Care During Labor & Home Birth
Midwives recognize the ways in which Nature got things right and strive to work in harmony with it.
Protecting normal physiologic birth facilitates the profound changes a baby must go through in order to adjust to life outside the womb.
Delayed cord clamping and immediate skin to skin contact, for example, support neonatal transition. In the process, healthy bonding is established and breastfeeding can be initiated more naturally, improving outcomes for babies and their new parents.
Practices such as these are commonplace in your care with Stella, not something you have to struggle to protect.
There’s nothing like birthing at home on your own terms with a trusted, familiar care provider. Being tucked into your own bed with your baby after you’ve just given birth can be such a nurturing way to begin parenthood.
As your midwife, I go on-call for you beginning at 37 weeks, and remain available until your baby is born.
As you move into labor, I come to you and provide clinical, emotional and physical support throughout the process, carefully assessing your progress and tracking important clinical markers such as vital signs and fetal heartbeat, to ensure your and your baby’s continued well-being are looked after.
Unobtrusively and respectfully, I keep a watchful eye, quietly monitoring both of you, making sure that home is still the best place to be.
As you work to bring your baby to the light, I provide as much hands-on (or hands-off) support as you desire. I can guide you through helpful position changes and encourage movement, rest, hydration and nourishment, as needed.
To avoid complications, prevention is seen as the best medicine. I offer herbal and other natural remedies along the way if I think they could improve outcomes and help in labor. Shared decision making and informed consent are threaded through every conversation.
After the birth of your baby, I stay for at least three hours until both of you are stable.
During that time, your space is cleaned up, baby has their first experience at the breast, a newborn exam is conducted right next to you on the bed, tissues are repaired if necessary, you are fed and cared for, and can even take an herbal bath with your baby if you’d like. Then it’s time for a big, cozy nap!
