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Please note:
Although I am ecstatic to offer the Tucson community more birthing options soon, homebirth midwifery services are not currently available. This website is for informational purposes only at this time. Please feel free to get in touch and I can recommend some great midwives in the meantime! 🤍 - Elizabeth
Thanks for your patience!
Home Birth and Midwifery Care
Why home?
The question should really be "why not home?" Throughout most of human history, birth has taken place in homes and in communities, surrounded by families and lots of support. It wasn't until the latter half of the 1900s that birth in a hospital became more trendy than at home in the U.S., leading to an onslaught of changes around birth culture. The hospital can be the perfect place to be if someone needs additional medical support.
But the vast majority of pregnancies and births are low-risk, without the need for routine invasive medical procedures. And for low-risk pregnancies, birthing out of the hospital is just as safe - and sometimes safer - as being in the hospital (Cheyney et al., 2014). And there are many other benefits to home birth too.
Some people choose home birth because of the strong evidence supporting its safety. Some people choose it to soak in the unparalleled compassion and personal attention that is unique to midwifery care. Some people prefer to have complete control and autonomy over their labor process instead of being dictated by protocol. And for some, it feels like a no-brainer to be tucked into your own bed with your new tiny baby right after a beautifully calm birth, being doted on by your family and loved ones.
Wisdom Within offers a traditional package of home birth midwifery care that includes prenatal care, home birth services, and postpartum care.
And to make midwifery care accessible to more people, Wisdom Within also offers packages of just prenatal care, just postpartum care, or monitrice services, helping to bring ancient traditions of midwifery care into modern times.
Are you ready to be empowered through home birth midwifery care?
Complete Care Package
Prenatal, Homebirth, & Postpartum Care
Wisdom Within's comprehensive midwifery care includes:
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A free consult to meet and see if we would work well together
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Prenatal visits that last about 30-60 minutes where you can get your questions answered and your concerns heard, all in the comfort of your own home
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Evidence-informed care that honors your wishes and needs including low-intervention, holistic, hands-on checks on the pregnant person and baby, health screenings, nutrition counseling, herbal advice, personalized guidance, and more
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Routine standard lab tests and specialized tests as needed
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Referrals to ultrasound providers as needed or desired
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Access to a midwife via calls or emails between visits
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Lamaze childbirth education either as part of a group or incorporated into your prenatal care
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An on-call period for birth from 36 weeks to 42 weeks of pregnancy, when a midwife will be readily available to you
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Support at your labor, home birth, and immediate postpartum to help watch out for the safety and well-being of both the birthing person and the new baby
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Respect for any traditions, practices, or special wishes you'd like to incorporate into your care, whether that's a water birth or a special mantra. Your birth, your way.
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Professional consultations with or a transfer of care to a different type of provider if you or your baby require it at any time
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Postpartum care tailored to meet your unique needs and incorporating the entire family. This spans a full 6 weeks, with an average of 4 to 5 visits, and consists of well-being checks on the birthing parent and the baby; help with infant feeding; guidance on baby care, bonding, attachment, family adjustment, and more
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Access to routine newborn screening (including screening for congenital/genetic conditions, heart conditions, and access to community hearing screens)
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Vetted connections and referrals to other Tucson community resources as needed or desired throughout the entire process
Prenatal Care Only
A homebirth is not for every person or every situation. But some pregnant people still desire (and deserve!) the low-intervention, high-touch care that is classic to community midwifery, even if wanting or needing to deliver in a hospital. For people with low-risk pregnancies, care with a midwife can make a lot of sense. This includes all the individualized, evidence-informed care that would usually be included in midwifery services, empowering you to have more trust in your body and ability to birth. For higher-risk situations, co-care can also be shared between this practice and another healthcare provider if desired.
Postpartum Care Only
Postpartum care in the U.S. medical system is often abysmal. We need to do a better job of caring for new families by checking in on them, inspiring confidence, and offering reassurance on both the rough days and the good days. Enter modern midwifery care. Wisdom Within offers postpartum care by itself to allow families who have birthed elsewhere the opportunity to reel in the benefits of compassionate postpartum care. This package includes a prenatal meeting to get to know one another and to help you and your family plan for how your household will run after your baby comes. Then, you'll receive the same respectful care that a midwife normally provides to clients after birth - including multiple visits that embrace the holistic being that you are.
(Psst! Providing compassionate, comprehensive postpartum care to a new family in your life makes a great gift!)
Monitrice Services
Monitrice services are similar to doula services, but with the added benefit of a midwife's expertise and knowledge. We'll meet during your pregnancy to talk about your wishes and plans, discuss what sort of support you'd like to receive, and fill in knowledge gaps of any birth or parenting topics you're still curious about.
Then when you're in labor, a monitrice comes to your home to support you in various ways and monitor the wellbeing of you and your baby, checking your vitals and baby's heart rate. If desired, a cervical exam can also be used as one tool to help determine your labor progress. Then, when it's time, you'll head to the hospital to birth your baby, where you can stay in contact with the monitrice. We'll also have a postpartum visit together.
The goals of working with a monitrice are usually to have extra assurance during early labor and/or to stay home as long as possible during this time to help avoid unnecessary interventions at the hospital. This is often ideal for someone who is birthing for the first time or someone planning for a vaginal birth after a cesarean (VBAC).
Pre-pregnancy Prep
Not pregnant but hoping to be? It's not too soon for respectful, holistic care! In a preconception meeting, we discuss ways to increase your chances of getting pregnant spontaneously. We also look at optimizing your health now, which sets you up for more success later when you are pregnant. Together, we look at nutrition, lifestyle choices, reduction of potentially harmful exposures (including stress!), supplements, any health issues, and how it all plays a role in your and your baby's health. As a bonus, you'll leave with a custom booklet on managing very early pregnancy symptoms naturally, so as soon as you get your positive pregnancy test you'll be prepared and ready.
Scope of Midwifery Care
“The Midwives Model of Care is a fundamentally different approach to pregnancy and childbirth than contemporary obstetrics." (MANA, 2016)
Modern professional midwives are fully trained, credentialed, and, in Arizona, licensed by the state Department of Health Services to provide care throughout pregnancy, birth, and the first six weeks postpartum. Midwives are highly-qualified to handle the beautiful pieces of birth, like helping a brand new dad catch his baby, and also any emergency that might arise.
Midwives only work with people who are generally healthy and are at low risk for complications during pregnancy and birth. Certified Professional Midwives are tasked with using the Midwives Model of Care to help guide their practice and their philosophy of care (Midwifery Task Force, 2008). It includes these guiding tenets:
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Midwives acknowledge that individuals are holistic beings, and as such, monitor all aspects of the person in their care and throughout the childbearing cycle
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Midwives provide families with personal attention, education, and counseling and offer hands-on support during labor, birth, and postpartum
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Midwives work to minimize interventions during pregnancy and birth
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Midwives understand their scope of practice and its limitations and they refer clients to other healthcare providers for further medical attention as needed.
Still curious if community midwifery care is right for you?
References
Cheyney, M., Bovbjerg, M., Everson, C., Gordon, W., Hannibal, D. & Vedam, S. (2014). Outcomes of care for 16,924 planned home births in the United States: The Midwives Alliance of North America statistics project, 2004 to 2009. Journal of Midwifery & Women's Health, 59. p. 17–27. doi:10.1111/jmwh.12172
Midwives Alliance of North America. (2016). The Midwives Model of Care. Retrieved from https://mana.org/about-midwives/midwifery-model
Midwifery Task Force (2008). The midwives model of care. Retrieved from http://cfmidwifery.org/mmoc/define.aspx
