The Important Benefits of Prenatal Care (What To Expect)
Prenatal Care With Your Midwife
What You Can Look Forward to
No waiting rooms, no waiting for the nurse or doctor, no wrangling your toddler in the office for the hundredth time. Can you believe it? It’s not a dream. Welcome to a prenatal care appointment with your Orange County midwife.
Our prenatal appointments take place in your home in your own space. You can sit on your couch, in your living room, or on the floor. We can even meet while your toddler is napping! There are so many important benefits to our prenatal care visits.
The same standard obstetrical prenatal testing you would receive with an OB is available to you should you desire it. But, you don’t have to go to the lab! I can draw your blood and perform any desired labs in your home, bringing all my supplies with me. Any ultrasounds you desire or that become clinically recommended will be referred out to family-friendly technicians in our community.
If it is our first prenatal visit together, even if you have joined me later in your pregnancy, I will plan on spending 90 minutes with you. At this initial visit, we will discuss your health history, obstetrical history, and prenatal care thus far this pregnancy (if applicable). With your consent, I’ll perform a quick physical, familiarizing myself with your body’s normal and take your vitals. Any prenatal labs will be drawn and initial paperwork and agreements discussed and signed.
For subsequent appointments, I set aside 60 minutes for each prenatal visit with you and your family. For a rundown of our prenatal schedule, you can visit my prenatal care page. The actual clinical portion of these visits takes up very little of that time. I begin by obtaining your vitals; your blood pressure, and pulse with your permission. We will have you lay down and palpate your belly and baby. This allows me to assess and evaluate any imbalances in the ligaments supporting your uterus, your abdominal tone and separation, amniotic fluid levels, and to measure the growth of your uterus - meaning the growth of your baby! Depending on the gestation of your baby, I’ll palpate for your baby’s position and teach you to do the same, ensuring your baby is in an optimum position by the time your birthing time draws near. Depending on your baby’s gestation you have the option for me to listen to the baby’s heart rate via a handheld doppler (audible ultrasound output) as early as 12 weeks or by fetoscope (stethoscope designed to listen to a fetal heartbeat) starting around 20 weeks. Your partner, other children, and family are always encouraged to participate in our visits as much as you and they are comfortable!
Family-centered home prenatal visit with the help of big brother (Fetoscope pictured). Shared with client’s permission.
The remainder of our appointment is spent discussing how YOU are doing and feeling, emotionally and physically. We can discuss all of your questions and concerns. You can share as much or as little as you are comfortable sharing. Together we will also examine your lifestyle and nutrition habits and address any changes that may need to be made. I view pregnancy and birth holistically, taking into account all factors of your life and how they are intimately interconnected. Of course, our discussions will also include your preferences for your birth! This time is also spent getting to know you and your family and building our relationship and trust. This time is equally as important as monitoring you and your baby’s well-being.
Another huge piece of this time is spent on education. Education is important to your experience and empowers you to take an active role in your care. I’m all about informed choice! Educating you on your options and opportunities in this process is so important to me. Together we can make sure you have the information and resources you need to make the decisions that are best for your family. We can discuss your thoughts and questions, but ultimately the choices are yours. You are in control of your options. If there is something that comes up that I would consider to be clinically necessary, then that is a conversation we will have. Understandably, this can feel much different than when a provider, or your insurance, is making the choices for you. I hope that ultimately, you would experience freedom, empowerment, and autonomy in this process and carry it with you for life.
Prenatal care is vitally important in keeping you and your baby low-risk and healthy. Potential problems can be identified early and addressed. This is a sweet and special time where we can ensure your pregnancy is progressing normally while at the same time forming a relationship and bond that will become life-long.
Have questions about midwifery care and prenatal appointments? I would love to talk!
Also check out The Benefits of Birthing at Home and The Midwifery Model blog.
-Tessa