Postpartum midwife to care for the mom?
I'm not due until December, so there's plenty of time, but I'm wondering: could I hire a midwife just to work with me postpartum? If so, can you recommend anyone? I'll be having a hospital birth at Kaiser.
I know that people hire postpartum doulas, but since this is our 2nd child, I'm not looking for help with caring for a newborn or breastfeeding. I'm not interested in placenta encapsulation or rituals... I basically want someone with medical knowledge and a calming presence to check on me several times, as I heal from whatever may happen during birth. With my first child, I had a pretty bad tear and my OB wasn't very responsive. That 6 week wait for the only postpartum appointment felt too long. I'd love more support during my recovery this time.
Thanks!
Parent Replies
This 100% exists!! Check out Ellen Levitt at http://www.wombservicemidwifery.com/ppservices.html. She was my midwife for my whole pregnancy but now isn’t doing deliveries and offers just postpartum care. I had concurrent care with her and Kaiser and I think she saved my life (she caught my postpartum pre-eclampsia and got me back to the hospital before I got quite ill). Having her come to your home is so much humane! Highly highly recommend her (and happy to share more if you want to reach out).
I too absolutely hated my postpartum experience at Kaiser the first time around. It felt like the focus on my recovery was minimal at best, and I felt like the expectation that you bring your newborn in for their first visit 24hrs after you are discharged from L&D was miserable. It worked out ok for us with my first because I ended up staying in hospital for a couple of days so was actually 3 days pp when we went for the baby's first visit, but this time around i have a kid i want to get home to so would likely only be 1 day pp, and that just sounds utterly miserable, especially since they're totally focused on baby and don't bother checking how the person recovering from birth is doing at the same time!
It's the reason that this time around i signed up with a birth center. They come and check on you at home the day and week after delivery and they check both you and baby and offer lactation consultant expertise as well. The birth center that i signed up with has had success lately with Kaiser fully reimbursing their patients for the cost of the care, as long as you do end up delivering at the birth center. So, although you do have to pay the cost up front, ultimately you don't pay out of pocket at all. I'm sure this is a change within Kaiser's systems rather than anything special this center is doing, but it's Pacifica Family Maternity Center.
Sharing in case this is an option for you, since you have time between now and December. Best of luck!
I cannot recommend Verana Faye Bailowitz enough. She was so grounding and reassurring (and has all the knowledge if you need) for me.