Frequently Asked Questions

When receiving care with us, it is not required to also see a physician.  We follow the standard obstetrical calendar for prenatal appointments:

• every 4 weeks until 28 weeks gestation

• once every 2 weeks from 28-36 weeks gestation

• once a week from 36 weeks until delivery

Currently we can accept most major insurance companies with a PPO option, as we are out of network. Fees for care are due directly to us.  If you have a PPO plan, we will bill your insurance for you for reimbursement from your insurance company.  You may use FSA or HSA cards to pay for your care.  Additionally, we can work with you to put together an affordable, out of pocket, payment plan should you choose not to bill through insurance.  Regrettably, we cannot accept Medi-Cal at this time.

A birth center is a free-standing healthcare and wellness facility that provides family-centered women’s health, pregnancy, birth, postpartum, and newborn services in a safe comfortable setting.  If you desire out of hospital birth, are concerned about not having much space at home, or the distance from your home to a hospital, the birth center could be a good choice for you. The rooms are like a bed and breakfast inn; beautiful and inviting.  The free-standing nature of the facility allows the services to be midwife-led and rooted in holistic philosophy while simultaneously retaining evidenced-based collaboration and access to the full spectrum of healthcare resources.

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There have been several studies made about the safety of home birth. We recommend home birth as an option for women who are having low risk pregnancies and no sign of need for medical intervention. Throughout your prenatal care, your midwives will be monitoring your and your baby’s well-being and suitability for home birth. If the occasion arises where you or your baby would be better served in a hospital birth environment, that recommendation will be made. We are all committed to the safety of you and your baby and will advise you accordingly.

A midwife is an expert in normal birth. She is trained to keep things normal, and if complications do occur, to recognize and correct them. The most common complications in birth can be safely handled by the midwife. That being said, low-risk women typically have very few complications.  If the need for hospital transfer arises, your midwife will facilitate it quickly and efficiently, and stay with you the entire time. Your midwife has working relationships with a variety of health care providers and knows when to transfer your care to one of them. There are many large, well-designed studies that have examined the question of safety of out-of-hospital birth. The results are conclusive. When they compare women without risk-factors, out-of-hospital birth attended by a skilled provider and hospital birth of similar groups have equivalent safety outcomes.  If you look at the countries in the world with the lowest infant mortality rates, you see that these countries use midwives and out of hospital birth for low risk women and they do so with excellent outcomes.

Yes.  While you are not required to have an ultrasound to be a part of our practice, they are available.  We provide in office ultrasound for confirmation of pregnancy, dating of pregnancy and fetal position check.  We refer out for anatomy scan and nuchal translucency ultrasounds. If, during the course of your pregnancy we suspect a complication, we will likely refer you for an ultrasound to confirm or rule it out.  Some families feel more comfortable if at least one ultrasound is done to get a visual assessment of the baby before it is born. We are happy to assist you with these requests.

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Your midwife will have much of the same equipment that is available at the hospital.  She has oxygen for both mother and baby if needed, a fetal monitor to assess the baby’s well being throughout labor and birth, and the same medications that are available at the hospital to control bleeding if necessary. She also has many other tools to support you through your birth.  Her most used tools though are her kind words, gentle touch and patience.

This is a tough question, because each family is different. We encourage you to invite your family members to come with you to your appointments and talk over any concerns with the midwife. Often this puts fears to rest. Some clients choose not to tell their family or friends the specifics about their birth plans until after the birth is done. But ultimately, you know your family best, and therefore know best how to interact with them on this topic.

You can invite anyone you would like to have at your birth…after all, it’s your birth. Whether you give birth at the center or at your home, you get to say what works for you. We have a lounge at the birth center that is there for your guests to make themselves at home. Although we would not decide for you who should be at your birth, we do have some suggestions to support you based on what we’ve seen work well over the years, and can discuss those suggestions with you during prenatal appointments.

We love having children at births. We will include your child in what’s happening and reassure them if they get concerned. What we’ve seen over the years is that children usually do quite well at birth as long as they are prepared for what’s going to happen with books and videos beforehand. Having someone there whose only job is to support, reassure and care for them is really important too. This person can also take them out of the room if they decide they don’t want to be there. Being at the birth can really help your child understand and adjust to the new baby.

The usual length of stay is about four hours. By that time, we know you’re stable and we’ve taught you how to care for yourself and your baby. Most families are ready to go home and climb into their own bed and sleep by then. We are also available 24/7 to address any questions or concerns you might have.