Services

Initial Consultation

Usually we are first contacted by telephone. After answering any questions you have, if you are interested in more information, we would like to meet with you in your home to discuss the details of how Licensed CPMs work in Virginia. We will go over important details, and answer any further questions you have. This meeting requires no commitment. Once you have had a chance to digest the information we give you, we ask that you call and let us know what you have decided. If you would like to plan a home birth, we will then schedule your first prenatal visit.

Prenatal Care

Most of your prenatal care will take place at our office in Lynchburg. Visits are once a month until 28-30 weeks and then every other week until 36 weeks. We generally spend about an hour together at each meeting since there is much to discuss as we collaborate in the plan for your complete care. At 36 weeks, about a month before your baby is due, we will gather the birth team members you choose, including an apprentice and assistant, and meet at your home for a prenatal visit, a tour of your home, and a discussion of your vision for your birth. Next, we return to office appointments–weekly–until your baby is born. Families are welcome at all visits and we strive to be available at times that are convenient for you, while also balancing the needs of our own families.

During your prenatal care, we will be available by phone and/or email to answer questions and discuss any issues that come up between meetings.

Labor and Birth

Once your labor is active, we will come to your home to keep a close eye on you and your baby throughout the birthing process. Besides vitals on both of you, we will be available to make suggestions designed to keep your labor and birth normal and safe. We will stay with you from start to finish. Once your baby is born, we continue to observe both of you carefully. This includes a thorough evaluation and assessment over the course of several hours postpartum. When you are settled, the baby has nursed well, and you have both been stable for several hours, we will be on our way.

Postpartum Care

We will stay on call and available to you over the course of the next several weeks. At 24-48 hours postpartum, we will return to your home to evaluate both you and the baby. At this time we offer the state-required newborn metabolic screening for your baby. If things are going well, we return on the fourth day, and then again at two weeks and four weeks. Other visits are sometimes added to this schedule as necessary. We recommend that the baby be established with a pediatric provider during this time. The final postpartum visit, at six weeks, occurs at our office.