Your body, your birth, and your baby.  Embrace your hopes and desires. Like an estuary with its natural ebb and flow, pregnancy and birth are beautiful times of transition, as women and men become parents, and families grow and flourish.

In your home, you find refuge and sanctuary, where you are honored in every step of the journey, surrounded by whomever you choose, to give birth uninhibited.

Giving birth and becoming a parent are life-changing events that can impact each person deeply.  Because parenting and nurturing the child begins before the baby is born, pregnancy can be a great opportunity for education, growth, and bonding as you make informed choices and pursue your hopes for your birth and your family.  My role is to partner with and support you in those choices, while providing excellent midwifery care, in partnership with my preceptors.

I believe that childbirth is not only a physical experience but also a spiritual and emotional experience.  Trusting in our God-given ability to give birth and exploring the spiritual aspects of birth can reduce fear and open the door for a rich and fulfilling birth experience.

My role changes to support each client individually, providing a complimentary role to Dad’s involvement and importance. Fathers have a very important role in this process and experience their own feelings and sometimes, anxiety about birth. My role in this area is to empower dads to support their partners effectively and at the same time have the freedom to embrace their own birth experience.

Prenatal Care~ Because we work in a partnership, our 1 hour prenatal visits are spent in conversation. We’ll discuss any questions you have, as well as topics such as nutrition, optimal fetal positioning, physical, emotional, and spiritual preparation for birth, and breastfeeding. At each visit, we’ll also spend some time palpating and measuring your belly, listening to your baby’s heartbeat, taking your blood pressure, and checking your urine.

We get together once a month until 28 weeks, then every 2 weeks until 36 weeks (when we visit your home in preparation for your birth), and then back in the office weekly until your baby arrives.

Along with the nurturing model of midwifery care, you are also given every opportunity for options within the standard of care including labwork and prenatal testing.

Email and phone consultations are welcome between visits as questions and concerns may arise.

Labor and Birth~ Beginning with 24/7 on-call support, your midwives are always available to you. Once active labor has been established, or when you feel like you need more support, we will arrive at your home. Depending on what your needs are, we will either be in the room with you providing hands-on support, or in a nearby room while you labor privately, quietly checking in on you and baby from time to time.

As the time of birth grows closer, we’ll be right by your side, helping you bring your sweet babe into the world. We’ll quietly and closely observe both you and baby to ensure well-being, all the while honoring and protecting the precious new moments between mom, dad, baby, and family.

Over the next few hours, while you and baby get to know each other, we’ll make you a meal, tidy your home, and put in a load of laundry. We’ll check back in to help with breastfeeding, assess mom and baby, help dad (or big brother or sister) weigh your baby, and ensure everyone is transitioning well. We’ll review postpartum instructions and leave you snuggled together, with our on-call number, should you need anything before our 24-hour postpartum visit.

Postpartum and Newborn Care~ Another unique aspect of homebirth midwifery, is the postpartum care you receive in your home. The postpartum period is a sacred time, a “babymoon” and many cultures set aside and protect this time and space for a full 6 weeks. In honor of this time, and the necessary rest and bonding time that you and your baby will need, we will return to your home for the scheduled one-day, three-day, and seven-day visits. During these visits, we will assess mom’s healing, baby’s growth and health, and the family’s overall well-being. We’ll then see you back in the office at 2 weeks and 6 weeks, providing the full circle of postpartum and newborn care.