Gina and Nedra wrap up the loose ends of Mod Midwives, and their home birth practice, in this final episode.

This week we spend a little more time getting to know our illustrious student, Paige Hesen. Paige has been involved in our practice for over a year and has become an important member of our team! This episode, though, is going to be our last for a time. Mod Midwives has been continuously running for two years and we have yet to take a season off. It's been a long two years--between a new practice, a podcast, and a pandemic...and dang...we are ready for a break! So we're going to pull a Rachel and Ross and take it! So, don't forget to subscribe to us on your favorite podcast player so that when we do come back you'll be the first to know! We hope you enjoy and we'll see you on the other side!

This week Nedra and Gina have a frank discussion about those times when we, as practitioners, make mistakes. Sometimes this comes in the form of a missed or mis-diagnosis, sometimes it looks like unhappy clients, and sometimes it's just when we don't stick to boundaries and protocols that we know we should. It doesn't happen often, but it is a part of learning how to dance the dance of midwifery and client care.

This week, Gina and Nedra talk listeners through how we organize our equipment and supplies--in our cars, bags, and office. You can find more information, including some videos, on our blog here: https://metromidwifery.com/?p=4330

This week Gina and Nedra discuss why framing breastfeeding/chestfeeding as a simple parenting choice is problematic. Not only is it an oversimplification of very complex issue, this also places blame and shame on new parents who were likely derailed, undermined, or unsupported in meeting their own feeding goals for their babies. We hope you enjoy this week's podcast!

In this week's podcast, Gina and Nedra talk about parenting babies in the wee hours. From what to expect with feeding, to the importance of skin to skin and close contact, to a discussion about safe sleeping arrangements, it's all covered in this episode. As promised, in the discussion of skin to skin, Gina mentioned that she would provide references for thermoregulation (including temperature adjustment up and down to help babies regulate their own body temperature). Here are a couple resources to for your perusal, including an amazing study that shows breasts can adapt differently to accommodate twins' needs! Breast-Infant Temperature with Twins during Shared Kangaroo Care:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1890034/ Early skin-to-skin contact for mothers and their healthy newborn infants:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3979156/ The effect of mother and newborn early skin-to-skin contact on initiation of breastfeeding, newborn temperature and duration of third stage of labor: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6048813/

This week we tackle a topic that most of us don't particularly enjoy talking about: money. We cover a number of topics related to your financial agreement with your home birth midwives from what is involved in the fee to insurance reimbursement to refunds. Just a few takeaways from this week's podcast are: * You are not paying for a home birth, you are paying for midwifery care. * Your midwifery fee not only pays for our practice, it pays our salaries. * Choosing a home birth (at least in our state) means opting out of the usual financial processes and structures of the health care system. * While we absolutely love our career and are called to it, it isn't a hobby for us and we're not able to take a high enough volume to offset poor reimbursement rates. * Overall, it is best to consider whether all of the services and value-added benefits that come with home birth are worth it for you to pay the fee out of pocket. While some reimbursement may happen in some cases, it's best not to bank on it. Is this something that's worth paying for? If yes, great. If not, there may be lower out of pocket options for you. *Finally, not only is health care expensive in this country, but kids are as well. We often joke about our hourly rate vs. our kids' orthodontists. Midwives are a great value. No contest. We hope this episode clears up some of the confusion out there about the midwifery fee!

This week, Gina and Nedra bring you another episode in our Practical Advice for Midwifery Practice series. Over the years and between the two of us, we've had a lot of different office configurations: home visits in the clients' home, shared office space, home offices in the midwives' homes, and dedicated office space. This week, we discuss the pros and cons of each, as well as considerations as you embark upon setting up your practice space. We hope you enjoy!

In this week's podcast, Gina and Nedra tackle the most common questions our clients ask us--both for baby and mom. For baby we discuss: Normal newborn breathing (and clearing of secretions) The fussy second night Umbilical cord care For the birthing person we discuss: Postpartum blood clots Afterpains/cramping (particularly with subsequent babies) Recommendations for resting postpartum We hope you enjoy this week's episode! (Photo courtesy of Monet Nicole Birthing Stories)

Peer review is something that midwives--and clinicians of all types--regularly engage in. It's an de-identified, confidential review of cases. It's meant to provide the midwife with feedback, suggestions, and guidance, as well as accountability and continuing education. As an added bonus, it's a great way to develop community and relationship building.

In this episode, Gina and Nedra discuss a less-than-concrete topic: what traits do homebirthers tend to have in common. From determination, resilience, and intelligence to flexibility and the ability to surrender, there are certain characteristics that we see over and over in our clients and ourselves. We hope you enjoy listening to our reflections on this topic!

This week, Gina and Nedra give a variety of different ideas for paying yourself--and Uncle Sam--after your business expenses have been met. Of course some of these lessons were learned the hard way, so we hope that we can help you set up some good procedures from the outset! Enjoy!

In this week's podcast, Nedra and Gina talk about postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) and an option that is available to you: Active Management of the Third Stage of Labor. In this episode we cover some background information about postpartum hemorrhage: the definition of PPH, how often it occurs, and causes, risk factors, prevention, and treatment. We have much more information, including references, in this week's blog: https://metromidwifery.com/?p=4134

We're back this week with another episode in our Practical Advice for Midwifery Practice series. This week we are talking about marketing and advertising of your midwifery business. We cover topics like SEO, paid vs. organic advertising, web presence and branding. We hope you enjoy our tips and tricks for building not only your client load, but also increasing your placement in Google searches and other ideas for getting the word out about your practice. You can also this on our blog this week: https://metromidwifery.com/?p=4127(opens in a new tab)

This week Gina and Nedra discuss ideas for jobs that people who are attending your birth can do to support you and your family. In addition, they discuss even who you might want to consider attending your birth (reminiscent of an earlier podcast: By Invitation Only). And in true Mod Midwives fashion, they take a significant detour to talk about births during this week's snow and baby storm! https://metromidwifery.com/?p=4112

This week's episode may lack a little excitement and romance, it is one of the most important tasks of a midwifery practice. We discuss personal protective equipment, procedures, and ideas for keeping those germies at bay--and not only COVID--in this episode in our Practical Advice for Midwifery Practice series. https://metromidwifery.com/?p=4089

This week, a new commercial by Frida Mom hit the airwaves during the Golden Globes. This ad is being applauded for normalizing breastfeeding. It certainly shows a real, raw glimpse of those early days as a nursing parent. We absolutely agree that it did a great job of pushing boundaries that needed to be pushed. But did it really show what the early days of nursing is like for most people? Was it so raw that it makes breastfeeding look scary and unappealing? Instead of portraying a realistic point of view, did it instead portray a point of view where new parents are undersupported? We definitely have concerns, questions, and take issue with more than a few things in the commercial. You can find more information, including a video of the commercial, on our blog: https://metromidwifery.com/?p=4065

Despite the increased popularity of community birth (which includes home and birth center births), it still represents a very small minority of births in the US. In this episode we discuss a number of ideas around normalizing countercultural practices that are common in our community such as home and birth center birth, breastfeeding/chestfeeding, or opting out of procedures and interventions such a circumcision. You can also find this episode on our blog: https://metromidwifery.com/?p=4036

While we all have personal preferences and opinions, this week Gina and Nedra share some of the considerations they've taken into account as they've named their businesses in the past. From cliches to treading on others' names to SEO we cover things you might want to consider when thinking of the best name for your business. Hopefully there's one or two things in here that might be useful to you! You can also find this week's episode on our blog: https://metromidwifery.com/?p=4025

Being well supported during pregnancy and postpartum is hard enough during normal times. But getting the support you need to feel confident and connected during COVID has been beyond difficult. In this week's podcast we explore ideas for finding your support circle, particularly during the postpartum time. https://metromidwifery.com/?p=3993