Prenatal checkups are vital to your care, so we schedule 45 minute appointments for each visit. Most visits are done in half an hour, but sometimes the conversation continues through! We are here to answer your questions and gain insight into your life and pregnancy to provide you with the best possible care.

The first prenatal visit, after the initial interview or Meet & Greet, is the longest. Your midwifery team will take a complete medical history and do a risk assessment for homebirth, including a brief physical exam evaluating your general well-being. We may draw some blood for a complete prenatal lab work.

We will take your blood pressure at each visit and measure the growth of your uterus to help us evaluate your baby's growth. It also helps confirm your estimated due date (EDD).

Possibly the most essential part of your prenatal visit is when we discuss how you are feeling. We will answer any questions and give you more information to as needed.

We will follow your lead on our level of involvement in your labor. It is our job to check on you and your baby, but if you prefer to labor quietly alone with your partner, we will respect that. We will quietly come in to check heart tones and vital signs but leave you alone between checks. We highly recommend the use of a doula to provide comfort and support throughout your whole labor.

We believe in encouraging laboring people to move as they feel most comfortable. We will offer suggestions for different positions, including laboring on a birth stool, but the laboring person is ultimately in control of their body. You will be supported to eat and drink as you desire or need. Showering or soaking in our beautiful birth tub is highly suggested, as water is a wonderful comfort to a laboring person. You will be able to walk around, go outside or do what feels right to you.

When it is time to deliver, you are free to choose your position. You will be supported to watch the process and even touch their head. After birth, your baby will immediately be placed on your stomach.

If the baby needs any special attention, most of the time, we can tend to their needs right beside you. We have emergency equipment such as oxygen, and we are trained in resuscitation techniques, though they rarely are needed.

We stay with you for at least four hours after birth or as long as we are needed.

Your postpartum care actually begins the moment you give birth. We keep a close eye on everything for the first few hours, and one of us will visit you at home within the first few days. During the one-week visit in our office, we will do the hearing screen and the second newborn screen, if you choose, to test for several treatable conditions with which babies are occasionally born. During these first few days, we also complete and submit the birth certificate/social security number to the Arizona Office of Vital Records.

You may also choose to have your baby seen by your pediatrician or family practitioner in the early weeks.

The three- and six-week postpartum visits are done in our office. At the last visit, we will do a final check, discuss family planning and offer a gynecological exam in the future, if you desire.