The midwife, throughout the ages, has been a trusted and reliable information source for women regarding their menstrual cycle and fertility. Teaching you how your body works and supporting its normal processes has always been a hallmark of midwifery care. An important part of my midwifery practice is to offer complimentary preconception consultations for women (or couples) considering a home birth for a future pregnancy. As soon as you start thinking about becoming pregnant, it is a good idea to make an appointment to meet for a consultation.
Knowing about your menstrual cycle is an important first step in fertility awareness. Learning to interpret your body’s fertility signals through documenting menstrual cycles, charting basal body temperature, and noting cervical mucus changes can tell you when ovulation is occurring. When pregnancy is desired, the primary evaluation of hormones, information regarding timing of intercourse, and discussion of external road blocks such as job stresses and relationship concerns are handled in a private, sensitive, and informative session. Midwives understand that fertility is a complex mind/body/spirit miracle. It involves an emotional component that is frequently unexplored in traditional settings.
When necessary, I refer women to specialists who respect that connection, from acupuncturists, chiropractors, yoga teacher and reiki practitioners as well as integrative physicians who support midwifery care and home birth.
Preconception counseling will cover such topics as fertility, conception, nutrition, vitamins and other supplements, exercise, work, environmental hazards, avoidance of toxins, stress relief, and emotional health. I can also answer questions about future prenatal visits, labor and delivery care as well as the postpartum period.