Commonly Asked Questions

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Our Midwives...

~Are Professional

~Are licensed through the State of Michigan

~Care deeply about you and your baby

~Are experts in normal birth

~Believe in Family Centered Birth 

~Communicate directly with their clients

~Offer up to one hour appointments

~Provide you with All of your options 

~Educate on a variety of topics that help keep you and your baby healthy 

~Believe in your ability to birth your baby

~Provide true informed consent 

~Offer shared decision making 

~Work in a team of 2 to 3 at the birth

~Bring all equipment necessary for a safe home birth 

~Offer intermittent monitoring from active labor through delivery

~Carry medications in case they are needed

~Carry IV fluids in case they are needed

~Offer IV antibiotics if you are GBS + and request to have them 

~Suture up to 2nd degree tears

~Certify in neonatal resuscitation and CPR every two years. 

~Provide six weeks of postpartum care

~Support you on your breastfeeding journey 

~Provide all three parts of the Michigan newborn screening (Blood spots, Pulse ox, Hearing screen)

~Provide a full head to toe newborn exam

~Offer Neonatal Eye ointment and Vitamin K

~Provide all standard of care pregnancy labs plus Vitamin D levels and a thyroid panel through Quest Diagnostics. 

~Offer at cost negotiated lab prices for those without insurance or who may have high deductibles. 

~Participate in regular continuing education opportunities 

~Offer a Variety of Payment Plan Options

A birth doula is a labor support person who provides educational, emotional and physical support for her client. She is Not a clinical care provider. 

A midwife is a trained professional with special expertise in supporting women to maintain a healthy pregnancy and birth. Midwives offer individualized care, education, counseling and support to a woman and her newborn throughout the childbearing cycle.

A midwife is the primary care provider during pregnancy, labor, delivery, the immediate postpartum period and 6 weeks of postpartum care for low risk women. 

A midwife works with each woman and her family to identify their unique physical, social and emotional needs. When the care required is outside of the midwife's scope of practice or expertise, the woman is referred to other care providers for additional consultation or care. 

If you can answer Yes to all of the following questions, you May be a candidate for a home birth

1.  Are you in good physical health?

2.  Do you refrain from smoking, drinking, and drugs?

3.  Do you have good nutritional habits?

4.  Are you responsible with a self-reliant belief system towards prenatal care and birth?

5.  Are you in a home situation that supports a home birth?

6.  Are you interested and willing to learn about all aspects of pregnancy, labor, and birth?

7.  Are you willing to transfer care to a physician or hospital upon your midwife’s recommendation?

8.  Are you a low risk status?

9.  Do you understand potential risks involved in birth and having a baby in  home/birthing  center?

Yes! The midwives at it's Your Birth are licensed through the State of Michigan. Our credentials are Licensed Midwife (LM) and Certified Professional Midwife (CPM).

The state of Michigan passed a midwifery licensing bill in January of 2017. As of August 01, 2019. 

All community (home birth) midwives must hold a midwifery license through the state of Michigan. Verify a Michigan Midwifery License 

If you are healthy and low risk, it is not necessary to see a physician in addition to your midwife in pregnancy. There are times in which a client may need to see a physician during pregnancy if  specific circumstances warrant it. 

 Types of Midwives in the U.S.

There are two main categories of midwives in the U.S. 

Certified Professional Midwives (CPM's) train as midwives without being nurses. 

Certified Nurse Midwives (CNM’s) are trained in both nursing and midwifery. 

In the state of Michigan, it is not legal to call yourself a midwife or offer midwifery services unless you are a CNM (Certified Nurse Midwife) or LM with CPM credential. (Licensed Midwife, Certified Professional Midwife)

The Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) credential 

·  Not required to be nurses. 

·  Multiple routes of education recognized; direct entry midwives and certified nurse midwives can qualify for this credential.

·  Education programs accredited by the Midwifery Education Accreditation Council prepare students to meet the requirements for the CPM.

·  Out-of-hospital birth experience is required.

·  Have met rigorous requirements, passed a written exam and hands-on skills evaluation.

·  Administered by the North American Registry of Midwives.

·  Legal status varies according to state.

·  Practice most often in homes and birth centers.For more information e-mail info@narm.org or call 1-888-84-BIRTH (eastern time).

Certified Nurse Midwives (CNMs)

·  Educated in both nursing and midwifery, primarily in the hospital setting; are "advanced practice nurses."

·  Must have at least a Bachelor’s Degree when training is complete.

·  Have successfully completed a university-affiliated nurse-midwifery program accredited by the  American College of Nurse-Midwives and passed the exam.

·  Out-of-hospital clinical experience is not required.

·  Are legal and can be licensed in all states.

·  Most practice in hospitals and birth centers.

·  In most states, must have some kind of agreement with a doctor for consultation and referral; practicing without such an agreement can lead to loss of license.

Our prenatal and postpartum appointments are typically 30min to 1 hour in duration. 

Most appointments are in office.

Prenatals: 

Once a month until you are 32 weeks

Every 2 weeks from 32 to 36 weeks

The 36 week visit is in home (if planning a home delivery)

 Weekly until delivery

Postpartum:

Day 1  ~ in Home (If planning a home delivery)

Schedule with your Pediatrician on day 3

Week 1, 2, 4, and 6 ~ In office 

We support true delayed cord clamping at every birth. It is common in our practice to wait until the placenta is delivered before the cord is cut. If your baby requires resuscitation, it is done with the baby still being attached to his/her cord And placenta. 

Yes. The midwives at It's your Birth recertify every two years in both CPR and  neonatal resuscitation.

There are a lot of built in protective mechanisms that nature has provided in normal physiological birth. In a well nourished, healthy low risk woman, the rate of complication is extremely low. However, nature is fallible and complications can arise during labor, delivery, or the immediate postpartum period. Your midwife is there to monitor both you and your baby from active labor until approximately 2-3 hours post delivery. Many complications will show signs ahead of time. We are well trained and equipped to handle complications that can happen in a labor or delivery.  There are protocols followed for different complications. The midwives at It's Your Birth are also trained in midwifery pharmacology and carry certain medications that are listed for use under our license. If the complication was not resolving as expected, the team would be arranging for back up EMS/hospital transport while continuing to work on stabilizing the situation. 

We do not routinely transport into the hospital with you. Licensed CPM's do not have hospital privileges. If you need to transport to the hospital in labor, your midwife will call the transport in and fax over your records. The hospital practitioner becomes the primary care giver. Routine postpartum care will follow once you are discharged and home. 

We do not participate with insurance/bill insurance. We provide an invoice if you would like to try to obtain reimbursement from your insurance after there is a date of birth. Many Christian Health Shares cover home birth. We find that our costs are often less than most clients deductibles/copays. Prenatal care, birth, birth team and 6 weeks of postpartum care are all included in the price. We do not provide super bills or ICD-10 coding.

Yes. We offer a variety of payment plan options.  For your convince, we accept payments in the form of cash, check, credit card or HSA cards. Payments may be made in person during It’s Your Birth Midwifery’s clinic hours or through Square invoices. See our Pricing page for details. 

Pricing and Payment Plans 

Yes. We have a lab account through Quest Diagnostics. We offer all standard prenatal labs. Some labs are required to be in care. Quest does bill insurance. We also offer lower cost, negotiated lab rates for clients with high deductibles  or no insurance. 

We  attend  VBAC’s  on  a  case  by  case  basis  with  informed  consent  provided.

Yes, water birth is an option in our practice.   Even  with  a  planned  water  birth,  we  cannot  guarantee water  birth.  

Your midwife files for the birth certificate online with the Michigan Vital records department. There is a parent information worksheet that must be filled out and signed. 

Absolutely! We strongly encourage all clients to hire a doula. First time natural  birthing  parents are required  to  hire  a  doula.  

Yes! We offer 6 weeks of post partum midwifery services for clients planning hospital births. Make sure to read our blog on Postpartum care in the U.S.

Yes. Our practice has a 100% breastfeeding success rate at the 6 week postpartum visit for  mothers  who  planned  on  breastfeeding.  We are able to support most concerns with breastfeeding. If you need help beyond what we are able to offer, we will provide recommendations for a local IBCLC lactation consultant.