How long will the midwife stay after the birth?
I will stay until:
1) mother and baby have stable vital signs
2) mother has eaten a good meal
3) baby has breastfed
4) mother has gone to the bathroom and walked
5) birth room is cleaned up
6) family member is present to stay with mother
7) Rhogam is given to Rh negative woman
8) Appointment is made with midwife for postpartum care
What about the placenta?
I recommend encapsulating the placenta and using the hormonal benefits to prevent postpartum depression. www.placentabenefits.info
Other options:
*plant a placenta tree
*lotus birth
*ask midwife to discard placenta
What kind of normal newborn care do you offer?
cord care
weight
measurements
newborn physical assessment
APGAR scores
breastfeeding support
erythromycin for the baby's eyes
oral vitamin K
injection of vit K
HGB screening (for anemia)
glucose screening
PKU testing is available at pediatrician's office
assistance with birth certificate application
Vit K injection, oral doses, or none?
Neither mother nor infant require oral supplementation of vitamin K, if the infant is injected at birth with vit K. Injection of vit K prevents a newborn from bleeding in the brain. There is a possible link between vit K injection and childhood leukemia, but it has not been fully determined.
If injection is refused, the breastfed infant can be supplemented with several low oral doses of liquid vitamin K (200 micrograms per week for 5 weeks, totaling 1 milligram).
Alternatively (or in addition to dosing the infant), the nursing mother can take oral vitamin K supplements 1 mg to 2.5 mg per day for 10 weeks. (Supplementation of the pregnant mother does not alter fetal levels, but supplementation of the nursing mother does increase breast milk and infant levels.)
If both oral doses and injection are refused, a breastfeeding mother can eat foods high in vit K in order to increase the vit K given to the newborn via her breastmilk.