If you’ve ever left a prenatal appointment feeling like you barely had time to ask a question or sit down, you’re not alone. Standard obstetric visits for uncomplicated pregnancies often only last between 10 to 15 minutes, just long enough to check vitals and listen for a heartbeat but not much more. At the Midwives of New Jersey, prenatal visits run 30 minutes or longer. That extra time really makes a difference!

Our prenatal appointments allow enough time beyond routine care for questions to be answered and time for socializing. Our pregnant clients spend double the time with us during their prenatal visits compared to a typical OB practice. Most women have 12–14 prenatal visits, which allows plenty of time for you to become acquainted with all the Midwives and our staff.

Childbirth is an intimate experience, so it only makes sense that birth proceeds much more normally when the people attending are familiar to the family.

What Happens During a Prenatal Visit at Midwives of New Jersey

Every visit at MNJ begins with the clinical essentials: blood pressure, weight, fundal height measurement, and fetal heart tones. But that’s just the starting point. We aren’t watching the clock, instead we allow room for the conversations that actually shape a healthy pregnancy.

Our offices are welcoming and warm and our staff is friendly and accommodating. We collect your lab work right in our office, saving you from having to go to an outpatient lab. Depending on where you are in your pregnancy, a typical visit might include:

A detailed check-in on how you’re feeling physically and emotionally

Guidance on trimester-specific nutrition and/or supplement needs
Exercise recommendations tailored to your body and energy level
Open discussion about your birth preferences and any concerns
Education about upcoming screenings, tests, or milestones
Time to ask every question on your list — without feeling rushed

At most OB practices, the clock runs the visit. At the Midwives of New Jersey, you run the visit.

Investing in Relationships to Reduce Interventions

We reduce interventions in the physiologic process of birth by investing in a relationship with our clients. Our visits are a time of getting to know about each other. We promote health and fitness preconceptionally and in pregnancy. Diet, supplements, and exercise are discussed in prenatal visits as they relate to achieving the birth that our client desires and the overall health of mother and baby.

This relationship-based approach works. In 2024, our overall cesarean rate was 13% in a state that averages over 33%. Our rate of labor induction is low, and even when the need for induction arises, we are careful to go slowly, using finesse rather than muscle to help coax a baby into the world.

Getting to Know Your Midwives: Why a Team Is Better

At MNJ, you don’t see just one provider — you get to know our entire midwife team over the course of your pregnancy. With 12–14 visits running 30 minutes each, that’s double the face time building relationships with the midwives who may attend your birth. By the time you go into labor, whichever midwife is on call already knows your history, your preferences, and what makes you feel safe — and you already know and trust her.

This is actually an advantage. You have the combined expertise and perspectives of multiple experienced midwives invested in your care — not a single provider who may be unavailable when it matters most. And because we deliver our own babies and never have another practice cover us, you will have a familiar, trusted face at your birth.

Welcoming Birth: Preparing for Labor in Your Final Weeks

Welcoming Birth is a program led by the Midwives themselves. It focuses on specific mental and physical exercises that allow a woman to enter into labor full of acceptance and expectation. This time with the Midwives is just for women in their last weeks of pregnancy.

Most women come to the end of their pregnancies with fears, knowledge deficits, and pressures from family and friends that interfere with accepting and surrendering to the process. Welcoming Birth is designed to address those barriers head-on, so you approach labor with confidence rather than fear.

Prenatal Nutrition: A Complimentary Wellness Consultation

Quote: “Pregnancy is the threshold of the future health of both you and your growing baby,” as researcher Leanne Redman, PhD

Diet, supplements, and exercise are discussed in prenatal visits as they relate to achieving the birth that our client desires and the overall health of mother and baby. But we go further than most practices.

MNJ offers a complimentary one-on-one consultation with our Pregnancy Wellness Advisor. This personalized session covers what to eat and what to avoid, how to support healthy weight gain and nutrient absorption, and simple changes to nutrition, movement, and overall wellness — all tailored to your unique needs.

“My midwifery practice offers sessions with a health coach to make sure you are staying well-nourished during your pregnancy. This was particularly helpful since the health coach had all of my bloodwork results and did an extensive questionnaire beforehand to see where I could improve and what is working so far.” — Gabriela M., client of the Midwives of NJ

There’s no cost for this visit — and we believe it will make a meaningful difference in the health outcomes of your pregnancy.

Emotional Health: The Often Overlooked Part of Prenatal Care

Pregnancy is a profound emotional experience. Hormonal shifts, identity changes, relationship dynamics, financial pressures, and fears about labor are all normal parts of the journey — but they rarely get discussed in a brief office visit.

At MNJ, emotional health is addressed in every appointment. We may ask how you’re sleeping, whether anxiety has been building, and how your support system is holding up. These aren’t scripted screening questions — they’re genuine conversations that help us identify concerns early on, from prenatal anxiety and depression to relationship stress and grief from a previous pregnancy loss.

We wish for our patients to feel heard and loved. That is one of the biggest reasons families travel to us from all over the tri-state area.

Exercise and Movement: Staying Strong Through Every Trimester

Physical activity during pregnancy supports cardiovascular health, reduces the risk of gestational diabetes, eases common discomforts like back pain and swelling, and can even help prepare your body for labor. During your prenatal visits, your midwives may recommend:

Walking, swimming, and prenatal yoga as accessible, low-impact options
Pelvic floor exercises to support labor readiness and postpartum recovery
Modifications for activities you already enjoy
When to scale back — and what warning signs to watch for

We promote health and fitness in pregnancy and even preconceptionally. A strong, well-nourished body is the best foundation for a physiologic birth.

Birth Planning That Starts Early and Evolves With You

Your birth plan isn’t a single document you fill out at 36 weeks. At MNJ, birth planning is an ongoing conversation that begins in the second trimester and deepens as your due date approaches. Across your visits, you’ll have time to explore:

Labor environment, positions, and pain management
Waterbirth, which MNJ offers at home, birth center, and hospital
Birth site choice: hospital, home, or birth center
Postpartum planning: breastfeeding, newborn care, and your recovery
How your partner can prepare for the crucial role of labor support

Because we already know you, these conversations build on each other — unlike a single 15-minute birth plan review that many OB practices offer at the end of the third trimester.

Childbirth Education: An Extension of Prenatal Care

In addition to your prenatal visits, we offer a comprehensive childbirth education series designed to prepare you and your partner for the beautiful, powerful work of childbirth. We have specially tailored classes that inspire confidence — because fear of the unknown leads to changes in the optimal hormonal milieu of labor needed for labor to proceed without intervention.

Our classes include:

A four-week evening Childbirth Class series or condensed weekend intensive
A two-hour Childbirth Refresher for experienced mothers
Breastfeeding Class
BabyCare Class for practical newborn skills
Homebirth Class for families planning a birth at home
Welcoming Birth in your final weeks with the Midwives

With education and knowledge, we believe birth should be something to embrace rather than something to fear.

Frequently Asked Questions About Midwife Prenatal Visits

How long are prenatal visits at MNJ?

At MNJ, prenatal appointments typically last 30 minutes or more — significantly longer than the 10–15 minutes common in many OB practices. Your office appointments allow enough time beyond routine prenatal care for questions to be answered and time for socializing.

Do Midwives provide the same medical screenings as OBs?

Yes. Midwives order and review the same standard prenatal screenings — blood work, glucose testing, ultrasounds, and optional genetic screenings. All of our Midwives have a graduate level education and are Certified by the American Midwifery Certification Board.

Will I see the same Midwife at every visit?

You’ll see different midwives from our team throughout your pregnancy. This is intentional and beneficial — by the time you go into labor, you know and trust each Midwife who might attend your birth. You have the combined expertise of multiple experienced midwives rather than depending on a single provider who may be unavailable.

Is the nutrition counseling really free?

Yes. Every MNJ client receives a complimentary one-on-one consultation with Joy Pfingst, our Pregnancy Wellness Advisor. There’s no cost for this visit.

What is Welcoming Birth?

Welcoming Birth is a program led by the midwives themselves in your final weeks of pregnancy. It replaces some of the last prenatal visits and focuses on mental and physical exercises that help you fall into your birth full of acceptance and expectation.

Longer Prenatal Visits with the Midwives of New Jersey