Homebirth details
Homebirth
Hope is here for you and your birth story. The childbirth team at the birth of your baby is the same team that you got to know in your prenatal care. (We actually want to meet you before you conceive to help you achieve your best health before getting pregnant. ) Our job is to support you in your individualized plan. You, your baby, and your family deserve respectful care. We bring loving hearts and hands along with our equipment.
Low-risk Home Birth Parameters:
Thoughtfully, deliberately, and with the best interests of everyone in mind, the Deep Roots team has developed parameters for our birth services.
We only accept women who are low-risk, ensuring that our clients and their babies are in the best hands possible. Not sure if you’re low-risk? Schedule a Free Consult and we’ll discuss the topic. Bring all your records from previous births and any records from your current birth.
We do not take clients seeking a VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean). This is because of the risk of uterine rupture, or a repeat of the previous reason for your Cesarean, birthing in the hospital puts you in the best place for a birth emergency.
We do not take 1st time birthing clients for home birth. We will provide prenatal and postpartum care for low-risk first-time parents to prepare you for a successful vaginal birth and then transfer your care to a team that delivers in the hospital. This is because 1st time moms often have a long labor, and it may be exhausting for mom and the midwife team. This leaves us exhausted for taking care of other births in the same birth month.
We do not accept clients who have had no prenatal care and are more than 16 weeks gestation. If you want to transfer care you must provide your records from all your previous births and current pregnancy if you received care elsewhere at your Free Consultation for your risk assessment.
We only accept women who take ownership of their health by doing their best to make healthy food and lifestyle choices and work as partners with our guidance. Consider us your health coaches. We provide nutrition counseling and body movement exercises to prepare you for the best birth possible.
At our practice, we only accept clients within a 15-mile radius to ensure that we can respond promptly.
We limit our client intake to 4 homebirths per month, so that we can provide the highest level of attention and care to each of our clients. Call and make an appointment early in your pregnancy to be sure that you reserve your spot in your birth month.
Prenatal care begins before 12 weeks so that we can coach you to have a healthy pregnancy and get ahead of any health problems.
Postpartum care extends through the first year to coach you in staying on top of your health so that you can be your healthiest self for yourself, your family, and your next pregnancy.
We prefer to see couples before pregnancy to start working on optimizing health. (This would include the pre-marital time as well! Schedule a pre-conception appointment!)
Because Kim is allergic to cats we cannot take on clients who have house cats.
Free Consult
After you discover you are pregnant, YAY!!!, we start care with a Free Consult to learn if we are the correct fit for your birth story. Click on the schedule button and choose Free Consult- Homebirth.
Prenatal Care
We start off prenatal care with a two-hour visit to review your health history and get to know you and your health goals and how you desire to create a birth plan. We do initial prenatal lab work at this appointment and a 1st trimester ultrasound if you would like.
We’d prefer to first meet with you early in pregnancy so we can be a help to you in the first trimester when you may be dealing with nausea, vomiting, and fatigue. We’re here to help! [Better yet is for you to meet with us for a health consult before you get pregnant so we can coach you through getting to a healthy place pre-conception!]
Appointments are monthly until 30 weeks when we start meeting every 2 weeks and then at 36 weeks we meet weekly until your baby is born!
A 20-week full anatomy scan will be placed for you at Corridor Radiology in Coralville.
At 28 weeks we do a glucose tolerance test to screen for gestational diabetes. We use Fresh Test, a natural alternative. At this appointment we will also recheck your iron status.
For your 36 week prenatal visit we meet you in your home to learn to know the route to your home and assess the birth setting so that when we come to your birth we are prepared, quick, and ready for the blessed event.
Kim has completed ultrasound training and is certified to do Biophysical Profiles to assess how baby is doing in the last weeks of pregnancy.
Labor and Birth
Learning about proven coping mechanisms for pain management without medication is something we cover in prenatal care so that you are mentally and physically prepared. Exploring techniques and creating a personal strategy so that they are familiar and most effective for you is one of the benefits of personalized prenatal care.
Additionally, we very strongly encourage to take the course Pain Free Birth. Our experience with the parents who have used this thorough program have been outstanding. We provide a discount code for our parents that take this course. Another option for childbirth education is Christian Hypnobirthing. Again, our experience with the parents who have utilized the accompanying app with its tracks of music, scripture, and birth affirmations have been amazing. We feel like these two courses are above and beyond other childbirth education courses. The father or support person needs to be involved in learning childbirth education as well.
Laboring in a tub is highly effective in pain management and something we encourage moms to utilize. We provide a birthing pool and all supplies if you don’t have access to a deep tub. We do not offer birth pool rentals.
Listening to relaxing music, aromatherapy, and movement are also helpful strategies that we encourage and help facilitate. Plan ahead with discovering soothing and calming essential oil blends and make a personalized playlist you want to listen to during birth.
While pain medications are something we don’t use during labor we will have a local anesthetic to use in the case we need to do a vaginal repair.
We encourage women to imagine, dream, research, and learn how others have birthed throughout the centuries. Create your ideal birth plan in the setting of your choice and we will meet you where you are to give you support, respect, and care to allow it all to occur within the range of normal.
Our standards of care during labor and birth include: close communication with you as your time for birth nears, availability in early labor, coming to you when you are ready for us, assessing labor with respect for the setting and atmosphere you have created, informed consent for any procedures, minimal interventions, minimal vaginal exams, spontaneous delivery of the placenta, waiting to cut the cord after delivery of the placenta or after it is done pulsating, and being ready and willing to adapt to whatever the birth presents while meeting your needs and desires.
Immediate postpartum care is for 4-6 hours. After a first quick assessment of baby and mom we retreat to allow baby, mom, and dad to bond. The first hour after birth is referred to as the Golden Hour for baby and parents. Our goal is to protect that precious time be keeping baby skin to skin the entire time, allowing the quiet and alert state of baby to guide early breastfeeding and eye contact with mom and dad. Then we can do the business of a more thorough neurological and physical exam, any newborn procedures you request, a hot meal, cleaning and tidying of the birth setting, and education and instructions for care of the newborn and mother for her support people.
We will only depart when mom and baby’s vital signs have been stable for an extended time and the parents are comfortable with us leaving. We will return the for the first postpartum visit the following day.
Newborn Care
We provide newborn care to 28 days. This involves the immediate newborn exam after birth and at every postpartum visit to the 4-week visit. We provide the CCHD screening which checks for heart defects and the newborn metabolic screening which is required by the state and tests for many conditions that may be preventable or consequences lessened if caught early.
Postpartum Care
We follow the research evidence for optimal care for the postpartum time as well. We will check on you and your baby in your home 24 hours after birth, 3-5 days after birth, 7 days after birth, 2 weeks after birth, 4 weeks after birth, 6 weeks after birth. These visits will also include lactation support. Of course, if you prefer to come for any of those appointments at Deep Roots you are welcome to!
We also offer 3, 6, and 9 month postpartum visits because, again, the evidence shows that postpartum care and lactation support throughout the year after birth improves outcomes for baby and mom.
We are also extending the option of postpartum care for the second year for a an additional fee to help coach you in being the healthiest version of yourself as you care for your children!
INCLUDED in the homebirth package fee:
- Regular prenatal visits including a minimum of one home visit at approximately 36 weeks of pregnancy
- Labor, birth, and immediate postpartum nursing care for mom and baby
- On Call availability of midwife during pregnancy and 6 weeks postpartum
- RN Birth Assistant fees
- Childbirth education class discount code for Pain Free Birth
- Breastfeeding help during the postpartum time
- Postpartum visits at 24 – 48 hours, 3 days, 1 week, 2 weeks, 4 weeks, and 6-week visits at your home or at Deep Roots
- Postpartum visits at 3, 6, and 9 months at Deep Roots
- Birth pool and pool supplies
- Newborn care to 28 days
- Home birth kit of supplies needed for your birth and immediate postpartum (the only thing you provide are towels)
- Other birth supplies that we bring (resus equipment, meds, instruments, suture supplies, IV fluids and supplies, etc.)
- Routine lab work (initial prenatal labs, baseline labs, glucose screening, Hgb and ferritin, Antibody screen, GBS)
- Newborn metabolic screening fee
- Costs you may be unaware of (office facility costs, admin time, insurance, continuing education, vehicle expenses, on-call time, and more)
NOT INCLUDED in the practice’s package fee:
- Genetic testing and non-routine prenatal labs
- Certified copy of birth certificate ($35 fee sent with paperwork to the state)
- Referred services (e.g. 20-week ultrasound) (~$200)
- Placenta encapsulation
- Supplements, herbs, tinctures that may be suggested for use in your prenatal care (anything we have at Deep Roots you receive a 15% discount; Fullscript recommendations from Deep Roots receive a steep discount ~20-30%) (We want you as healthy as possible!)
Timeline
21 months of care
Home birth Package
Details
$7250
$500 discount if paid by cash or check by 36 weeks
Timeline
Prenatal care and postpartum care through the first year
ALA Carte package
Details
$3000
Ask us about doula suggestions to accompany you to your hospital birth (doula fees separate)
Includes prenatal care at Deep Roots and postpartum care (must be considered medically low risk)
Visit our Payment page for more info. If this is a financial burden for you, please look at how we aim to help homebirth remain and option for your birth.