Midwifery is an ancient tradition that has the basic trust in the birth process as its foundation. By providing comfort, care and safety for women during the natural processes of pregnancy and childbirth, midwives have been an integral part of women's health services from the beginning of recorded history. Midwives provide nurturance and guidance that extends well beyond the basic medical model of care. We help to create a network of community support as you embark on the transformative path of pregnancy, birth and parenting. Our care is rooted in: Trusting in Birth Personalized Care Family Centered Care Safety of Midwifery Care Trusting in Birth The midwifery approach honors the view that women have an instinctive knowledge about how to give birth. We keep medical interventions to a minimum. Limited interference with the birth process allows the process to unfold naturally. Through our respect for the natural process of childbirth, we guide, support, and instill confidence in the laboring woman. Personalized Care Bellyfruit’s practice remains small to ensure we focus on the individual needs of each client, and to ensure our availability when prenatal, labor and birth, and postpartum needs arise. Mother and midwife are partners in care. With midwifery care, you have an increased sense of control of your pregnancy and birthing experience. Our appointments are longer than standard medical visits. This provides lots of opportunity to become familiar with one another and build trust. On average, each visit lasts one hour, which gives time for your questions to be answered and concerns to be heard. We use an informed decision-making model. We make choices about your care based on what you need, and not a pre-designated care routine. We actively promote parent participation in health care decisions by offering information and education to families throughout prenatal care, labor, birth, and early parenting. Both risks and benefits of medical intervention are always discussed. Family-Centered Care We encourage active involvement of partners and other children in the birth process. We value early bonding so we facilitate continuous contact between you and your baby to improve breastfeeding, self-confidence in parenting, and to strengthen your new family's bond. Safety of Midwifery Care Birth is a natural event. With a healthy lifestyle and good prenatal care, there is seldom need for women to be hospitalized to give birth. Midwives have an excellent record of safety with numerous studies associating midwifery care with excellent outcomes. Many studies in recent years have demonstrated the safety and efficacy of midwifery care. A recent study reported in the British Medical Journal in 2005 demonstrates that Certified Professional Midwife-attended planned home births are safe for mothers and babies. This study also shows that substantially fewer interventions were performed on mothers planning home births than on comparable mothers giving birth in hospitals. Overall, the study shows that for healthy women, a planned home birth with a trained midwife is a safe and reasonable choice for maternity care.