I provide complete, individualized maternity care through the entire childbearing year to women and families in the greater Bozeman area. My care is tailored to meet the unique needs and desires of each woman and family. It’s your body, your baby, your birth. I honor every woman’s right to make autonomous, intuitive, and informed decisions. I enjoy working with families of all structures, ages, faiths, and lifestyles.
My services include:
Complete prenatal, birth, postpartum, and newborn care
Direct access to an on-call midwife 24-hours a day
VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean)
Waterbirth
The availability of all prenatal lab tests including blood work, ultrasound and genetic screening if desired
Collaboration with, and referral to obstetricians and pediatricians as desired and appropriate for any abnormal conditions in pregnancy, labor, birth, and postpartum
Well-woman gynecological care, pap smears, etc.
Homebirth preparation classes
Prenatal Care
The bulk of a woman’s prenatal care occurs in her daily, everyday life as she nurtures herself and her growing baby. I believe that women are their own primary care providers, and that when supported, their mothering instincts can flourish, guiding their profound physical and emotional transformation through their pregnancy and into motherhood. One of my jobs as a midwife is to support women through this spectacular transformation.
Women also carry the responsibility of making informed decisions for themselves and their babies. While some aspects of prenatal care are “standard” (the frequency of prenatal visits, assessing baby’s growth and position), my clients customize their prenatal care to suit their individual preferences. For example, some women may choose to have a genetic screening test, or Group B Strep test, while others may choose to avoid these tests. I strive to offer my clients the most current and relevant information, along with time-honored midwifery knowledge, to guide their decision-making process.
Prenatal visits are conducted in your home and typically last one hour or more, allowing ample time to get to know each other over the coming months. Routine visits often include discussion of: your questions about anything related to pregnancy, birth, postpartum, and parenting a new baby, nutrition, physical discomforts, emotional preparedness, desires for labor and birth, parenting issues, family relationships, and detailed conversation about the standard tests and procedures available to clients if desired. Every prenatal visit also includes standard clinical assessment of mother and baby. In addition to our time together during routine visits, I am always available to my clients by phone or by pager for questions or urgent concerns.
Labor and Birth
One of the wonderful things about birthing at home is that when labor comes on, women can stay safely nestled in their familiar environment and don’t have to worry about doing anything or going anywhere. When clients have the sense that labor is beginning, or about to begin, we typically remain in close contact by phone. Depending on the circumstances and mother’s desires, I may come to her home in early labor to check in and address any concerns she may have. Once labor is underway, I remain in the home providing continuous care and support until the after the birth. This includes complete, ongoing physical assessment of mother and baby (vital signs, monitoring fetal heart tones, etc.).
Labor and births generally flow best when women have the privacy, time, and autonomy to follow their own rhythms and instincts. My role as a midwife is to help facilitate that private, autonomous, instinctive space that laboring women need to be in. While I generally take a hands-off approach when labors and births are proceeding normally as they most often do, some mothers, especially first time mothers, may want more guidance and physical support and I am equally happy to be a stronger presence, or partner, as desired.
I attend births with a skilled assistant in order to provide the safest, most attentive care. The assistant is usually a student midwife or another Licensed Midwife.
Some time after the birth, after mom and baby have had a good long stretch of getting to know each other time, I perform a complete newborn exam and any other newborn procedures as elected by the parents. I remain at home with clients until they are safely and happily nestled in bed, and baby has nursed well, typically around 3-4 hours after birth.
Postpartum Care
Postpartum care for mom and baby begins immediately after birth, and continues through 6-8 weeks postpartum. As soon as I leave the home following a birth I am available 24 hours a day for any concerns or questions about mother or baby.
The first few weeks after birth can be a time of overwhelming beauty, joy, exhaustion, anxiety, and uncertainty. I honor this delicate time with close and attentive care by phone in addition to regular home visits. In the first ten days after birth, the schedule of postpartum visits varies family to family and depends on the emotional and physical needs of mother and baby. Visits may be daily or more infrequently, and generally include discussion of: any questions or concerns parents have, mother’s emotional and physical well-being, baby’s well-being, breastfeeding, physical healing after birth, and eliciting support from family and community. All postpartum visits include physical evaluation of mother and baby.
Subsequent visits occur at 10-14 days after birth, and again at 3-4 weeks and 6-8 weeks postpartum. The final postpartum visit includes standard well-woman gynecological care, pap, and birth control counseling.
