I am once again offering birth doula midwifery care, in addition to
my Homebirth Midwifery Services and my European-style Postpartum Midwifery Care

I am offering concurrent or parallel midwifery care for women who plan to birth in the hospital and want me
to provide monitrice services at home "as long as possible", and then doula services after they go to the hospital.

Please contact me if you are interested in my birth doula midwifery care services.



Birth Doula Midwifery Care
with Ronnie Falcao, LM MS CHT

Overview
Prenatal Visits
My Role at Your Labor and Birth
Contact Information

 Overview

I draw on my knowledge and experience to provide emotional support, physical comfort, and, as needed, communication with hospital staff to make sure that you have the information you need to make informed decisions in labor.  I can provide reassurance and perspective to you and your partner, make suggestions for labor progress, and help with relaxation, massage, positioning and other techniques for comfort.  I am independent and self-employed.  As your personal labor support professional, I am working for you, not your caregiver or hospital.

My services include three prenatal home visits, support at your labor and birth, and a postpartum visit.  In addition, I am available for phone consultation to answer questions or provide information about your pregnancy and recommended tests and procedures.
 

Prenatal Visits

Prenatal hypnotherapy - A typical set of hypnotherapy sessions includes an initial session to establish a working relationship and to identify difficult issues, a second session dealing with those issues, and a third session visualizing an ideal labor and birth.  I will leave you with an audiotape of each of these sessions so that you may use it as often as you like.

Summary of information regarding helpful herbs and homeopathics.

Education about taking care of yourself in early labor to get off to a good start.

Review of the process of labor and birth - I am trained as a midwife and labor coach rather than a childbirth educator, so I take a pragmatic approach to this review.  I bring my diagrams and 3-D models and focus on the mechanics of labor and birth, discussing the related maternal and fetal changes, and what we can do to support the process.

Rehearsal of labor and birth - At the last prenatal meeting, we have a dry run of labor, reviewing the phases of labor and the position changes and other practical support that will assist the process.
 

My Role at Your Labor and Birth

As a Licensed Midwife for homebirth, I am qualified as a primary attendant at labor and birth in the home.  When you hire me as a home labor midwife, I plan to arrive at your home when you are in active labor, and I recommend periodic assessment of the mother and baby's well being through evaluation of clinical signs, such as blood pressure and the baby's heart rate.  If I see anything that is outside of normal limits, I will let you know so that you can consider contacting your caregiver or going to the hospital.  I will provide feedback about your progress in labor and help you to assess the best time for you to go to the hospital.

I am available to provide the level of direct emotional labor support that is appropriate for each situation.  Generally, the situation that seems to work best for everyone is for the woman's partner to be her primary emotional support through labor, holding her hand and simply being there with her.  Meanwhile, I can keep an eye on the clinical situation, provide back pressure or massage, keep the fluids coming, and make suggestions as appropriate so that labor progresses as efficiently as possible.

As needed, I am available to provide full support so that the partner may take a break, get some rest, or take care of any family matters that may need attention.  I bring massage oils and provide massage as the woman wishes.  I can also provide hypnosis to assist the woman in coping with the intensity of the contractions if she wants.  I am happy to take photographs as the family wishes.  I am also a singer and am more than happy to sing simple songs, show tunes, chants or lullabies if it helps.

I bring an assortment of labor support aids, including a birth ball and hot and cold packs.  I carry a variety of aids for special situations.  I also carry all my midwifery birth equipment, in case of emergency.

For a hospital birth, I accompany the family to the hospital and function as an advocate for the birth experience that the family wants.  Once in the hospital, I do not do anything of a clinical nature, except as requested by the woman in conjunction with her caregiver's approval.

Typically, I stay for about an hour after the birth, until everything is stable and the family is ready simply to enjoy their quiet time together.  I am available as a resource during your postpartum recuperation.  I am especially happy to provide breastfeeding help, if needed.  In any case, I like to visit sometime within the week or two after the birth to discuss and provide perspective about your birth experience.

Read Postpartum Comments from some of my Clients

Contact Information

I routinely attend births in homes within about 15 miles of Mountain View, California and will drive further by special arrangement.