Midwifery Services

Experience the benefits of family-centered care for your pregnancy & home birth.

The Midwifery Model of Care is a proven approach to birth that supports the normal physiological birth process and believes childbirth is holistic and family-centered. This model is utilized around the world for low-risk pregnancy and birth, and data show that mothers fare better and experience safer birth outcomes, specifically, reducing the incidence of birth injury, trauma, and cesarean section.

 

Midwifery Services Include

 

In-depth Prenatal Care

Appointments once a month until 30 weeks, every 2 weeks until 36 weeks, and then once a week until baby is born

Continuous Labor Support

Your midwife will come to your home when you are in active labor, or whenever you ask for her, and stay until a minimum of 2 hours after baby is born

Postpartum Care

Your midwife will visit you at home 24-48 hours after birth, then again at 2 weeks and, finally, at 6 weeks postpartum

 

Meet the Midwives

Request a Consult

FAQs

  • A home birth is a planned birth that takes place in your home, attended by a licensed midwife. It offers a natural, personalized, and family-centered experience in a familiar and comfortable setting.

    • Provide woman-centered care for low-risk pregnant women desiring to give birth at home

    • Provide individualized education, counseling, prenatal care, continuous hands-on assistance during labor and delivery, and postpartum care to their clients

    • Provide a high standard of continuity of care, allowing you to see the same midwife for prenatal visits, your birth, and postpartum visits

    • Encourage your active participation and informed decision-making in all aspects of your care

    • Equip you and your family/support team with the most up-to-date information based on the best available evidence

    • Utilize evidence-based technology and intervention when appropriate and upon your informed consent

    • Facilitate a low-stress birth environment

    • Ensure that you have timely access to obstetrical care if you need to be transferred to the hospital for medical reasons or because you request an epidural

    • Recognize that babies are aware, sensitive human beings and as such, will minimize separation between you and your baby

    • Collaborate and consult with other maternity care providers, including communicating with the original caregiver when transfer from one birth site to another is necessary

    • Connect you and your baby to prenatal, postpartum, and breastfeeding resources in your own community

    • Partner closely with a Nurse Practitioner, Chiropractor, and Massage Therapist for your referral needs in pregnancy and postpartum

  • Our midwives are either a Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) with extensive training in home birth practices or a CNM (Certified Nurse Midwife) with extensive training in hospital and/or home birth practices. They are also NRP (Neonatal Resuscitation Program) and CPR certified, ensuring they are prepared to handle any unexpected situations during labor and birth. With years of experience and a deep commitment to providing safe, compassionate care, our midwives are dedicated to supporting you and your family throughout the entire birth process.

  • Yes. For healthy, low-risk pregnancies, studies show that a planned home birth attended by qualified midwives can be just as safe as a hospital birth, often with fewer interventions. We work closely with each client to determine if home birth is the right and safest option for them. While our goal is for you to welcome your baby at home, we cannot guarantee that every birth will happen there. If at any point home is no longer the safest place, your midwife will guide you through the transfer process, support a smooth transition of care, and then continue providing postpartum follow-up visits through six weeks after birth.

  • Our midwifery package typically includes:

    • Prenatal visits

    • 24/7 on-call availability

    • Labor and birth support at home

    • Immediate postpartum care for mom and baby

    • Newborn assessments up to six weeks

    • Postpartum maternal follow-ups up to six weeks

  • The total cost for home birth midwifery care is $6,550. This includes:

    • All routine prenatal visits at our office location

    • A home visit around 36 weeks

    • Continuous support during labor and birth at home

    • Birth pool rental

    • A 24-hour postpartum home visit

    • Additional postpartum visits in the weeks following birth

    • Newborn assessments during the immediate postpartum period

    A $500 non-refundable deposit is due at your initial visit to reserve your care. The remaining balance is split into two payments:

    • $3,025 due at 28 weeks

    • $3,025 due at 36 weeks

  • We do not bill insurance directly, but we are happy to provide a superbill that you can submit to your insurance provider or medical cost-sharing program (such as Christian Healthcare Ministries, Samaritan Ministries) for potential reimbursement.
    We also accept Health Savings Account (HSA) and Flexible Spending Account (FSA) payments.

    Labs and ultrasounds are not included in the midwifery care fee. These services are billed separately and can often be covered by your insurance when completed at participating facilities.

  • Giving birth in water is optional, but it’s a beautiful option that many families choose for its calming and soothing effects. While water birth is not required, the water provides excellent comfort during labor and helps many people feel more relaxed and in control.

    We offer birth pool rentals as part of our midwifery care, and our midwives are experienced in supporting water births. However, you can choose to birth outside of the pool if that feels better for you. The decision is entirely yours!

  • All of our midwives attend births with a trained midwifery assistant, ensuring you have complete, attentive care throughout your labor and birth.

    If you’d like additional support, we offer in-house labor doulas you can hire directly through our practice. You’re also welcome to bring in an outside doula — whatever feels right for your family. 

    Ultimately, we support you in creating the environment that feels safest and most empowering to you. Many families choose to include partners, children, close friends, or birth photographers.

    Not sure who you want present? Our midwives are here to help you think through that decision and offer gentle guidance as you prepare for this intimate and powerful moment.

  • You can contact us via our consultation request: https://www.mynovabirth.com/consultationrequest

  • Yes! We want to ensure you feel fully supported throughout your birth experience. For first-time birthing parents, we require that you have a certified labor doula present at your birth. While the doula does not have to be from NOVA, they must be a certified professional. If you choose to work with one of our NOVA doulas, you'll receive 10% off their services.

    Additionally, we require all first-time home birth families to take our Home Birth Essentials course. This course is designed to provide you with essential knowledge about home birth, preparing you and your partner for a confident, safe, and empowering birth experience.

    We're here to guide you every step of the way!

  • Our midwives have training in breech birth and can support a surprise breech presentation if it occurs. However, we do not have extensive experience and do not consider ourselves specialists in breech deliveries. If your baby has a persistent breech presentation, we approach care on an individualized basis and strongly recommend consulting with and hiring a doctor who specializes in breech delivery.

Research on Home Birth & Midwifery Care

 

In the largest ever examination of planned home births in the United States, a study released in 2014 found that, among low-risk women, planned home births result in low rates of birth interventions without an increase in adverse outcomes for mothers and newborns.

The study - which looked at nearly 17,000 women and their newborns - found that for planned home births with a midwife in attendance:

  • The rate of normal physiologic birth was over 93%

  • The cesarean rate was 5.2%

  • The rate of vacuum- or forceps-assisted vaginal birth was 1.2% and less than 5% of mothers required augmentation or epidural analgesia

  • Only 1.5% of newborns had a low Apgar score (a measure of newborn health in the first five minutes following birth)

  • 2.5% of newborns were admitted to the intensive care unit (NICU) at some point during the first six weeks following birth

  • 87% of women with a previous cesarean (VBAC) delivered their newborns vaginally

  • Of the 10.9% of women who transferred from home to hospital during labor, the majority changed locations for non-emergent reasons, such as slow, non-progressing labor, or maternal exhaustion

  • At six weeks postpartum, more than 97% of newborns were at least partially breastfed and 86% were exclusively breastfed

“These rates of intervention are significantly lower than those seen in U.S. hospitals, without a simultaneous increase in adverse outcomes,” said Dr. Melissa Cheyney, PhD, CPM, LDM, Associate Professor of Medical Anthropology at Oregon State University, and lead author on the study.

Further studies are showing that receiving care from a midwife has the potential to bring great positive change to the alarmingly high maternal and infant mortality rates in the United States today. You can read more about this study here.

NOVA's Midwifery Practice follows guidelines recommended by the Tennessee Midwives Association. You can view those guidelines here.   

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