Respectful Treatment
Gentle, nurturing care that respects you, your family and your beliefs.
Respect for your informed decisions about medical tests, recommendations and interventions.
Willingness to support your birth plan, including any family members and friends you may want present at the birth.Freedom to move, eat, bathe - to do what helps you during labor and birth; we don’t "prohibit" or "allow", but patiently support and guide you as needed.
Respect for the birth process as it unfolds uniquely each time. Although amazing, being pregnant and giving birth are actually normal life processes for which a woman’s body is well-designed. Each woman’s experience is unique.
Personal Attention
Prenatal visits that allow plenty of time for questions and answers - 45 to 60 minutes for each prenatal appointment is common.
Meaningful discussions to explore and help resolve fears and concerns you or your family may have.Caring attention to develop a trusting and nurturing relationship with you and your family that can help you to labor and give birth naturally and safely.
Plenty of Information
Plenty of information about pregnancy, birth and the newborn, and about breastfeeding and newborn care.
Suggestions about ways you can take good care of yourself and your baby.Encouragement and practical suggestions for you to have good nutrition and make healthy lifestyle choices.
Full information about any recommended tests, procedures or treatments so you can make informed choices about your care.
Appropriate Monitoring
Regular and thorough checkups for you and your baby throughout your pregnancy, during labor, and after the birth, to make sure both of you are healthy and doing well.
Recommendations for diagnostic technology when appropriate.
Planning with you for the unexpected and for the rare emergency.Referrals to other health care specialists or to a different birth setting if needed.
Expertise in normal, natural childbirth. Because we are experts in normal pregnancy and birth, we know well the variations for normal birth and recognize the early signs of conditions that are not "normal", including medical conditions or complications that may occasionally arise during pregnancy or the birth process.
Confidence In Your Body
Help with discovering your own body’s ability to give birth, in its own way and in its own time.
No routine treatments or arbitrary timetables that can interfere with your body’s healthy process of laboring and giving birth.Truly individualized care, privacy and natural childbirth.
Support for doing the work of giving birth. Rather than someone else "delivering" the baby, you are empowered to give birth to your own baby yourself!
Natural Techniques for Comfort
Help you to cope with the discomfort of labor. Midwives have found that encouragement, massage, relaxation, laboring in water, changing positions, and other approaches are often very effective.
Encourage the progress of labor and help you give birth to your baby gently and lovingly.Help you avoid risks (to yourself and to your baby) that are associated with many standard medical techniques and hospital protocols.