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The Home Team
Where Do You Start When Drafting Your Homebirth Delivery Team?
By Lisa A. Goldstein
Indeed, interviewing different homebirth midwives to find the one you feel most comfortable with is always a good way to select your team, says Audra Karp, a homebirth midwife who attends women in the Boston area.
Lauren Plante of Cape Cod, Mass., began looking for a homebirth midwife in her area when she was around 6 to 8 weeks pregnant. Midwifery care typically begins at 12 weeks. She searched online through mfom.org and began calling midwives who were willing to come to Cape Cod. She spoke with Karp, and decided to schedule an interview to discuss the type of birth she was interested in, to see if their personalities clicked. They were all on the same page, so Karp was chosen to be Plante's midwife.
According to Karp, you need a midwife, and the midwife selects the team that will attend the birth. The team is usually composed of two midwives and sometimes a student midwife as well. Midwives encourage women to follow their bodies during labor and may suggest position changes, walks, showers or baths during the labor, Karp says. Some women may ask a friend or family member, like a mom or sister, to be present at the birth, but many times it's just the couple and the two midwives.
There are couples that choose to give birth at home without the assistance of any professional birth attendants. "I personally recommend to women who mention this that they would be better served to have a professional who is experienced in birth with them," Collins says. "I say this not only because that practitioner has specific expertise in the area, but also, should anything go wrong, if a loved one is being the attendant, panic or fear may definitely cloud judgment/objectivity, and may result in a delay n obtaining emergent care."
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