What does a private/independant midwife do?

[Salsa]

What does a private/independant midwife do?

Do they take your blood pressure, POS, feel baby posistion?
Do they talk to you about birthing options?
Do they help you write a birthplan?
Do they do home visits after the birth?
Do they come and see you every day or 2 in the first week after birth?
Do they do weekly check ups of mum and baby for the first month or so?

Is it different with each midwife or is there standard care that they are required to give?

[Salsa]

I`m still hoping to get an answer

[BellyBelly]

Midwife Primary Care
Primary (first level) care from a known midwife allows you to develop a partnership and trust in your midwife. This basic model of care has physical, social and psychological advantages for you and your baby. The midwife?€™s scope of practice allows her to work on her own authority as long as you and your baby are well, and to work in collaboration with specialist medical and nursing providers when a complication or illness is detected.

As a primary carer your midwife works to provide normal maternity care from early pregnancy through birth and early parenting. The midwife is available to advise you and monitor your progress throughout pregnancy and to attend when labour has established providing agreed services within the scope of midwifery practice. Your midwife will arrange appropriate back-up from another suitably skilled midwife to cover when she is not available.

http://www.bellybelly.com.au/article...-model-of-care

[Tobily]

Originally Posted by Salsa

What does a private/independant midwife do?

Do they take your blood pressure, POS, feel baby posistion?
Do they talk to you about birthing options?
Do they help you write a birthplan?
Do they do home visits after the birth?
Do they come and see you every day or 2 in the first week after birth?
Do they do weekly check ups of mum and baby for the first month or so?

Is it different with each midwife or is there standard care that they are required to give?

OK short answers
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes


The number of visits varies between individual midwives but they are usually frequent and continue to be so for the first few weeks after baby is born.

It's interesting too, that out of all the care options available (public hospital care, GP shared care, private obstetricians, birth centre midwives, and independent midwives) women who use IM consistently report the highest levels of satisfaction with their care of all. One on one midwifery care really is excellent!

[krissy2]

I dont have any experiance with this in australia, but in New Zealand where we came from you only have independant midwifes, you choose your midwife at the beginning of you pregnancy and they do all your checkups and everything. i think this is a lovely option as you get to know them and they become like part of the family. I absolutly loved my midwife last time and i missed her teribly after she stoped seeing us at 6 weeks old. I still stay in contact with her now ( my ds is 3).
I would have to say for me this is the best option its way more personal.

[Alan]

Hi Salsa
The answer to all your questions is yes.
Normally what I would do is:-
At our first meeting discuss with you and your partner what services you would like and what I can offer you. I can offer assistance from prior to conception to well after the birth of the baby, (usually six weeks but can be much longer if needed). During your pregnancy the number of visits I make will be dependent on what you want. If you wanted me to visit you every week then I would visit you every week on the other hand if you only wanted visits every 2 months then this is what I would do. During these visits we would check on your health and that of your baby by checking your blood pressure, temperature, urine (if indicated), listening to baby’s heartbeat etc. We would discuss what is happening to your body and your baby and what changes you can expect over the next few weeks. We would talk about birthing options such as the advantages and disadvantages of different birth positions. I would be happy to show all the equipment I carry and explain what it is used for. We would also what options there are should problems arise. In fact at these visits we can talk about anything that you want.
When labour starts I would be with you from the time you ask me to be there. For some women this can be quite early in their labour, other women prefer to go through early labour with just their partner and then call me when they think that birth is not too far off.
The length of time I stay after the birth will depend on what is happening. If you and your baby are healthy and baby is feeding well then I would usually stay about 4 hours after the birth. However if you are a first time mum of are perhaps feeling a little unsure then I am happy to stay until you and your partner feel comfortable on your own.
The number of visits after the birth again depends on your wants/needs. If everything is going well then I may only visit you every day for the first 3 or 4 days then a couple more times over the next few weeks.
I also offer the option to phone/email me to ask questions, discuss problems, or even just for a chat or cyber hug.
I would imagine that most independent midwives would work simular to this so again the answer to all your questions is yes

[Salsa]

OH thank you for the replies!

I am feeling quite anxious about sorting out my maternity care this time, as I have come from NZ and still learning how things here work. In NZ we have free independant midwifes and they are great! I agree with you Krissy, its a lovely system there!

Its very reasurring to know that even though I have to pay, I can still have that same level of care here in Melbourne.

So, even if I have another c.section, would you agree an independant midwife is the way to go? I`m looking at hiring a Doula too, as we are new here and do not have family and friends. I think we`l need that support before, during and after.

[Alan]

I have attended a few VBAC homebirths. I am sure that most other indipendent midwives would not have a problem with this