How to Find a Midwife

For pregnant people desiring safe, natural, and relationship-based maternity care, it’s time to find a midwife!  There are many options for finding a Portland OR midwife and most serve the surrounding areas as well. This means that each person can find a midwife that is the perfect match for them.  Finding a midwife in pregnancy can reduce interventions and is the best way to have a natural pregnancy and birth. Additionally, hiring a midwife will ensure that you receive comprehensive postpartum care, which is greatly lacking in hospital based care and is one of the main reasons for poor maternal outcomes in the United States.  Data demonstrates that both maternal and newborn outcomes are better when midwives are integrated into the healthcare system. Midwifery care can promote healthier outcomes for both you and your baby, and you can start going to prenatal appointments with a midwife as soon as you get a positive pregnancy test.

How to Find a Midwife

Start with an internet search!  Searching the internet for midwives nearby is one of the quickest ways to generate a list of local midwifery practices.  Set up consultations with each midwifery practice that you are interested in. Many practices will offer a consultation for anyone looking into their care.  During a consultation you will have the opportunity to get know the personalities of the midwives, to ask your questions about their care, to hear about the logistics of getting starting with their practice, and to talk about what’s most important to you for your pregnancy, birth, and postpartum.  Since relationship-building is one of the main focuses of midwifery care, the midwives will provide the time to listen to you and to make sure you have all of your questions answered to your satisfaction.  

Questions to Ask

Who will be at my birth?

One of the most meaningful parts of hiring a midwife is knowing who will be at your birth.  You will get the opportunity to build relationships with your midwives throughout prenatal care.  While many midwifery practices can guarantee at least one of the midwives who will be at your birth, some practices have a midwife rotation, so this may matter when choosing the right midwifery practice for you.

What are your credentials?  

Certified Professional Midwives (CPM) are the experts on community birth, so for those seeking a homebirth or birth center birth, a certified professional midwife is the type of midwife you want to hire.  CPMs have extensive training in natural, holistic pregnancy care, how to run prenatal labs, how to assess for both maternal and fetal well being in pregnancy; they’re highly trained on how to manage complications in the out of hospital setting and how to support women and babies throughout a natural birth experience; they’re also experienced at taking care of both postpartum moms and babies in the home setting.  Other types of credentialed midwives include Certified Nurse Midwives (CNM) and Naturopathic Midwives (ND).

What type of medications do you carry?

When you find a midwife it’s important to know whether or not they carry medications to control postpartum bleeding, lidocaine for suturing, IV fluids, antibiotics and medications for newborn procedures.  This information is important when considering homebirth safety.

Do you provide informed choice?

Informed choice is one of the main tenants of client-centered midwifery care, and while most midwives provide informed choice throughout their care, it’s worth asking about up front.

How do you maintain safety in your practice?

Each midwife has their own way of performing risk-assessment and it can be empowering to hear about how each midwife will do their job to keep you safe.  It’s important that you feel comfortable with your midwife’s particular practice of ongoing risk assessment, so that you can trust your care provider throughout labor and beyond.

What do you charge?

When you find a midwife you will learn quickly that midwifery care is overwhelmingly more affordable than hospital based maternity care.  Each midwife sets their own unique rate. Most practices charge a global fee for the entirety of their care and it’s often less than people’s insurance deductibles.  In general, when asking about the cost of midwifery care, people learn that it’s much more financially feasible than other healthcare options.

Other Considerations

The most important thing to consider about how to find a midwife is finding both the midwife that you feel safe with and that you feel a connection to.  Individualized and relationship-based care is most meaningful when each person is able to find a midwife that is a personal match for them. There is a midwife match for every person!

Have an Empowering Home Birth!

Find a midwife near you as soon as you’d like to receive prenatal care!  It’s never too early to start the interviewing process in order to find a midwife that is a perfect fit for you.  Finding a midwife early on in pregnancy can help to set the tone for a healthy pregnancy and an empowering birth experience!  Hearth and Home Midwifery offers free hour long consultations to any pregnant person interested in learning more about their services.  They provide midwifery care to people living in Portland OR and surrounding areas. They welcome each person to schedule a consultation as soon as they find out they’re pregnant, so that they can take good care of their clients from the start and support each family in thriving throughout their prenatal, birth, and postpartum journey.  Contact the midwives today!