FAQs
1. When will you be in network?
– This is a fluid question, the quick answer is we are working on it hard and are being told that a good estimate will be Summer of 2024.
2. What insurance companies will be in network?
-We are working to get in network with all major carriers, the first we hope to hear from are: Health Partners, BCBS, Medical Assistance and Preferred One.
3. Can I tour the birth center?
-YES! We have group tours that are set up for the first Tuesday evening of every month and the third Saturday morning of every month! Please call us at 952-856-0071 to schedule a tour or fill out our contact form on our website and we will get in touch with you.
4. Can I deliver at the Birth Center?
– YES! We have already done a handful of births at the birth center and are fully operational! Please note, however that we will remain out of network until Summer 2024. The total cost to deliver at the birth center is $5,500 – $7,500 depending on your insurance coverage. While we are still out of network, we will continue to bill insurance at the out of network rates and some coverage is still received by many of our families. That includes everything except labs and ultrasounds.
This is the meeting set up for us to get to know each other. Unlike many client/business relationships, both parties have a decision to make in whether or not we are the right fit for each other. The reason why we both need to feel right about it is because it is such a big decision. You are adding a new member to your family and looking for the right team to guide you through the pregnancy and birth and transition to being new parents for the first time or new parents to another baby.
That being said, although all our prenatals are family/kid friendly, (see below) we do ask that for the consultation parents find a babysitter (if at all possible) due to the nature of the appointment. If that is not possible, we do have toys at our office so can easily accomadate the whole family. Just know that an adult might miss a few talking points if also watching kids.
This appointment should take 45 minutes to an hour depending on where you are in the process of choosing your midwife and birth site. If you are just starting out, it may take longer because you may have more questions, but if you have already had a homebirth, or interviewed other midwives everything will be familiar and you won’t have as many questions.
You have the option to meet us in person at either clinic location or via zoom, and we do ask that, if possible, both mom and dad attend, because together they need to feel comfortable with their choice in a care provider. We generally start off with us answering your questions that you bring along, and then we go through our paperwork answering any other questions that come up as well. We will have a portal set up for you ahead of time and show you where to access the information we discuss to allow you more time to review it on your own.
We also encourage parents to either input insurance information into your portal before the appointment or bring your insurance card with you so we can request an insurance benefits check for you.
Prenatal appointments are held at one of our two clinic locations except for the 34 week home visit when we come to the client’s home, we go through her gathered birth supplies and tour her home and talk more in depth about her birth plans. Also, we ask that anyone that the parents want to have at their birth attend this prenatal if at all possible, or at least send in any questions so that we can talk through them and have them cleared up before the birth.
Appointments are always family friendly, if parents already have children, they are welcome to come to the prenatal, just plan for the appointment to take a bit longer due to possible distractions 🙂
At the appointment we sit down and talk about what has happened since the last time we saw each other. We talk about how you are feeling, have you step on the scale, and we check vitals. Then we do the fun part which is feeling the baby and listening to the heartbeat.
After that we are usually done unless there are more significant things to talk about – concerns or questions that the parents might have etc. We always recommend that both mom and dad keep a piece of paper that is easily accessible (on the fridge for example) to write down questions they come up with during the week since it is easy to forget what they are especially in the beginning when we don’t meet as often.
Some appointments are slightly more involved – the first one where we need to do more paperwork and do lab work, transfer medical records etc, then the 28 week appointment where there are extra labs that need to be taken and education that needs to be done and then the 34 week appointment when we come to your house to do the home visit and see the space (even if you live in a small space, don’t worry, we have tricks up our sleeve to make it work) so that we know the lay of the land when you are in labor.
Appointments can be brief – as short as 20 minutes if time is of the essence on the clients’ part, or they can be longer (normal is usually between 45 minutes to one hour).
Actually, we’ve found home birth to be less messy in most cases.
If the mom delivers in the water (which is highly recommended) the mess stays in the tub, the mom gets out and either goes to the bathroom to clean up (with the midwife helping her) or gets wiped down with warm water and a towel if she isn’t quite feeling up to a shower yet and goes to bed. Then, the midwives use the pump they brought to flush the water/mess into the toilet and it magically disappears!
We provide the birthing pool, liner and tub of disposable birth supplies you will need like gloves and chux pads to keep the mess contained. We will also recommend using old sheets for the bed and having a layer of plastic under the old sheets. All of the things you need to buy are easily bought at Target, Walmart or Amazon.
After we fully inspect it (and offer the parents the chance to see where their baby lived for the last 9 months) we put it in a double ziplock bag, clearly label it and put it in your freezer. Then you have some choices—you can save it for planting in your garden (it makes a wonderful fertilizer,) or you take it out and put it in the garbage on garbage day (we freeze it so it doesn’t smell) or some people choose to encapsulate the placenta and the mom can take it as supplements since it is so full of nutrients. There are studies that have shown it to help with lactation and postpartum depression. As your midwives, we support that and are happy to help you connect with someone who will encapsulate your placenta, we usually have someone on our team who can take care of that for you easily with a minimal fee. If you are ready for the big leagues we can also prepare your placenta (wash it, cut and freeze it) to use for homemade smoothies – this is free.
As your midwife team, we will check on you and your baby’s well being at every prenatal visit and if you are healthy during your pregnancy, you should be able to have a normal, uncomplicated birth. As midwives, we are trained to recognize signs of complications as they arise, and we carry supplies and equipment for handling the most common complications of childbirth, including but not limited to: hemorrhage, cord around the neck of the baby, shoulder dystocia, etc.
Together with our clients, we will also make a transport plan before birth so should a complication arise that cannot be managed at home so we are prepared. Should we have to go to the hospital, we will absolutely stay with you and advocate for you at the hospital, we become your doula in the hospital instead of your midwife. Most of the time, when a transport is necessary, it isn’t an emergency situation, and we go in private cars (your midwife following you in her car) and we go to the hospital of your choice. Of course if it is an emergency, we will call 911 and go to the nearest hospital in an ambulance.
Home birth is only for low-risk women. However, the definition of low-risk varies among care providers. For example, some practitioners may consider a woman with a previous cesarean to be high risk, and some might not. Because this is a personal subject, we would like to speak with you in person about it. If you think you may not be able to have a home birth because of medical complications, please call us, and together we will talk about whether or not home birth can be an option for you. We also go over this topic more in detail at the consultation.
YES! Everything about midwifery care is family friendly—the appointments as well as the birth. The only thing we ask about children being at the birth is that parents prepare them for it by watching videos and talking through the process and that they have a care provider specifically present for the kids if they need to leave the birth or need anything (since mom and dad will be busy!). It is important that the kids know they are allowed to leave if they want to and that the person caring for them knows that.
Family and friends are very welcome as long as they attend the 34 week home visit (if at all possible, obviously if they live out of state, we will work something else out). All must be in support of the choice the parents are making for a home birth and it will be the birthing parents’ choice who comes and doesn’t come – as your midwife we will support the birthing parents’ decision.
We LOVE doulas! And doulas love home birth! This is the kind of birth where they can really do what they love to do – support natural birth at it’s best, they are more free to do labor support than in the hospital. Doulas can complement our care extremely well.
We would like to put a plug in here for birth photographers. If you want a place to find several different photographers that also support natural birth go to www.mnbirthphotographers.com.
We specialize in the care of normal, healthy newborns and provide regular care for the first few weeks of your baby’s life. However, It is a good idea to have a care provider (family practice or pediatrician) set up ahead of time in case your baby needs some additional assessment or care in those first few weeks. We are able to do all the newborn screenings that are normally done in hospital including the bloodspot screen, CCHD and hearing screen.
There are two broad categories of midwives in the US:
- Nurse midwives with the letters CNM who receive their training primarily in the hospital and mostly attend hospital births
- Direct-entry midwives who primarily practice in out-of-hospital settings
Among direct-entry midwives, some are certified (Certified Professional Midwives or CPMs) and some are licensed by their state (LMs or LTMs) and some choose not to be certified or licensed (in the state of MN licensure is optional at this time).
Absolutely! We are all for an involved dad in the birth process, so if this is something the birthing parents would like to explore, we will do so during prenatals. There will be babies that need a little extra help coming out, so it may need to be a team effort, but we are happy to have the dad be as involved as he wants to be. Of course, if he isn’t quite ready to catch, but wants to cut the umbilical cord after birth, that is a great place to start too!
This depends on the specific midwife, so this is a good question to ask each midwife that you interview. We specifically carry oxygen for both mom and baby, medications/herbs for hemorrhage, suctioning equipment, catheter, suturing equipment (for 1st and 2nd-degree tears only) and numbing agents if suturing is necessary. We also have a water-proof doppler and other equipment necessary to monitor mom and baby’s well being during labor and birth and for several hours after. If you have questions about this, please call us.
We include in our price a birthing tub that you will be given between 37 and 38 weeks of pregnancy which you can set up in your home. Water immersion is highly effective in reducing pain and helping moms to relax during labor and birth. Otherwise, walking, staying upright and touch are all very helpful as well. The support that comes from being surrounded by people who love you and support your choice for natural birth is also very comforting and can help with pain management.
We also recommend that parents (especially first-time parents) attend natural birthing classes so they prepare themselves as much as possible. Because midwives never induce labor using medications (which can cause unnaturally long and painful contractions that are much closer together than normal) the need for pain relief not available out of the hospital setting is greatly reduced.
The freedom a woman has in her own home to do whatever works for her (whether it’s moaning or reciting poems, scripture etc), makes it easier for her to deal with the pain of childbirth. In hospitals, women too often feel they must conform to some unwritten code of acceptable behavior.
Most likely, yes. The type of housing available for the birth is usually not a concern and there are a few things you can do to make sure there won’t be any problems when you are in labor. We do ask that there be electricity and running water, the place be relatively picked up and clean, but we can go over that in more detail as you approach your due date. Some things you can do to prep for a home birth:
- Tell your neighbors (both sides and across the hall) that you are planning a home birth, and when your due date is. Explain that there will be more people around during that time, there might be more noise, and it might be at weird hours of the night, but not to worry because you have a trained birth attendant at your birth.
- You might also want to think about posting a note by the mailboxes and/or on the front door to let people know that a “birthing party” is in progress.
We have a team based approach to care so the quick answer is no, but stick around and we will explain why.
Our team does birth in pairs – there are 5 midwives you will get to know well in prep for your birth. We do bring an assistant to your birth as well who works closely with our team trained in NRP and CPR but even if you don’t know her, most moms don’t even notice her come in. One of the 5 primary care providers is your person and the assistant is the midwife’s person assisting her as needed
We have a call rotation that is set for 24 hour shifts. Many times our midwives are on call 1-3 shifts in a row giving great continuity of care, but with some time off call we are able to plan our lives, go to the dentist, go on vacation or just know that we for sure get to attend social events with our families. This prevents burn-out and helps us stay fresh when we are called in to be with you for your important day.
You will see all of us throughout your pregnancy in clinic and with our charting system and birth plan notes we are able to stay in sync with what you are hoping for at your birth and you will know that our communication with each other makes your care our top priority.