Our Pregnancy & Birth Services
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Our goal at Chesapeake Midwifery is not only to support your self-education for pregnancy and birth, but also to be a resource for you. We feel passionate about homebirth and about being able to provide it as an option for families who choose it. Our sincere hope for engaging in this relationship with you is to provide you with comprehensive prenatal care so that you can have a safe and satisfying homebirth as well as a healthy and restorative postpartum.
photo credit Sarah Elizabeth Photography
Prenatal Care
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Through prenatal visits, we can monitor the changes of pregnancy and your baby’s growth. We encourage you to take childbirth classes of your choice, and to use wellness care including good nutrition, physical activity, chiropractic care, yoga, etc. We are able to order lab work, refer for sonograms, and prescribe medications as needed.
We follow a schedule of prenatal visits that can be flexible about timing and intervals of visits to meet your needs. Visits generally take place both our Beltsville home office and in your home. Visits are scheduled with you for a full hour so that we can discuss any concerns you may have as well as provide you with any information you need to help support you during your pregnancy.
Home Birth
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Our role at your labor is to provide a supportive presence, to give feedback on the progress of labor, to monitor you and your baby’s well-being, and to provide care for any unexpected events that require intervention. We attend all of our births as a team of two - so you will either have 2 midwives or a midwife and a birth assistant with you and your family throughout your homebirth experience.
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When we come to your home, we bring all the necessary equipment to provide for a safe home birth. For many people, birth is a family affair and they choose to have their older children present for the birth or in the moments following the delivery. We encourage you to invite whomever makes you feel comfortable and supported during your labor and birth.
Postpartum Care
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During the hours following the birth of your baby, the birth team will stay with you to ensure that the baby is transitioning to newborn life and that you are stable following the birth. In the first hour after birth, your baby will remain with you, skin-to-skin, until they have been able to establish nursing. We routinely provide delayed cord clamping (up to an hour or more) and perform a head-to-toe exam of your baby, often involving all members of the family who are present for the birth. Once both you and your baby are safely tucked into your bed, the birth team will leave, but will return within the first 2 days for a check up for both you and your baby. We remain on call for you for any postpartum concerns that arise within the first 6 weeks following birth.
Cost of Service
The cost of a homebirth with Chesapeake Midwifery is $6,000. This includes all of your prenatal care, 24/7 emergency availability from your midwives, attendance at your homebirth with either 2 midwives or a midwife and a birth assistant, and 6 weeks of postpartum care.
All payments toward the total cost of services are made over the course of your pregnancy, with the balance due by 36 weeks.
Many commercial insurance plans offer reimbursement for homebirth as an out-of-network benefit and will sometimes allow for an in-network exception. We work with a professional billing company that specializes in helping families get reimbursements from their insurance company for homebirths. If you have further questions about insurance coverage or payment plans, or if finances are prohibitive, please do not hesitate to give us a call and we can chat about the specifics of your situation.
