want you to maintain your strength. You can give birth in any position, and in nearly any place that you feel inclined to.

Once you are ready to rest and baby is done nursing, Emily will complete a thorough newborn exam. Emily and her assistants/students are there for several hours after the birth ensuring that both you and baby are stable and transitioning well. The birth team also cleans up before leaving.

POSTPARTUM CARE:

Emily will plan to come back to you (after your homebirth) for the first visit within 72 hours. She will also see you and baby again in her office until 6 weeks postpartum. During those initial postpartum visits Emily will complete the standard newborn screening tests: PKU, CCHD, and the Hearing Screen (with your consent of course). She will also make sure all of the birth certificate/social security card paperwork is complete for filing - and even do fun things like ink your sweet baby’s feet on a commemorative “Born at Home” birth certificate.

At each visit, she will be assessing your healing and baby’s growth, maintaining quality records for both of you. Once you and your baby are discharged from care, she will happily fax baby’s complete records to their care provider.

There is so much more that goes on that could be listed here, but these are the bones of what this quality care looks like.

It is a good idea to read the reviews and stories of past clients so you can become more familiar with what you might expect when choosing home care with emily.