The majority of your prenatal visits will take place in our office. We will have at least one home visit, around the 36-37 week mark. This allows your team to get acquainted with your space and family, but also allows for you to get comfortable seeing your team in your home. 

We will meet every four to five weeks until you are 32 weeks. Then we will meet every two weeks until you are 36 weeks, at which time we will meet every week until your little one arrives.
Each prenatal visit typically lasts about an hour. During this time, we will take your vitals, measure your baby’s growth, listen to fetal heart tones, and determine your baby's position with abdominal palpation. At these visits, we will also talk about nutrition and exercise, relief for common discomforts, emotional readiness, desires for pregnancy/birth/postpartum, as well as discuss any questions or concerns you and your family may have. 

We’re happy to be able to also provide lab services in the office. Most of the time, these can be drawn at the same time as your scheduled appointment. 

We refer out for ultrasounds. There are a few different options which we can go over in the office.

Photo cred: Jessica Sheridan Photography

In general, we provide home visits at 24 hours, 7 days, and 14 days postpartum while always being available via call or text. A typical postpartum visit consists of monitoring your vitals and blood loss, providing lactation support as needed, discussing nutrition, hydration, and supplements, and, maybe most importantly, discussing how you are feeling emotionally, including making referrals as needed. 

Baby gets a lot of care during this time too! At 24 hours we offer routine newborn screenings, including weight monitoring. We regularly refer to Kenzie Cornilsen, CLC with Gingerly Mama for in home lactation support (one visit is included in your care!). We also bring your baby’s birth certificate and Social Security number paperwork to one of these appointments.

We conclude care at 6 weeks postpartum with a bittersweet in-office visit. This visit includes vitals, another “top to tail” exam on babe, and tearful hugs!

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We take a very limited number of clients per month, typically four to six. Because of this, it is quite rare for multiple clients to be in labor at once. If needed, we have a network of trusted midwives we can call upon to assist.

We bring oxygen, resuscitation equipment, antihemorrhagic medications, herbs and homeopathic remedies, IV supplies, sterile instruments (for clamping and cutting the umbilical cord as well as suturing), suturing supplies, stethoscope, blood pressure cuff, doppler and fetoscope to assess baby’s heart tones while in labor, and infant scale. We also bring some comfort measures such as a birthing stool, rebozo, peanut ball, and essential oils. 

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Yes! We are skilled in providing support in a pool or tub, and. Sarah is certified through Waterbirth International. Hydrotherapy is a very useful tool in labor and birth. We will walk you and your partner through the set up and the extra supplies required for a water birth. We will provide the pool and air pump to blow it up. We will also bring a sump pump to empty it once your birth is complete. We really do take care of all the clean up!

Photo cred: First Breath Photography

During your prenatal care, we work to continually ensure you and your baby are low-risk and good candidates for homebirth. Because of this, the risk for a problem or complication is rare, although it does happen. We are equipped and trained to evaluate problems and render care as necessary. Many issues can be effectively managed at home. Should the need arise, we will not hesitate to transfer care to the nearest hospital with an obstetrical or neonate team, depending on the situation. If we do need to transfer, a member of your birth team will remain with you, and we will continue to support you as planned in the postpartum period.

This is a common concern for families who are considering homebirth. There is absolutely some mess involved, for example amniotic fluid, blood, meconium; however, we work to make sure you don’t have to deal with that mess. We will help you prepare your bed and birth area as birth draws closer and your birth kit will include under pads to help absorb the fluids. Part of our job at your birth will be to clean up and start laundry. While there are rare occasions when stains cannot be remedied, we do our best to make sure you won’t have to worry about a thing!

Photo cred: First Breath Photography

Our team will stay at least two hours after your birth. We will help you to be as comfortable as possible and help initiate breast/chest feeding as needed. We will continually assess vitals for you and your baby. We will assess for perineal tears and repair, if necessary. We will perform a newborn exam in bed right next to you. We will make sure you have had something to eat and clean up after your birth.

Photo cred: Aubrey Schlue

You choose who you want to support you and witness your birth. We ask that anyone who will be present for the birth be at the home visit so we can get acquainted. Any people invited into your birth space should be prepared and willing to enthusiastically support you throughout this process. They should be people you trust emphatically. Labor will likely stop or not progress if you don’t feel supported and safe. I highly recommend anyone at your birth be assigned a specific job (caring for kids or pets, cleaning, preparing food) and not be present merely as a spectator - it’s incredibly true that a watched pot never boils. In our experience, too many extra people at a birth doesn’t usually work well.

We love to have siblings present for the birth of their new baby; however, they must have a trusted adult available to care for them. This person should not be your partner. We also recommend preparing your other children for this event by talking, reading books and watching gentle births on YouTube. We have some children’s books available for borrowing.

Photo cred: First Breath Photography

If you live in Illinois, we have the packet available. Rules vary per county but we will navigate the system together. This will likely include you making an appointment with your county recorder's office. This form also includes a space to request a Social Security number; however, this also varies per county and sometimes you will need to make a separate appointment with the Social Security office. The fee for the birth certificate is $15, payable to the county.

If you live in Iowa, we will request a birth certificate packet on your behalf. This form includes a space to request a Social Security number as well. This is all done through mail. The fee for the birth certificate is $35 which you will send with your packet after your baby has arrived (Title IX recipients need not pay; we will include your number on the form).
Both states require a Voluntary Paternity Affidavit if you are unmarried at the time of your child’s birth and would like to list a second parent on the birth certificate. Again, we will navigate the system together.

Birth certificate paperwork will be provided to you within your two week postpartum time. 

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For a multitude of reasons, we don’t accept insurance. We do, however, work closely with a third party biller, Mindful Midwifery Billing Services, who can help you determine if your insurance would reimburse you. You can find out more on her site. (password: birth)