California Midwives

Homebirth * Waterbirth * Doula Services * Well-woman Care with Maria Iorillo, Licensed Midwife

Is homebirth safe? This is one of the most common and important questions regarding homebirth. Studies show that homebirths achieve similar safety statistics as hospitals when three criteria are met: 1) the homebirth is planned; 2) a skilled attendant is present; and 3) medical back-up and consultation are available.[1] Licensed midwives provide the skill, knowledge, and equipment to fulfill these criteria. With a 3.7% Cesarean section rate and a 97% satisfaction rate, midwives provide a safe and caring birthing option.

          Comprehensive prenatal care sets the stage for a safe homebirth. Clinical evaluation, including lab work, assures that the mother is within the low-risk category throughout her pregnancy. Hour-long prenatal visits provide a relaxed opportunity to ask questions, explore feelings and concerns, and work through any emotional challenges that may arise.  Together we will address and honor your fears.

Through the intimacy of midwifery care, you and I build a foundation of mutual trust and confidence that will be essential during the birth. Our relationship develops through honest communication and personal integrity. I want to know how you envision your birth and what I can do to help you accomplish that dream. You will get to know the opportunities and limits of a homebirth setting. By answering questions and providing information, I will ensure that you are well equipped to make informed choices throughout your pregnancy, birth, and postpartum time.

When midwives consider homebirth safety, we are concerned with the mother’s emotional, as well as physical, well-being. Emotional safety means that the mother is free from excess anxiety and fears. The mother needs to feel secure and supported. At home, she is surrounded by her chosen birth team, which may include family and friends as well as her midwives. With this support around her, she can be vulnerable, scared, open, joyous, exhausted or exhilarated. She can be herself, uninhibited, and do what she needs to do to birth her baby.

Feeling emotionally safe allows you to enter the unknown and surrender to the process at hand. Your midwife is there to guide and facilitate this journey. Just having her by your side can give you the confidence to carry on when the intensity of labor takes hold. The midwife is the wisewoman who has seen birth before and is familiar with birth’s many faces. She will guide you based on her experiential knowledge as well as her intuition and values. You will learn to trust your midwife, your birth partner, and, most of all, yourself as labor progresses.

Birth is hard work, probably the hardest work you will ever do. With the right support and preparation, giving birth will be one of the most important and meaningful experiences of your life.