Birthmoon Services
Homebirth Midwifery Care with Birthmoon
At Birthmoon Midwifery, we keep our services simple and straightforward, so we can keep the focus on you every step of the way. Our goal is to get to know you, your family, and your unique needs, and build a relationship of reciprocal trust. You’re in the lead, and we support, guide and provide you with options.
Your homebirth package includes prenatal care, labor and birth care, and postpartum care through six weeks postpartum, all included in one flat fee. Birthmoon also offers placenta encapsulation and placenta prints as add-ons. Please contact us to inquire about current rates, and check our FAQ for questions about insurance and payment plans.
Prenatal Care
Our monthly prenatals are so much more than checking vitals, because we care about you as a person, and your overall well being matters. We take time to connect, understand how you’re feeling, and answer all your questions.
We’ll talk about whatever feels big to you — how are you feeling emotionally? What’s going on in your life? How are you handling pregnancy? We’ll go over a series of questions about your health, nutrition, and life, and then check on baby with a fetoscope or fetal monitor at the end of the visit.
We’ll meet monthly at Dawn’s home north of Cedar Rapids starting at around 10 weeks gestation, and move to bi-weekly visits from 36 weeks through birth.
Labor & Birth
Birth is a sacred right of passage, and we’re here to witness and support you. You’ll have autonomy over your own body — to intuitively move, eat, drink, vocalize. To not be “on the clock.” You’ll have ultimate consent at all times.
When you’re laboring, you’ll call us when you’re ready and we’ll decide together when we should arrive. After arrival we’ll check in on you, check in on baby, and make sure you’re both handling labor well. You will labor on your own as much as you want with your support person, and we’ll check in on baby occasionally. Once baby’s arrival is imminent, we’ll set up for baby to be born.
Dawn rarely attends a birth alone — she’ll attend together with an apprentice, birth assistant, or second midwife — you can inquire in your free consultation.
Postpartum
Birthmoon’s homebirth package includes care through six weeks postpartum. In the immediate postpartum period, once baby is born and you’re healthy and stable, we’ll excuse ourselves to clean up, get you something to eat, and give you space to meet your new baby. Then we’ll clean you up, check that your body is intact, do a newborn exam, make sure you’ve breastfed and you’re able to get up and move around, then tuck you into bed and come back in about a day.
We’re available by phone anytime before we come back, and if we need to come back earlier we do. We know how important those early days are and we’ll ensure that you have the support you need with breastfeeding, newborn care, and postpartum recovery. You can call and ask questions at any time.
Placenta encapsulation & prints
Your placenta was your baby’s lifeline during their nine months in your womb. Not only is this amazing organ emotionally significant — it also has a host of health benefits when consumed in the postpartum period.
Placenta prints are created by making a blood print of the placenta on paper and applying a fixative to make the art permanent. It’s a beautiful momento of your unbreakable bond with your baby and their time growing in your womb.
We also offer placenta encapsulation so you can enjoy the health benefits of your placenta in the postpartum period. We dehydrate and powder the placenta and put into capusules. This can reduce postpartum depression and bleeding; improve mood, energy and milk supply; and provide important micronutrients, such as iron.
“The less we interfere with birth, the more safely birth occurs.”
— MIDWIFE DAWN
