Midwifery care
The Essential Role of Midwives: Nurturing Life's Beginnings
In the journey of childbirth, where the miracle of life begins and grows, midwives stand as the guiding light, offering their expertise, care, and support. The word "midwife" literally translates to "with woman." This etymology beautifully captures the essence of what midwives do: they stand with women through the journey of pregnancy, labor, childbirth, and the postnatal period. Midwives provide care, support, and guidance, embodying a role that is vitally important in contemporary healthcare. Their practice is centered on supporting the normal process of childbirth, advocating for the woman's wishes, and ensuring the health and well-being of both mother and baby.
Midwifery is a profession that combines the art of caring with the science of health care. Midwives are specialists in normal pregnancy and birth, grounded in an understanding that childbirth is a profound experience, which should be empowered and supported in a manner that is respectful, individualized, and minimally invasive. They are trained to recognize the variations of normal and refer to obstetricians or other specialists if a high-risk condition arises.
Research has consistently shown that midwifery care contributes to excellent outcomes for mothers and babies, including reduced instances of preterm birth and low birth weight, report positive experiences, and have improved rates of breastfeeding. Moreover, the model of care promotes a more empowered and supported pregnancy and postpartum experience.
What are appointments like?
Appointments are leisurely; up to 45 minutes long. They are mostly aimed at getting to know the client, answering her questions, to provide education, offer support physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually, to perform belly checks and blood pressure checks, and to prepare her for labor, birth, and beyond.
Prenatal care
Compassionate care is always tailored to each unique pregnant mother who enters care with us. An initial intake assessment is done to understand the needs our clients have so we can target getting social support on board from the very beginning.
The prenatal schedule of visits are monthly from 8-28 weeks, every other week from 28-36 weeks, and weekly from 36 on until birth. Routine blood work is done at 12 weeks, 28 weeks, and 36 weeks, and an ultrasound is done at 21 weeks.
Clients have the option of getting a first trimester ultrasound with us as well to confirm a due date and the health of the baby.
Labor and birth
We do not attend births in the hospital at this time. A plan will be made with each client as to which hospital they plan to give birth at and prenatal records will be sent over to that hospital at 36 weeks so the on-call OB or midwife will have records to provide care.
We have a wonderful doula program that offers continuity of care with a support person and advocate for an empowering birth. We encourage prospective clients to look at this service here.
Postpartum and newborn care
Once discharged home from the hospital, clients will call and let us know that they have given birth. We will set up a postpartum and newborn visit that happen at 1 week, 2 weeks, and 4-6 weeks post-birth. Visits include assessments of the mother and baby, support for feeding goals of the newborn, education and guidance, treatment or referrals for complications when needed, and a discussion on family planning.
We happily see our mothers as often as needed in the first year postpartum for concerns that come up along the way.
Meet Heather Soper, CNM
Heather is the founder of The Village Prenatal Clinic, Inc. and has been a Certified Nurse Midwife for 9 years. Since she was young, she felt the call to midwifery and can’t remember a time that she wasn’t drawn to support mothers and babies. Her passion is to provide professional and empowering care from pre-conception through postpartum. She values and listens to her clients and provides respectful, trauma-informed care that is personalized to each mother. The part about her role as a midwife that she loves the most is connecting and knowing her clients well enough to give them support mentally, emotionally and spiritually- not just addressing their physical health.