Frequently Asked Questions
What is a CNM?A certified nurse-midwife (CNM) is a registered nurse with advanced education and training in midwifery. All CNMs become certified by passing national board examinations administered by the American Midwifery Certification Board (AMCB). They must also meet the requirements of the state in which they practice. Midwives are trained to be experts in facilitating normal vaginal deliveries, but collaborate with physicians for complications of pregnancy. Our midwives have 24hr backup by our supervising physician. For more information on CNMs we encourage you to visit www.acnm.org.
- What happens at prenatal visits?
During pregnancy, we try to give as much information as is needed for families to make informed choices and be prepared for childbirth. By measuring, recording, and explaining the physical and emotional changes that women go through during pregnancy, we hope to empower them and their families. In the midwifery model of care, education is a focal point, thus the midwife wants to take the time to answer all of your questions. We also encourge a variety of classes that we offer as a part of prenatal care and outside of your prenatal care.
- Can my family be present at the birth?
Anybody that you feel comfortable with is welcome to attend your birth, because after all it is your birth. Each of our birth rooms has an extra bed and kitchenette for the use of family members or friends attending your birth.
- Is water birth safe?
Water provides the comforts of relaxation and ease of pain. Often this will help lower the blood pressure, dilate the cervix, and ease strain on the perineum. It is safe to deliver a baby in the water because the baby does not take his or her first breath until the pressure change of leaving the water to air. For more information on waterbirth please visit www.waterbirth.org. To watch a touching video of a waterbirth (Mira este conmovedor video) please visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXC0Op5VHTo
What happens after the birth and what is included in postpartum care?Immediately after birth we place baby on the mother's chest for a beautiful opportunity for mom and baby to bond and to begin breastfeeding during the first hour of the baby’s life. We do a routine first bath for the baby that mom, dad, or any family member is welcomed to assist. We are required to keep you and baby for two hours to ensure that both of you are stable before you can go home. Beyond that time frame and with the approval of the nurse, you are welcomed to go home when you wish up to 24 hours after delivery. While recovering, you will have a nurse that will stay with you and give detailed instruction and support. This is especially helpful for those first time mothers that need extra support with breastfeeding and baby care. At approximately 3 and 10 days after the birth, we do home or clinic visits to check up on mom and baby.
- What does it cost?
We accept both Medicaid and CHIPS. For those who decide to be self pay, we have global charge packets that depend on the income of the household and how many people live under that income. The Full global package is $6150 (without any sliding scale right off) and this covers all prenatal care, routine labs, delivery, and post partum care for mom and baby. There are other plans that account for late to care transfers (when previous prenatal care records can be provided), transfers to the hospital for delivery, or no delivery. We are very flexible with payment plans and work with patients on an individual bases.
- What insurance do you accept?
We accept all insurances, but we are generally out of network. However, in some cases we are able to get in network exceptions on an individual patient bases.
- What are the differences between Midwives and OB/GYNs?
Midwives have a long tradition of caring for women and today's Certified Nurse Midwives carry on this proud tradition by combining rigorous clinical and academic training with genuine sensitivity to clients to support the natural processes of pregnancy and childbirth. CNM’s believe in supporting the woman in her informed decisions and empowering the woman during the childbirth process. A nurse-midwife is qualified to provide obstetric care for low-risk pregnancies and deliveries and collaborate with or refer to a physician if the woman’s condition develops high risk complications. She is also qualified to provide primary well-woman gynecological care throughout the life cycle.
- What are the differences between hospitals and birth centers?
A Birth center is designed for healthy low-risk mothers and healthy babies. They provide a caring and homelike setting that balances technology and touch to provide the woman with supportive and safe care before, during, and after birth. Birth centers screen their clients throughout the pregancy, labor and delivery to make sure they are low risk. Birth centers do not do the routine interventions that are most often done in the hospital such as IV’s, continuous monitoring, epidurals, pitocin inductions, and cesarean sections. Often routine interventions are done at hospitals that are not necessary for a low-risk woman laboring naturally. At birth centers babies are monitored intermittently with a small hand held doppler rather than the continuous electronic fetal monitor that keeps the woman tethered to a machine and restricts her freedom. Birth Centers promote breastfeeding and bonding as babies and mothers are never separated. The midwives and nurses at birth centers have training and medications available to use in the event of minor complications that do not require transfer to a hospital.
At the Holy Family Birth Center we provide a cozy and private place where labor and birth are treated as normal and blessed events. Laboring women are carefully and continually assessed by the nurse-midwife to assure that mother and baby are doing well, without restricting the woman's desires. We have two rooms with birth tubs that provide the option of water birth, and mothers are encouraged to walk, eat, drink, and get into positions that are comfortable for them during their labor. The atmosphere at Holy Family is very peaceful and private because of our lower volume of clients. Instead of 15-20 women laboring at one time we usually have one, or maybe two, women at the birth center at the same time. Therefore, we are able to provide constant midwifery and nursing labor support and attention that the birthing mother needs. Because it is the same place the woman has been coming for all her prenatal care she is familiar with the birth center, midwives, nurses, and staff.
- Are Birth Centers Safe?
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The landmark National Birth Center Study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 1989 providing clear evidence that birth center birth is a safe and satisfying alternative to hospital birth for healthy low-risk women. There now is a growing body of research from studies in the US and Europe that demonstrates outcomes from birth center births are equivalent to those of hospital births for low-risk women. Because birth centers do not perform many of the standard hospital interventions such as pitocin induction, electronic fetal monitoring, and epidurals birth center clients have approximately half the number of cesarean sections as traditional hospitals. Midwives at Birth Centers consult with doctors and transfer their clients to the hospital when necessary. For more information we encourage you to visit the American Association of Birth Centers at www.birthcenters.org & Birth Centers info (pdf)
At the Holy Family Birth Center when transfer to the hospital is necessary the client can be transferred to the care of our back up physician to deliver at Harlingen Medical Center or Valley Baptist Medical Center in Harlingen. We can also transfer our clients to Knapp Medical Center in Weslaco. Our backup obstetrician works with a nurse-midwife that does hospital deliveries, and often it is still possible for our transferred clients to have a midwife at their delivery in the hospital. We also have a back up Pediatrician that we we consult with regarding the care of our newborns and when necessary we can transfer them to his care in the hospital. At the Holy Family Birth Center our hospital transfer rate is 7% and most transfers are non-emergent.
- Do accept late to care transfers?
The decision to accept late to care transfers is ultimately up to the midwife and will largely depend on your medical history and if the mother has been receiving prenatal care elsewhere.
- What do I need to do to start or transfer care to Holy Family Birth Center?
We like to recommend that you stop by the office for a 15-30 minute orientation and tour of the birth center for a chance to ask any further questions you may have before you decide to start care with us. After you have done this or if you already know that this is the place for you, you can call the office at 956-969-2538 and make an appointment. It is helpful if you can bring a form of ID, proof of income (such as a check stub), or your insurance card. If you will be a late to care transfer, we will need to have a copy of your medical records from your currant health care provider.
