Postpartum Care

After baby’s birth, your midwife will leave you with instructions to help you care for yourself and baby for the first 24-48 hours, at which point you’ll see your midwife again.  For clients who’ve had homebirths, the first postpartum visit will be a home visit.  After the first visit, you will have office visits again at 1-2 weeks, 3-4 weeks, and 6-8 weeks postpartum. The frequency and interval of these visits changes based on the individual client’s need for pospartum support and help with breastfeeding or recovery questions.  During these visits, your midwife will provide state-mandated newborn screening, breastfeeding support, and referral to pediatrician and/or International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) as appropriate

Breastfeeding Initiation and Support

One of the hallmarks of midwifery care is the lack of separation of mother and baby at and immediately following the birth, which in turn helps initiate breastfeeding.  Babies are most awake, alert and ready to breastfeed from minutes after birth until 2-4 hours old.  We encourage you to breastfeed your baby immediately and ensure that baby has successfully latched on and breastfed before your discharge from our care.  Over the first 6-8 weeks we are available to answer any questions you may have as you learn to breastfeed your new baby, and in most cases, we’re able to provide the help that a mother needs to breastfeed successfully.  When cases require more help than we can comfortably provide, we refer clients to a local lactation consultant and/or breastfeeding friendly pediatrician.