Do you offer an interview visit?
Yes! I welcome an initial, no cost, one hour interview visit to explore whether midwifery care and home birth is a good fit for you and whether I am the right midwife for you. I understand that many women, when they find out they are pregnant, are filled with happiness AND are confused or overwhelmed by conflicting information they receive about pregnancy and childbirth. An interview visit is an opportunity to ask lots of questions, to talk about the joys, challenges and changes taking place for you, and to get the support and encouragement you need. Because birth is an intense and personal experience, choosing a midwife with whom you feel comfortable and whose competency you trust is a very important decision in your pregnancy. The interview visit offers us an opportunity to see if the fit is good for everyone involved. If after an interview visit you feel working with me is not a good fit for you and you want to consider other options, I am happy to give you information on other health care providers in your area.
Where do I have prenatal visits?
Usually prenatal visits are in my office in Winona. Occasionally prenatal visits may be in another location if I have a group of clients that live close to each other.
When do I have prenatal visits?
Once we agree that we will work together, we have an initial 60 to 90 minute prenatal visit. This visit includes a complete physical exam, discussion of your pregnancy so far with guidance on any challenges, concerns or discomforts you have, complete review of your medical and childbearing history, review of nutrition and lifestyle issues and guidance if adjustments would be beneficial, and of course, listening to the baby's heartbeat. Subsequent prenatal visits last 1 hour, are monthly in the beginning and middle of pregnancy and then more frequent as you get closer to your time of birth. During the last month of pregnancy, we will have a prenatal visit in your home. At this visit we will explore more deeply your desires and visions for your birth, meet the people (if any) you have invited to be with you when you birth, and review your birth supplies. And, of course, make sure that I know how to get to your house, where to park and meet any pets that might otherwise be startled to see me for the first time in the middle of the night!
How much does homebirth care cost?
I want midwifery care to be accessible and affordable for all healthy women who choose it, and also want to be able to sustain my work as a midwife, full-time, available to you at all times without schedule conflicts from other employment. I offer a sliding fee scale. Details of payment plans and options are spelled out in detail in my Financial Information handout (which you get at your interview visit), and are discussed with you at your first or second prenatal visit. My fee includes individualized, comprehensive prenatal care, labor and birth care, postpartum care and initial newborn care plus personalized, holistic assessment and education throughout the entire childbearing year. My fee does not include lab work, any ultrasound(s) or physician consultation visits you choose to have, birth certificate fee, or costs if you transfer to hospital care. Payment of my fee does NOT guarantee a homebirth as my care includes assessment of circumstances that may necessitate transfer to hospital care.
Do you take insurance?
Yes, I accept all insurance plans. My billing service, Doyle Billing, LLC, handles billing insurance companies. My billing service can provide a verification of your insurance coverage. I am an out of network provider for commercial insurances e.g. Blue Cross Blue Shield, Health Partners, United HealthCare, Preferred One. I am a contracted provider for Minnesota Assistance and Forward Health. Office visits can be paid for with a Medical Savings Account or Flex Plan, if you have one.
How do I contact you?
By email: LeAnn@womancareofwinona.com or phone: 507-450-3422
What if I have complications?
Midwives are experts in recognizing what is outside the wide range of normal in pregnancy, labor and birth. If such a situation comes up, I will discuss it with you, explore options and work with you to resolve it. This may include consultation or referrals to other healthcare providers, including an obstetrician/gynecologist. True emergencies in childbirth are rare. Real birth is not like TV! I am trained and prepared for complications; I carry oxygen, medications to stop bleeding, local anesthetic and supplies if repair of a laceration is needed. I am trained in adult and newborn CPR. If a decision is reached that home is no longer a safe place for mom and/or baby, it is the result of my careful assessment of the situation, discussing what is happening with you and your partner/family and mutually moving toward transfer. If you transfer to a hospital, I will stay with you until after the baby is born.
Is hospital birth safe?
Most Americans assume it is. The majority of the time it is. Why is this question here? Because it SHOULD be a Frequently Asked Question. And because “Is homebirth safe?” is not the most important question either. The important issue of where to have your baby is intensely personal and one of the most fundamental choices you will make in your life as a parent. What a country we live in…anyone is free to choose where they want to birth and who they want to be there with them. In other words, homebirth is legal. Women who have a home birth (and homebirth midwives!) are not rebels or heroes or fanatics nor do they hate hospitals. They are women who realized they had a safe choice, did their homework and chose an alternative. Midwife- attended homebirth of healthy women has been scientifically studied again and again with the same results…homebirth is as safe or safer than hospital birth. Here is one place to access the fine print:www.cfmidwifery.org.
What about pain in labor?
Most women would say that having a baby hurts…a lot. There is a huge difference between pain and suffering. The pain of labor is intermittent, it comes and goes, in between pain you feel no pain. The intense bodily feelings of labor are radically different than any other discomfort in your body because labor pain is not a sign that something is wrong. The intensity in labor can be met with fear, rejection, pity, and/or anger. Or labor can be met with:
Acceptance…on the day you are birthing, 300,000 other women will be doing the same thing
Joy…you are finally in labor and at the end of labor is YOUR BABY
Courage…to cross a threshold, to say yes to a powerful force that transforms you into a mother who is strong and full of protectiveness for your baby
Humor…laughing your baby out works really well, smiling relaxes you and your muscles
Humility…the force of labor brings us all to our knees in awe, it is indescribable, it is primal, it is a privilege to experience and to witness
Movement…up stairs, down stairs, inside, outside, in and out of shower or bath tub, rocking, swaying, dancing, walking, bouncing on a birth ball, any movement is almost always more comfortable than lying in a bed
Nourishment…water, juice, food that you choose, whatever sounds appealing and fortifies you
Sound or silence…whatever you choose… your music, the familiar sounds your house makes, your other children playing … or silence, deep and wide, just the sound of you breathing
Knowledge and trust…of how birth works, of the beautiful continuum of “normal” labor, of your powerful birthing body that knows what to do
Gratitude…for the people you have chosen to accompany you on this journey of birth, people you know well, people you trust and respect, people who honor you and gently uphold you, people with whom you can be vulnerable without fear, people who are grateful and honored to attend you at this sacred time…and nobody else
I want midwifery care to be accessible and affordable for all healthy women who choose it, and also want to be able to sustain my work as a midwife, full-time, available to you at all times without schedule conflicts from other employment. I offer a sliding fee scale. Details of payment plans and options are spelled out in detail in my Financial Information handout (which you get at your interview visit), and are discussed with you at your first or second prenatal visit. My fee includes individualized, comprehensive prenatal care, labor and birth care, postpartum care and initial newborn care plus personalized, holistic assessment and education throughout the entire childbearing year. My fee does not include lab work, any ultrasound(s) or physician consultation visits you choose to have, birth certificate fee, or costs if you transfer to hospital care. Payment of my fee does NOT guarantee a homebirth as my care includes assessment of circumstances that may necessitate transfer to hospital care.
Do you take insurance?
Yes, I accept all insurance plans. My billing service, Doyle Billing, LLC, handles billing insurance companies. My billing service can provide a verification of your insurance coverage. I am an out of network provider for commercial insurances e.g. Blue Cross Blue Shield, Health Partners, United HealthCare, Preferred One. I am a contracted provider for Minnesota Assistance and Forward Health. Office visits can be paid for with a Medical Savings Account or Flex Plan, if you have one.
How do I contact you?
By email: LeAnn@womancareofwinona.com or phone: 507-450-3422
What if I have complications?
Midwives are experts in recognizing what is outside the wide range of normal in pregnancy, labor and birth. If such a situation comes up, I will discuss it with you, explore options and work with you to resolve it. This may include consultation or referrals to other healthcare providers, including an obstetrician/gynecologist. True emergencies in childbirth are rare. Real birth is not like TV! I am trained and prepared for complications; I carry oxygen, medications to stop bleeding, local anesthetic and supplies if repair of a laceration is needed. I am trained in adult and newborn CPR. If a decision is reached that home is no longer a safe place for mom and/or baby, it is the result of my careful assessment of the situation, discussing what is happening with you and your partner/family and mutually moving toward transfer. If you transfer to a hospital, I will stay with you until after the baby is born.
Is hospital birth safe?
Most Americans assume it is. The majority of the time it is. Why is this question here? Because it SHOULD be a Frequently Asked Question. And because “Is homebirth safe?” is not the most important question either. The important issue of where to have your baby is intensely personal and one of the most fundamental choices you will make in your life as a parent. What a country we live in…anyone is free to choose where they want to birth and who they want to be there with them. In other words, homebirth is legal. Women who have a home birth (and homebirth midwives!) are not rebels or heroes or fanatics nor do they hate hospitals. They are women who realized they had a safe choice, did their homework and chose an alternative. Midwife- attended homebirth of healthy women has been scientifically studied again and again with the same results…homebirth is as safe or safer than hospital birth. Here is one place to access the fine print:www.cfmidwifery.org.
What about pain in labor?
Most women would say that having a baby hurts…a lot. There is a huge difference between pain and suffering. The pain of labor is intermittent, it comes and goes, in between pain you feel no pain. The intense bodily feelings of labor are radically different than any other discomfort in your body because labor pain is not a sign that something is wrong. The intensity in labor can be met with fear, rejection, pity, and/or anger. Or labor can be met with:
Acceptance…on the day you are birthing, 300,000 other women will be doing the same thing
Joy…you are finally in labor and at the end of labor is YOUR BABY
Courage…to cross a threshold, to say yes to a powerful force that transforms you into a mother who is strong and full of protectiveness for your baby
Humor…laughing your baby out works really well, smiling relaxes you and your muscles
Humility…the force of labor brings us all to our knees in awe, it is indescribable, it is primal, it is a privilege to experience and to witness
Movement…up stairs, down stairs, inside, outside, in and out of shower or bath tub, rocking, swaying, dancing, walking, bouncing on a birth ball, any movement is almost always more comfortable than lying in a bed
Nourishment…water, juice, food that you choose, whatever sounds appealing and fortifies you
Sound or silence…whatever you choose… your music, the familiar sounds your house makes, your other children playing … or silence, deep and wide, just the sound of you breathing
Knowledge and trust…of how birth works, of the beautiful continuum of “normal” labor, of your powerful birthing body that knows what to do
Gratitude…for the people you have chosen to accompany you on this journey of birth, people you know well, people you trust and respect, people who honor you and gently uphold you, people with whom you can be vulnerable without fear, people who are grateful and honored to attend you at this sacred time…and nobody else