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Frequently Asked Questions & Glossary of Common Midwifery Terms If you are unfamiliar with midwifery you probably have a few questions you'd like answered. The following are some of the most common questions we encounter about the Juneau Family Birth Center specifically and midwifery in general. What is the Juneau Family Birth Center? JFBC is a non-profit "freestanding" birth
center. It was founded to provide safe maternity care to low-risk women
in a home like setting, or in your home. Our philosophy of care supports
the birthing families' choices and desires in how they labor and give
birth.
Because labor & birth are considered normal events, the usual rigid protocols employed with obstetric care are not imposed on a normally laboring woman. According to Henci Goer in Obstetrical Myths Versus Research Realities (A Guide to the Medical Literature), "...the routine interventions practiced in hospitals introduce risks....Birth center studies also uniformly report much lower rates of these interventions." As long as the mother and baby remain normal, strict timeframes for the progress of labor are not required. Women are encouraged to move around in labor and adopt any position they choose. Families are invited to "make themselves at home." Birth center studies uniformly report outcomes equivalent or superior to those of comparable women giving birth in the hospital. What is a licensed CDM midwife? Literally speaking, midwife means, "with woman." A midwife is a person who views pregnancy and birth as healthy, normal processes, albeit ones that call for supervision and care. In the midwifery model, the childbearing woman has the central role. Midwifery care addresses the psychological and emotion health as well as the physical health of the mother. The midwife seeks to empower the woman by helping her master the challenges of pregnancy and birth. Certified Direct-Entry Midwives (CDMs) are licensed experts in natural childbirth who monitor the physical, psychological, and social well-being of the mother throughout the childbearing cycle. CDMs are licensed by an Alaska State regulatory board that sets standards for their education, apprenticeship, examination, and ongoing review. The Board of Direct-Entry Midwives consists of two CDMs, one Nurse Midwife, one MD with an obstetric practice and one public member. Is this a safe way to have my baby? Professional midwifery care has been steadily growing
in Alaska. We at JFBC currently attend 20% of the pregnant women
in Juneau. We have a 10% hospital transfer rate.
So far, the largest and most complete study on the comparison of hospital birth outcomes to that of homebirth outcomes was done by Dr. Lewis Mehl and associates in 1976. In the study, 1046 homebirths were compared with 1046 hospital births of equivalent populations in the United States. For each home-birth patient, a hospital-birth patient was matched for age, length of gestation, parity (number of pregnancies), risk factor score, education and socio-economic status, race, presentation of the baby and individual major risk factors. The homebirth population also had trained attendants and prenatal care. The results of this study showed a three times greater likelihood of cesarean operation if a woman gave birth in a hospital instead of at home with the hospital standing by. The hospital population revealed twenty times more use of forceps, twice as much use of oxytocin to accelerate or induce labor, greater incidence of episiotomy (while at the same time having more severe tears in need of major repair). The hospital group showed six times more infant distress in labor, five times more cases of maternal high blood pressure, and three times greater incidence of postpartum hemorrhage. There was four times more infection among the newborn; three times more babies that needed help to begin breathing. While the hospital group had thirty cases of birth injuries, including skull fractures, facial nerve palsies, brachial nerve injuries and severe cephalohematomas, there were no such injuries at home. The infant death rate of the study was low in both cases and essentially the same. There were no maternal deaths for either home or hospital. The main differences were in the significant improvement of the mother's and baby's health if the couple planned a homebirth, and this was true despite the fact that the homebirth statistics of the study included those who began labor at home but ultimately needed to be transferred to the hospital. [Dr. Lewis Mehl, "Home Birth Versus Hospital Birth: Comparisons of Outcomes of Matched Populations." Presented on October 20, 1976 before the 104th annual meeting of the American Public Health Association. For further information contact the Institute for Childbirth and Family Research, 2522 Dana St., Suite 201, Berkeley, CA 94704] Do you do water births? We are frequently asked if we will do a birth in the
water. In fact, it turns out that a lot of our birthing moms choose
to give birth in the water.
Some of the benefits to laboring in the water include: How much will this cost? CDM services are among the most affordable professional services available for Alaska's childbearing families and are covered by medical insurance. Because Cesarean section rates are extremely low with Alaskan CDMs and the mothers and babies are so healthy, there are many long-term savings as well for this model of maternity care. Here is our complete fee schedule. Please feel free to contact us with any questions. Will my insurance cover this? Most likely, YES. Licensed midwives are covered by all
Alaska- based insurance companies. Many out of state policies also provide
coverage for midwifery services. There are, however, numerous plans
within each company, so it's always best to call and check. For
clients that are not insured we are happy to set up payment plans to
suit your needs. If you are not insured and would like some tips on
what insurance plans cover maternity care and midwives, give us a call
or contact us via email, below. (*Note: You can acquire medical insurance
once you are pregnant and still have the pregnancy covered).
We do except Denali Kid Care. How do I become a member?Thank you for your interest in donating to the Juneau Family Birth Center. We are a non profit organization partially funded by contributors like yourself. Here, you can find all the information you need to become a member . What are your office hours?Our office is staffed Monday through Friday from 9 AM until 5 PM. Phone: (907) 586-1203 Fax: (907) 586-5765 Email: info@juneaubirthcenter.org | |
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