The Midwives Of New Jersey
Serving Women, Honoring Birth
We’re Not Your Grandmother’s Midwife Midwifery continues to be an unknown profession. The word midwife still conjures up mental images of hippies or old grannies arriving at someone’s home to deliver their baby with a lot of boiling water and screaming in the mix. I am regularly asked the difference between doulas and midwives, and …
It was a long time ago, and my client was probably a good 15 years older than me, having her first baby. She had taken childbirth classes, was using a doula (me!), and was so educated about birth, I was afraid she knew more than I did! However, when she started having contractions, the coping …
When it comes to pregnancy and birth in the United States, there’s no shortage of misinformation. It can come from dramatic movie scenes to well-meaning but outdated advice from friends, family, and even some healthcare providers. It’s easy to feel confused or fearful about what to expect. Yes, labor can be intense, but it isn’t a …
Women’s Rights in Childbirth Are Limited Women’s rights in childbirth are very limited. Providers and hospitals are unwilling to allow women to choose things like monitoring the baby intermittently, laboring out of the bed, Vaginal Birth After Cesarean Section (VBAC), waterbirth or homebirth. Much of the concern is the liability associated with possible poor outcomes. …
Writing Your Birth Plan The other day I was asked by a 37 week pregnant client about writing a birth plan. I told her that she had already made her birth plan. She had chosen our practice with a philosophy toward natural birth and Morristown Memorial Hospital for delivery which allows women many more choices …
Hey mom, how do you think Timothy likes it up there?” What? Did that just come out of my five-year old’s mouth? And why am I surprised that it did? My daughter wasn’t even two years old when her little brother was born…straight into the arms of angels. But yet, more and more every day, …
Every morning I wake up, turn on the coffee, and drink it while wrangling my kids off to school and mentally going through all of the things I need to do for work, the house and my family. From lunches and ponytails to backpacks and homework… without even a thought. I am on autopilot. Much …
Preconception Advice: Get in Shape BEFORE Pregnancy As a society, we have lost sight of what a normal weight is and many women enter pregnancy out of shape. First of all, be realistic about your weight. You should weigh approximately 105 pounds if you are 5 foot 1 inch. Ok, ok, if you are big …
A dear client of ours recently wrote and posted the following letter on her personal blog. We asked her for her permission to share it here. We always love to hear from our clients. Open Letter to My Midwives (The Midwives of New Jersey) Thank you for helping us through the birth of our daughter …
Why A Woman’s Voice in Birth Matters We have seen so much in the way of progress toward women’s rights in childbirth. One of the more recent developments came from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines that state that homebirth is the best option for low-risk women in the U.K. Even still, there continues to be …
Are You A Chronic Worrier? Many women are chronic worriers. They never feel like everything is “just fine”. They are either perfectionists or procrastinators but they spend much of their time concerned that everything is a mess and believe that they are directly responsible. Chronic worriers will focus on the “what-if’s” of life and lay …
A Dramatic Jump in Maternal Mortalities It never crosses our minds that a woman may not SURVIVE childbirth. We all know and accept babies sometimes die. But the moms, no way. A recent article from NPR illustrates the dramatic increase in Maternal death rate in the USA compared to other similar countries in the world. …
What are the Odds of Having a Natural Birth in New Jersey? About 1 in 10 women have a completely unmedicated birth in New Jersey. And many of those are simply because the baby came so quickly, leaving was no time for an epidural. Although fearful of the discomfort involved, many women hope for a …
In honor of National Midwifery Week last week, the American College of Nurse-Midwives created this excellent video that answers the question “What is a midwife and how do they help? Watch this video to learn more. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLVwdmlZU_8 At the Midwives of New Jersey we believe that every women deserves to have high quality, evidence-based, personalized care. …
Babies Do Come Quickly Sometimes… Years ago, a woman expecting her 3rd baby called me reporting contractions for 1 hour. Her contractions were 5 minutes apart. We made a plan that she would wake her husband and meet me at the hospital in an hour. I was waiting for her at the emergency room door …
Midwives are present in hospitals for one reason only; consumers demand the exceptional care of midwives. The reason that care within the Midwifery model is so effective and satisfactory is because the approach is person-focused. The reason we (midwives) are giving the care is because of the person who emerges from our care. It is not …
Committed to Fulfilling Your Birth Plan The Midwives of New Jersey are committed to assisting our clients achieve the birth they plan. The majority of our clients plan for an un-medicated birth. Most of the clients who hire us to attend their births are looking to maintain as much control over their own family as …
When pregnant women go past their “due date”, they are often greeted with questions about when the baby will come. They may be on alert for signs of labor all the time, feel frustrated or angry, weepy or scared. They may feel like a watched pot or a beached whale. That pregnancy will last forever. …
