Planned Homebirth Midwifery Care

I have shifted the focus of my midwifery practice and I am not offering homebirth care at this time. If you are looking for homebirth midwifery care, my previous midwifery partner, Alex Holding of Fiddlehead Midwifery, is continuing to offer this care in solo practice and I couldn’t recommend her more highly!

I am continuing to offer midwifery care in all other areas. I provide preconception, fertility, and home insemination (IUI) care in addition to wellness visits such as Pap smears, chest/breast exams, and pregnancy options counseling. For families planning a hospital birth I can offer full prenatal and/or postpartum home midwifery care, or individual prenatal and postpartum visits for a specific focused need or topic.

PRENATAL CARE

We will typically meet monthly through 28 weeks of pregnancy, every two weeks from 28 through 36 weeks, and then weekly until you give birth. Our prenatal visits are a mixture of visits at your home and office visits in Dummerston, VT.

Our prenatal appointments will be about an hour long each time, with plenty of time to discuss your full experience of pregnancy and the many physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, relationship, and identity changes that make up your family’s experience.
Each prenatal appointment is includes assessing you and your baby’s health and wellbeing, discussing any concerns or questions, reviewing and deciding on upcoming screening or testing options, discussing any health education information that you want, and building our midwifery relationship together.
I offer holistic care recommendations for sleep, nutrition, pregnancy aches and pains, and other common issues that arise in pregnancy.
Partners, friends, relatives, older siblings, and family of all kinds are always welcome at your appointments whenever you want to include them.
I am able to offer laboratory testing through my practice with Quest Diagnostics or refer you to a local hospital, refer you for any ultrasound screening(s) you elect, and refer you for OB consults as needed if any concerns arise in pregnancy.

Labor and Birth

I am on call for your labor and birth from 36 weeks of pregnancy until you give birth.

I come to your home at whatever point in labor you are ready for my support. I am part of your birth team providing emotional and physical support during labor, holding space for how you move through labor, as well as my role in assessing the ongoing health and wellbeing of you and your baby laboring at home.
When the birth is close, I call in a birth assistant who stays with us through the birth and the immediate postpartum time.
In homebirth, people choose to give birth in nearly every position you can think of, including waterbirth, so we are prepared for wherever and however you choose to have your baby!
My goal is to follow your birthing instincts, while also offering my experience and skills to support you in your labor, birth, and postpartum journey.
I typically stay for 2-4 hours after the birth until everyone is well and stable, both you and your baby have eaten well, and I have done a full head-to-toe newborn exam. At that point everyone is usually ready to wind down for some sleep!
Not every planned homebirth ends up happening at home, so if we decide to transport to the hospital, I will facilitate this transfer of care as well as continue to be by your side offering support throughout your birth at the hospital. Please note that COVID-19 restrictions continue to affect my ability to accompany families to some hospitals.

Postpartum and Newborn Care

I will see you for your first postpartum appointment at home in the first 24-36 hours after birth, and then at 3 days, 5-7 days, 2 weeks, and 6 weeks. Additional postpartum visits are common if any concerns arise that need closer support or more frequent contact.

I am still available on call for your postpartum questions and concerns, and I am your full postpartum care provider for 6 weeks after the birth.
I am also your newborn’s primary care provider for the first 6 weeks, though some families choose to start pediatric care during this time in addition to midwifery care, as decided with your pediatrician.
All of our postpartum visits will include support and advice as needed for lactation/nursing/feeding.
Our postpartum visits will be a mix of: assessing you and your baby’s health and wellbeing, including physical, emotional, and mental health; discussing how your family is doing with the early postpartum time; strategizing for sleep, nutrition, and support; and reviewing and processing the labor and birth experience as you want and are ready.

Throughout Care

You will have a direct line to reach me for questions and concerns at any time during your care with me. If I am out of town or unavailable, I will have another midwife covering for me who can talk over any questions or concerns.
Throughout your care I can also connect you with community resources for any needs that may arise such as food access, chiropractic, acupuncture, and mental health care, or lactation support.
I also have a lending library of books that I am happy to share with you and your family.
If mutually desired, I can connect you with current or previous families in my care to support you in building relationships with other pregnant and/or parenting families.

Fees

An initial 1 hour consultation is free to all families as a place to ask questions, get to know one another, and decide if it is a good fit for us to work together. Contact me to set up your first consultation.

My fee for homebirth midwifery care is $3800, which includes all prenatal, labor, birth, and postpartum care. It does not include lab work, ultrasounds, or outside consultations, but these can typically be billed directly to your insurance and routine items are generally covered in pregnancy.

As a starting point for our conversation about fees, please look over my payment and fees guidelines to learn more about sliding scale and barter options.