La Mirada Home Birth: A Safe and Empowering Alternative to Hospital Birth with a Skilled Midwife
Are you curious about the ins and outs of homebirth? Want to know what it's really like to have a baby at home with the guidance of a skilled and experienced midwife?
I have met so many amazing home birth midwives in our community and I want to introduce you to some of them. Over the next few months, I'll be sharing interviews with these awesome ladies and will update links at the end of the posts to get you to the next one.
In this exclusive interview, we sit down with Long Beach homebirth midwife Angelica (Angie) Miller, owner of Rowan Midwifery, to learn about her calling and journey and some misconceptions surrounding home birth.
So grab a cup of tea and get ready to be wowed by the empowering and transformative world of homebirth!
How long have you been a midwife and what got you into midwifery?
I've been a midwife for just over three years now and it's been amazing! I found midwifery and knew it was my calling in my third year of undergrad. I had been doing an internship at a hospital for nearly two years and it was just HARD. Not that hard work isn't good but it was hard in the sense that I wanted to do more, I wanted to provide patients with more insight, more support and more opportunity to actively participate in their care. When I had decided I couldn't work in the hospital with full joy, I started seeking out options to still support mama and baby outside of the hospital in the health field. Midwifery was everything I was looking for and I haven't looked back.
What are some common misconceptions about homebirth that you would like to address?
WOO WEE!! There are so many misconceptions but two I want to address.
1. We are trained medical professionals. As a licensed midwife and certified professional midwife, I have my medical license from the California Medical Board. This means that when people are seeking out home birth they aren't picking some random person off the street who just likes birth. We should give respect to families who choose to birth at home. We should respect that they have looked into both the risks and benefits, and have sought out a provider the same way that someone looks into an OB in the hospital.
2. “You can't have your first baby at home because you don't know what your body can do.” That's just silly. Each pregnancy is completely different. You don't have to have a test run in the hospital first, you can birth your first baby at home and may need the hospital for your second or third birth. I just don't like that people try to steer first time mamas away from home if its their desire. We never know what any birth will be like, and that's the magic of birth. We have options, we can change locations, and we can be supported with individualized care.
How do you work with families to ensure they have a positive birth experience, regardless of the outcome?
I think it's important to be transparent with my clients. I always discuss what transfer can look like. My rule is health and safety > all things. So I let my clients know there may be times that I need to transfer because a higher level of monitoring may be needed. I also discuss managing expectations, the benefit of child birth education, and having a solid support system/birth team. I always want to keep clients home but that just isn't the reality, I find that if we discuss the possibilities it can ease the sadness if a transfer is needed. And to be honest, sometimes its discussed thoroughly and clients are still let down if it’s needed. This doesn't even touch on pain, intensity, or other factors. I find transfer to be a big disappointment.
Angie also has a baby clothing company called Rowan & Co that has minimalistic, functional and stylish clothing. Also, something amazing, all the materials are certified and inspected because safety for the littlest ones is what she had in mind when she created this shop.
I just love her heart to serve mamas and babies alike!
You can find Angie at Rowan Midwifery as well as on Instagram @midwife_ang
I hope you enjoyed learning about the world of home birth and the possibilities it holds. It's a unique and empowering experience that can be a reality with the right support. Don't be afraid to dream big, and trust your gut when making decisions about your birth. And I will always encourage you to pray, the Lord will direct you and give you peace about the decision and outcome.
Blessings,
