Some of the best parts of midwifery care happen after the birth!  After welcoming your baby and ensuring a smooth transition for the family, my foremost goal is to support uninterrupted bonding for your family. Privacy, warmth, nourishment, quiet reassurance, and help with breastfeeding combine to make the first hours after birth a sweet and sacred family affair.

A complete newborn exam is offered in the comfort of your bed, and includes weight and measurements, as well as a thorough examination of baby’s heart, lungs, digestive, urogenital, and neurological systems. All newborn procedures are offered with a thorough informed choice process that begins in the third trimester.  Informed choice is a slow and thorough educational process by which you become the expert in the decisions you make for your baby and your birth.   Your baby is never separated from you and this care takes place with a focus on the gentlest possible experience for you and your baby.

A thorough exam is also offered for the birth-giver, with options for a healing herbal sitzbath and stitches, if needed, for optimal healing. Your midwifery team usually stay for 3-4 hours after the birth to ensure the new family has settled in, to offer a meal or snack, and to provide teaching around basic newborn and postpartum care.

Follow-up care is offered in your home in the first 24-36 hours after birth.  The new family is encouraged to stay in and resting in the first weeks, as breastfeeding is established and mother and family heal and bond. Home collection of a blood sample from the baby is offered as part of the Hawai’i Newborn Metabolic Screening Program. Additional newborn and postpartum care visits are offered in your home in the first week, usually around day three and again at one week.  The goal of this care is to allow the family to rest, bond, heal, and integrate while receiving expert care at home.  Ongoing postpartum care is scheduled at two, four, and six weeks after your baby’s birth. This care includes weight, jaundice, and wellness checks for baby, breastfeeding support, evaluation of mother’s healing, screening for postpartum depression, nutritional counseling, sleep solutions, and evaluation and referral for core and pelvic floor health, as well as family planning referrals and fertility counseling.  This very personal care is an invaluable gem that can help you to truly thrive as the whole family moves through this enormous life transition.