YOUR JOURNEY
An overview of pregnancy, birth, and postpartum care.
Complimentary Consultation
This is where we schedule a time to meet, connect, and talk through the process of home birth services with BeLoved Birth. You will be given a one hour visit at the office to discuss any questions you may have about the practice, birth philosophy, and home birth in general. This is a great time to share your story and what you envision for this pregnancy and birth so we can mutually decide if it's a good fit.
Prenatal Care
Once care is established, we will schedule your initial prenatal visit. Prenatal care will be given throughout your pregnancy beginning with monthly visits until 28 weeks, biweekly visits until 36 weeks and weekly visits until birth. Each visit is allotted for one hour where there will be space to talk and connect, ask questions and address concerns in pregnancy, go over lab work, and do a routine check up. This is a wonderful time that we get to know one another, build mutual trust and discover your hopes and desires for this pregnancy, birth and postpartum period. Every woman and every pregnancy is very unique, so this is not a one size fits all model. The care you get is specific to you and your current pregnancy.
Labor and Birth
In the comfort of your home, you have the opportunity to labor and birth in the space you are most comfortable. A birth tub rental is available, which gives you the option of a water birth and is great throughout labor. Your midwife and midwife assistant(s) will be on call for you 24/7 starting at 36.5 weeks pregnancy, and can be reached via phone when labor is initiated. Through your labor your birth team will offer guidance, support, and will monitor you and your baby to assess well being throughout the process.
Doulas, labor support, and partner involvement are encouraged and welcomed!
Immediate Postpartum Care
When your baby has arrived your birth team goes into action, monitoring the well being of you and baby, cleaning, bringing you food, and making you feel comfortable. When you both have been assessed and are doing well, you and baby will be given the space to bond during this “golden hour” where you may initiate breastfeeding and skin to skin contact as your little one is welcomed into your family. You will be offered to take a shower or bath, given lactation support, a head-to-toe newborn exam will be done, inspection of the perineum, and repair will be done if necessary, and postpartum instructions will be given (such as how to care for you and baby for the next 24 hours, what are normal and abnormal signs for you and your baby etc.)
We also clean! Birth can sometimes be messy, but that's also what we are there for, we make sure to tidy up after the birth, not leaving you with that chore. We typically stay at your home for 3-4 hours after the baby is born and leave when everything is settled and you and baby are snuggled up in bed.
Postpartum Care
The postpartum period is a time of change, adjustment, healing and bonding. During this time we strive to provide support and care that helps mothers to step into this new season with ease. The first visit will be around 24 hours after birth, where we come to your home to assess you and the baby and how the new transition is going. An assessment of physical and emotional well-being is made, as well as time to discuss questions, symptoms, reflections about the birth, and observation of latch during breastfeeding. The newborn metabolic screen and the CCHD (Critical Congenital Heart Disease) screen are offered at this visit.
The second visit will be around 72 hours postpartum, where a similar assessment as day one will be made in home. We will talk more about breastfeeding and check baby’s weight to make any necessary adjustments needed to ensure proper weight gain.
The third visit is made at one week postpartum, at this point we continue to monitor vitals and do the same physical assessments, continuing to work out any issues with latch, and monitoring weight gain.
At two week postpartum a visit is done in office, mainly to check baby's weight but also to do an overview of how things are going at home and talk through any struggles or questions that may arise as well as the standard physical examination.
The final appointment is a Well Woman exam around 8-10 weeks postpartum. During this visit we talk about the overall well-being of mom and baby, how to observe signs of returning fertility, family planning, how to monitor and watch for signs of breast irregularities, and a PAP Smear is offered. We will also weigh and measure baby again to check growth. This will be the last appointment unless further weight checks are needed.