About Midwifery Care
Safe. Respectful. Sacred. This is what birth should be. A rite of passage for our clients and families. A powerful transformation to be supported. As care providers who blend the latest evidenced-based medical knowledge with a holistic tradition of serving the birthing community that goes back centuries, the midwives at Acorn Community Birth and Wellness Center know, and remember, what birth should be.
What is a State of California Licensed Midwife?
- A midwife is a professional. A Licensed Midwife in California is licensed by the Medical Board to be a primary care provider who conducts prenatal care, births outside the hospital (birth center or home birth), postpartum care, and newborn care to birthing persons who have healthy, uncomplicated pregnancies. Licensed Midwives do not need physician supervision, and attend people during their pregnancy, birth, and the 40 days afterwards to help them have optimal pregnancies, safe births, establish breastfeeding, and have a integrated adjustment to their new family. Outside of pregnancy and birth, a midwife can also provide reproductive health care, STI testing and counseling, and family planning services.
- A midwife is an expert in what a normal, natural birthing process looks like. She assists birthing persons in having natural births using a variety of techniques and therapies. A midwife is also medically trained to handle situations where pregnancy and birth start falling outside the realm of normal. When this happens, a midwife can either intervene to bring the situation back into normal, or obtain additional medical help when this cannot occur.
- A midwife is a guardian of the sacredness of birth. Birth is a rite of passage for a person that radically transforms them, shows them their true power, and lays the foundation for the person they will become for the rest of their life. A midwife understands this, and does everything in her power to prepare the family for this transformation, and guards the family during this powerful time.
- A midwife is a healer. She is skilled in using natural therapies such as nutrition, herbs, homeopathics, and body work to achieve optimal health and birth outcomes for her clients and their babies.
- A midwife is a teacher. She strives to educate her client and their families on the changes of their body, the best techniques to use during labor to facilitate the birth, and how to make good decisions that affect their and their baby's health.
What a Licensed Midwife Cannot Do in the State of California
- She cannot attend women who have certain underlying medical conditions that may jeopardize her and her baby's safety during pregnancy and birth.
- She cannot attend births that are premature (before 37 weeks of pregnancy) or postdates (after 42 weeks of pregnancy).
- She cannot currently attend the birth of breeches or twins without the presence of an obstetrician (although she is trained in how to deliver them in case of an emergency situation).
- She cannot administer pharmaceutical medications for pain during labor, or augment labor with pharmaceuticals.
- She cannot diagnose a disease or illness, or administer medication outside of her scope of practice.