I am a privately practicing homebirth midwife providing continuity of care in Southern Tasmania from early pregnancy until your baby is six weeks old. I visit you regularly during your pregnancy, am on call for your labour and birth, and visit often after your baby is born. Visits are in your home. You can contact me between visits with any worries or questions.
I incorporate education about healthy pregnancy, preparing for labour and birth, breastfeeding, and caring for a new baby into my visits. This is entirely individualised depending on what you, your partner and older children need.
I follow the National Midwifery Guidelines for Consultation and Referral which will help us decide if home birth is suitable in your situation and guides our shared decision making if complications arise. I work within the national midwifery registration standards, professional codes and guidelines.
Pregnancy
At each pregnancy visit we talk through any concerns, and I check your blood pressure, measure your growing belly, feel where your baby is lying, ask about your baby’s movements, and listen to your baby’s heartbeat. Towards the end of pregnancy, I provide you with a birth pool including a new liner, and show you how to set it up. We work through fears and worries, and practice some of the positions and techniques that will make labour easier and pain more manageable.
I am an Endorsed Midwife which means I have done additional training that enables me to order and receive results for screening tests, blood tests and ultrasounds for you and your baby. As with all aspects of your journey, I give you information about options, you decide which tests you would like to have, we talk through the results and then decide what to do next. I can prescribe a limited range of medications if you or your baby need them, and my pregnancy and post birth visits attract a Medicare rebate.
Birth
When you are in labour and it is time for me to come to your home, I work hard with you, your partner, and other loved ones, to encourage and support you to have the best birth possible. I arrange for a second skilled and experienced midwife to come with me to one of the late pregnancy visits and she is also on call and attends your birth. I keep careful watch to see that you and your baby remain well, including listening to your baby’s heartbeat regularly during labour, and I bring emergency medical equipment and medications with me. I am skilled and experienced at recognising and acting on complications or emergencies during pregnancy, birth and after birth. I collaborate with obstetricians and a range of other health practitioners if you or your baby need extra care or need to transfer to hospital. If you do need to go to hospital, I can come with you as a support person.
Postnatal
After your birth I visit you daily at first then gradually less often depending on what you need. My postnatal visits are generally shorter as it is a time for resting. We work together to ensure that you are recovering well, and that breastfeeding is going smoothly. Often there is much debriefing about the birth; both positive and negative feelings come up. Over the following days and weeks, we watch carefully to see that your baby is thriving, and I offer the same screening tests and referral to services that is available to all babies born in Tasmania. By the time your baby is 6 weeks old, and I visit you for the last time, you will be feeling recovered, confident, and prepared for your journey ahead and will be linked into ongoing support.
Fees
My fee is $6000.
Of this you will get approximately $1000 – $1500 back from Medicare.
Included:
- Pregnancy, on call, labour, birth and postnatal care to 6 weeks
- Second midwife to attend a late pregnancy visit, be on call, and attend your birth
- Use of a birth pool with a new liner
- Medical supplies and emergency medications
Not included:
- Some pregnancy screening tests
- Ultrasounds
- Some basic supplies for birth
Payment plans available.