Midwife-led care

Experiences have clearly shown that an approach which ‘de-medicalizes’ birth, restores dignity and humanity to the process of childbirth, and returns control to the mother is also the safest approach. 

The Midwife Model of Care

Choosing your birth provider is one of the most important decisions you will make. A midwife-led model of care means that the midwife is your main healthcare professional, responsible for the care given to you, from the initial booking of antenatal visits through to care during the postnatal period. You have a choice about how you give birth. You can decide to go all natural, be open to what happens on the day, or you might have special circumstances (such as a previous c-section or traumatic birth) to consider.

How you want your baby’s birth to be will help determine who is the right care provider for you. Women seeking a natural and intervention free birth will be more successful with a midwifery-led model of care (home birth or birth centre). Women who are worried and anxious about giving birth are more likely to have a positive birth experience with support from a midwife as the midwife-led model of care is woman-centred.

Evidence Based

Evidence based research has shown that midwives achieve the same outcomes as physicians without disrupting the natural birth process as often. In fact, care from midwives has significantly lower rates of induced labour, episiotomies, and forcep births.

  • Lower rates of birth by caesarean section.
  • Lower rates of induced labour.
  • Significantly lower rates of third and fourth degree tears from delivery and less episiotomy rates.
  • Higher success of breastfeeding.

Holistic Care

Midwives respect that clients are individuals and because of their personal, cultural, and religious beliefs, every birth experience is different. Midwifery care involves education, health awareness, social support, and clinical assessment. Midwifery encourages mind-body connections, recognising the spiritual and emotional aspects of birth, allowing women to birth with strength and dignity. Midwives encourage women and their families to make informed choices, creating an atmosphere in which they can celebrate the miracle of birth, wherever they choose to be.

Education

  • Evidence-based education for antenatal, intrapartum, and postnatal care
  • Health tips including appropriate exercises, meaningful diet, supplementation that is unique for your lifestyle
  • Up to date information about any recommended tests, procedures, or treatments so you can make informed choices
  • Experienced based suggestions to navigate hospital policies to ensure a birth that is more natural, safe, and respectful of your birth plan

Monitoring

  • Monitoring the physical, physiological and social well-being of the mother throughout her prenatal, labour, birth and postnatal period.
  • Providing the mother and partner with individualised education, counselling and prenatal care, continuous hands-on assistance during labour, birth and postpartum support.
  • Minimising unnecessary technological or medical interventions.
  • Identifying and referring women who require obstetrical intervention.

Birth is Normal

  • Discover your own body’s ability to give birth, in its own way and in its own time
  • No routine treatments or arbitrary timetables that can interfere with your body’s healthy process of laboring and birth
  • Truly individualized care, privacy, and natural childbirth
  • Support for doing the work of giving birth. Rather than someone else “delivering the baby”, you are empowered to give birth to your baby!

Pain Relief

  • Helping you cope with pain relief, (both medical and non-medical)
  • Midwives have found that encouragement, massage, relaxation, labouring in water, change of positions, homeopathic remedies and being surrounded by love are often very effective in minimizing pain or discomfort and booking a Private Doula to support you
  • Avoiding risks to yourself and your baby that are associated with many standard medical interventions and hospital protocols

Full Support

  • Midwife means “with-woman”, and we stay true to that meaning
  • Attentive, sensitive care and emotional support in tune with your needs throughout labour
  • Ensuring successful breastfeeding, bonding, and transition to motherhood
  • Midwives provide care for women throughout their lifetime. The joyous birth of your baby is just the beginning of our lifelong relationship!