Having a Home Birth? How to Pick your Support Team
Having the right individuals surrounding you for your home birth is crucial because they play a significant role in ensuring both the mama and baby are safe, supported, and comfortable throughout the process. A well-chosen birth team, including a skilled midwife, a compassionate doula, and an observant photographer/videographer, as well as other professionals; creates a nurturing environment where the birthing mama can feel empowered to trust her body and the beautiful way God designed it to be able to care, birth, and nourish her baby.
Let’s look at who you might choose to have on your birth team.
Birth Doula
A doula is a trained professional who provides continuous emotional, physical, and informational support during labor. Doulas can help ease anxiety, provide pain relief techniques, and ensure you feel heard and supported throughout your pregnancy & birth.
A doula’s package usually includes 1-3 prenatal appointments to help mama (and if around, her primary support person) feel more confident in their birth plan as it is a time of education and information. Dispelling fears and helping weed through all the noise of the internet and mom groups (and loving family members) who have their own advice and opinions. A doula is in your corner and supports your decisions and reminds you that you are strong and capable.
Prenatal appointments can look different because each doula has their own set of skills and knowledge as well as their own journey that has led them into the calling of birth work.
Some might have extra training in lactation, body balancing, perinatal nutrition, herbs, essential oils, massage as well as other training, especially if they’re also a postpartum doula. Just to give you an idea, my doula package includes 2 prenatal appointments (birth planning and comfort measures) plus a meal prep time before the baby comes, then the on-call time, birth support and a lactation and postpartum visit.
How to choose the right doula:
Look for someone whose philosophy and approach align with your vision for birth.
Consider their experience with home births specifically, and check reviews.
Schedule an initial consultation to get a sense of their personality, communication style, and experience. If it’s easy to talk with them like you would a friend, that’s a good indicator that she would probably be a good fit for you.
Make sure you feel comfortable with them, as you'll be spending a lot of time together during labor.
Home Birth Midwife
A midwife is a healthcare professional who provides prenatal care, attends births, and offers postpartum support, for low-risk pregnancies. They provide both clinical care and personalized guidance through the birth process. Their expertise ensures both mama and baby are safe during the home birth.
The midwives that work in the hospital are certified nurse-midwives (CNMs) but some have moved to attend out of hospital births. The majority of home birth midwives (in California) are certified professional midwives (CPMs) as well as licensed midwives (LMs).
Prenatal care is similar to what it would be in the Dr’s office/hospital in that you’ll see your midwife once a month until your 32 weeks and then it’s every other week until 35/36 weeks which then becomes weekly visits.
Appointments are 45-60 minutes long.
They offer education based maternal care which usually includes a lot of nutritional recommendations and preventative care as well as checks in with mama emotionally.
Midwives also practice informed consent and give options and decisions regarding care, to the mom. A midwife will step in if a scenario calls for it (helping mom or baby) but will typically ask before doing anything.
Typically midwives go on-call starting at 37 weeks of pregnancy through 42 weeks (can be longer in other states than California) and will do multiple mama/baby checkups within the first week after birth. Some offer care through 6 weeks, others 3 or 6 months and I have been told by some that they even offer care through the first year.
Some midwives include extras in their package such as placenta encapsulation, chiropractic care, cranio-sacral therapy and lactation support as an IBCLC.
How to choose a midwife:
Look for a midwife with experience in home births. Get to know them. Why did they become a home birth midwife? What experiences brought them to wanting to attend and empower mothers to birth their babies at home?
Ask about their backup arrangements in case they are unavailable at the time of birth as well as who they bring with them to your birth (usually the midwife will have 1-2 assistants/midwives)
Discuss their approach to safety, interventions, and handling emergencies, so you know their protocols align with your preferences.
Trust your instincts during your consultations—your midwife should make you feel confident and safe.
Birth Photographer/Videographer
A birth photographer documents the moments of your labor, birth, and immediate postpartum (typically 2-3 hours post birth), helping you relive the experience, preserve precious memories and process your baby’s birth story. These images and videos can offer healing to mamas no matter how the whole experience goes, whether it is exactly how they expected or took a turn and became something they did not foresee or desire beforehand.
Birth photographers/videographers document your birth in a way that lets you focus entirely on the experience while leaving the professional visual storytelling to them. Sometimes the spouse or primary support person is tasked with the job of being the documentarian, but then they are not fully present to support mama OR they are supporting mama and forget to document the process. Both scenarios are not ideal and will leave mama disappointed.
I like to join in on the birth team meeting which is typically scheduled between 35-37 weeks of pregnancy. Not all midwives do a birth team meeting, especially if it’s not a first time mama. Some meetings are short and others are more indepth and can take at least 2 hours. It depends on the midwife and which baby this is. I bring my camera and document the meeting which usually includes the midwife checking on baby and listening to heart tones. These are special moments to document pre baby day and just add to the whole birth story that I put together after birth day. The birth team meeting is a great time to go over mamas desires and see the space (and know how to get there) before it’s baby time.
How to choose the right photographer/videographer:
Make sure their style aligns with what you envision for your birth story. Some people want light and airy photographs, which isn’t typically how birth photographs will turn; out unless the birth is outdoors during the day and the direction of the sun is in the optimal location. Some birth photographers are more dark and moody while others stick more true to color and still others are somewhere in between.
Look for someone who specializes in birth photography, as it requires a unique skill set and equipment to capture intimate moments in unpredictable and usually dark environments.
During your consultation ask them about their process and how they approach documenting birth stories. This will also give you insight into when they want to be notified and how soon they’d like to arrive while you’re in labor to start documenting for you.
Consider Other Supportive Professionals
Chiropractor (Webster Certified): Helps with optimal positioning of the baby and pain relief throughout pregnancy. Some will do house calls during labor and soon after birth if you’re already under their care.
Acupuncturist (that specializes in female care): Can assist with natural pain management or pregnancy-related discomfort. Can also help with labor stimulating points if you’re past a certain point in your pregnancy.
Lactation Consultant (IBCLC): A professional who can help with breastfeeding and pumping after birth. It’s ideal to find one before birth so you can already know their personality before you go to them with your baby. Some offer “text” support or will do virtual support. In person is ideal.
Postpartum Doula: Provides support and care after the birth for the new family, including emotional support and help with newborn care. Postpartum doulas have a variety of specialties, some focus more on nourishment and caring for mama while others help with household chores and taking care of baby. Some birth doulas also offer postpartum support packages which is nice if you have built a solid relationship with your birth doula.
Prenatal Massage Therapist: Prenatal massage can help with posture and alignment, which can be particularly helpful in optimizing the baby’s position and alleviating any discomfort associated with changes in body during pregnancy. They can be a valuable addition to a home birth team. They specialize in providing gentle, therapeutic massages, addressing the unique physical and emotional needs of pregnancy.
You want to feel at ease, supported, and confident in your team’s care. Assembling your birth team is a deeply personal decision and should be based on your unique needs and desires.
The right team brings expertise, experience, and a sense of calm to what can otherwise be an unpredictable and intense experience. They help reduce anxiety, provide emotional and physical support, and ensure that both medical and personal preferences are respected. When the team works together in harmony, it fosters a sense of trust and safety, which ultimately leads to a more positive and smooth birth experience. Having this support allows the birthing mama to focus on the birth itself, feeling more confident and able to surrender to the process.
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Education Site: www.thebirthphotographyworkshop.com
Blessings,
“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand— when I awake, I am still with you." Psalm 139:13-18
