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BirthWise Maternity Care, LC |
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Gentle Births Happen at Home |
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Midwifery Services |
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Midwifery is about holistic care for a woman during her childbearing years and this includes more than just attending birth. We strive to provide as much continuity of care for the motherbaby unit from first prenatal through baby’s first weeks of life and beyond.
Free one-hour Consultation: Do you have questions we haven’t answered? Would you like to meet to see if we make a good match? Please feel free to give us a call. We would be happy to schedule a free one-hour consultation visit to discuss your questions and options.
At BirthWise we specialize in supporting beautiful, natural and safe births in the comfort of your home. All of your prenatal visits are designed to help you feel comfortable and in control of every aspect of your care. All prenatal visits are purposely scheduled for at least 60 minutes so that you feel you have ample time to ask questions and get answers to your questions. We want you to have the time to let us know what you want from your birth. We bring up topics for discussion, we want you to feel comfortable with the medical and testing decisions that you make so we purposefully bring up things you will need to know about so that you have time to look into them and research before you have to make a decision. In addition to the physical components of a prenatal exam, we spend lots of time discussing nutrition, growth of your baby, pregnancy changes and the labor and birth process. Desires for alternative types of treatments or support are not only welcomed and supported but often suggested. When your Birth Package is paid in full by 36 weeks all of your standard lab work is included for free. If you have already been seeing another provider, and are choosing a homebirth in your third trimester, we offer a significant discount in the overall fee.
During the birth our focus is on supporting you in whatever way you need in order to have an empowering birth. If this means lots of hands-on support, we’re happy to provide it. If you prefer to labor mostly in private, this is easily done and monitoring can be kept to the safest possible minimum. We are quite comfortable with moms and dads catching their own babies if they desire it—obviously not a requirement. The only perfect way to give birth is the one that works for you. Because the use of deep water immersion is frequently so very helpful to laboring women, a labor/birth pool is provided as a standard part of the package. Even if you decide not to use water or labor but not give birth in the water, the option is always available at no additional charge. Unless you desire otherwise, the midwife is usually at your home during active labor to provide monitoring and assessment and whatever other support is needed. In late active labor a birth assistant is called who will stay until mother and baby are both stable after the birth. We are equipped to treat or stabilize unforeseeable complications such as hemorrhage and newborn resuscitation. In order to save you time and money, we include all of the disposable supplies that you will need during the birth and in the early postpartum period as well as plenty of towels and washcloths for use during the birth.
Postpartum Care is attentive to your emotional and spiritual needs as well as the physical. We are careful not to rush your first magical hour after birth and try to be unobtrusive while both mom and baby transition after birth. Later visits focus on your concerns and questions while checking for signs of infection, breastfeeding difficulties and overall return to your non-pregnant state.
Care for your newborn is done with gentleness and consideration for baby’s feelings and sensitivities. Immediately after birth we provide close monitoring and support as baby transitions to life outside the womb. We fully support early bonding and breastfeeding by minimizing non-essential tasks and delaying the newborn exam until after the baby is quite finished nursing. A full newborn exam is performed and legally required and standard medications such as Vitamin K are administered if you desire. The midwife will stay at least 2-4 hours until she is confident both mom and baby are quite stable. We are experienced in breastfeeding and will do whatever we can to help breastfeeding go smoothly. Early Newborn care is provided in your home to minimize the hassle that comes with having to go out to the doctor’s office in the early days after birth. Because babies are transitioning rapidly and have many adjustments to make in the days after birth, we visit at approximately 24 hours after birth and 3 days so that any difficulties can be caught early and addressed. Many times attentive and supportive care can avoid problems such as excessive weight loss, jaundice and thrush. State law requires that the Newborn Screening test (commonly known as the PKU) be performed between 48 hours and 5 days of life. This is included in Early Newborn Care which if free when your Birth Package is paid by 36 weeks.
Although some clients prefer to see a physician for well-baby care, we are able to provide relaxed and holistic baby care through six weeks of age. Often simple techniques and natural remedies are very effective for easing the transition of a baby’s early weeks. We are fully supportive of breastfeeding and are committed to helping you have a successful and happy experience. Two and six-week well-baby visits are included free with the Birth Package paid by 36 weeks. We are not able to provide routine vaccinations.
We are able to provide basic well-woman care including pap smears, pelvic exams and breast exams in a more comfortable and relaxed environment with a focus on helping you understand your body and its functions. Because we do not have full-prescriptive authority we cannot provide prescription contraceptives, however we offer thorough counseling of all options and teach several types of Natural Family Planning. Preconception counseling and fertility support are provided with a focus on healthy lifestyle and hormone balancing with natural remedies. |
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