Midwifery Model of Care
What is the midwifery model of care?
Under the midwifery model of care midwives are specialists in the care of healthy women and babies. Midwives view pregnancy and birth as normal, healthy, family-centered life events. Our model of care is to work collaboratively with other health professionals such as physicians, lactation consultants, and alternative care providers should maternal or newborn complications develop.
Informed choice is a fundamental principle of midwifery care. Trained midwives recognize the childbearing woman as the primary decision-maker in her care and we commit to encouraging families to participate in their care by providing time, information and evidence based guidelines and education about your choices in maternity and newborn care. We anticipate that once you are engaged in our care you will also actively seek out other sources of information, in addition to the evidence based information we provide you, in order to make informed decisions regarding your care.
As care providers our first accountability is to you, the patient/client. Our secondary accountability is to the Medical Board, our peers, our regulatory bodies, and to the public in order to provide safe, competent, and ethical care. As part of our professional responsibility, we meet regularly with other midwives in the area for peer review and professional development. We are committed to staying current with research on maternity and newborn care to deliver you and your family the highest quality evidence-based care.
Individualized Care
Midwifery care is a partnership. The appointments are typically 30 - 45 mins long, which allows me to get to know you over the course of your care. Midwives are medical providers that trust you, and invite you to be an active participant in your care as much as you desire. Midwives are trained to address and discuss any abnormalities that come up over the course of your care, and I encourage you to ask questions if there is something you do not understand or feel like you need to seek further counseling on. When you speak, I listen.
One of the cornerstones of midwifery care is the foundation of a trust relationship between the midwives and their client. Through this foundation of trust my hope is you will approach your birth with confidence and joy.
Your care with me is tailored to meet your specific needs. Over the course of your care we regularly discuss and make adjustments to your care to address problems ranging from your nutrition, lab values, and emotional health, to the major transitions pregnancy can bring.