Village Prenatal begins October 16, 2010, Menlo Park

I'm very excited to announce we'll be starting Village Prenatal, October 16, 2010

Benefits of this program to our clients:

• Group learning and connection with other women/couples planning homebirth
• Convenience of Saturday morning sessions on a known schedule
• All-in-one, prenatal midwifery care and parenting/birth preparation

For more information, expectant parents may join us for information open-house on the following dates (rsvp to Rosanna):

• July 24, 10am-noon
• August 21, 10am-noon
• September 18, 10am-noon

More details: Every three weeks on Saturday morning, pregnant women/couples will gather to receive their prenatal assessments (privately with midwife), and then for group learning, connection and socializing.

Steps in the process and structure of the care:

• Initial private appointment with midwife for complete health history, physical exam, coordination of care, and facilitation of prenatal labs/screening (as appropriate)
• Join group prenatals every three weeks until 34-36 weeks
• at 36 weeks a homevisit from midwife for late pregnancy plans to labor/birth at home
• 37-42 weeks until delivery, additional private prenatals so that you're seeing your midwife weekly
• The birth!
• Usual postpartum homevisits and baby care, from your midwife
• Two to four postpartum group session during the 4-12 week postpartum period

Privacy is of utmost importance. Each session we will all be reminded that all discussions in group will remain private, not to be discussed beyond and outside of session.

The care still allows plenty of one-on-one time with your midwife. It simply adds to the potential depth and richness of the prenatal experience by fostering community and connection that comes from people gathering in groups.

For those that are not available for Saturday "group prenatal" or don't desire this type of care, the option still remains for regular private sessions: monthly visits from 6 weeks-28 weeks, every two weeks from 28-36 weeks, weekly from 37 weeks to delivery.