During a home birth, I monitor the natural process as it unfolds and offer guidance as necessary while making sure both you and the baby are safe.
Your birth care will be unique and respectful of your wishes with the need for privacy balanced with the changing needs of physical and emotional support.
After birth, my assistant and I will remain for several hours to assess you and your baby, start laundry, and clean up as well. A thorough newborn exam is performed with your baby next to you.
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My duties are to monitor your blood pressure, pulse, and temperature every 2-4 hours during active labor, routinely listen to the fetal heart rate, encourage you to stay hydrated and rested, recommend certain position changes, communicate with your partner throughout your progression, manage any complications within my scope of practice, help with the delivery of the baby and placenta, and assess blood loss and uterine firmness.
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I will stay for a MINIMUM of 2 hours during the immediate postpartum, often staying longer to continue to monitor your blood loss, blood pressure, and pulse. I will perform an initial exam of your newborn and will also monitor respirations, heart rate, temperature, color and tone of the baby. I will assess your perineum and vagina for any lacerations and discuss options for repair. I stay until you are able to empty your bladder, drink/eat, and are able to get a good latch while breastfeeding. In the meantime, my assistant and I start the laundry, clean up the birthing area, and properly store your placenta.
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I will be on-call and available by phone 24 hours a day, seven days a week by the time you are 37 weeks along. Night births are quite common and to be expected in this practice. My assistant will also arrive to your birth regardless of the time of day.
Thinking about making a splash?
“A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come, but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. ”