If I work with CPM, do I also have to find a doctor to work with? |
No need! In the state of New York, midwives are independent providers. We do not work under an Obstetrician or require you to get tandem care with any other providers except for us. However, we do have excellent relationships with a number of Obstetricians, Gynecologists, and Maternal Fetal Medicine specialists (high risk ObGyns), and if there is a complication during your pregnancy, we may have you see one of them for an appointment or two. This way we are able to continue providing the pregnancy and birth care for higher risk clients while they get care for their high risk condition with the appropriate provider.
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What happens if I need a cesarean birth? |
In the case that we decide before labor that a cesarean birth would be the safest way for your baby to be born, we will schedule you with a trusted ObGyn that provides a "Gentle Cesarean." The Gentle C is done when there is no urgency and no need for baby to be brought directly to the pediatrician, which allows us to follow some more family-centered practices. For example, we use a special drape with a clear plastic window so that you can watch your baby's birth, we do delayed cord clamping, and immediate skin-to-skin. If we decide during labor that a cesarean birth would be safest, we work with the on-call Obstetrician to provide the safest, most efficient and comfortable Cesarean birth. The CPM midwife will be with you in the operating room throughout, making sure that you are comfortable and that the baby comes to your side or to your chest as soon as it is safe to do so. Your partner or support person will be brought in to sit at your side for the birth.
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When the Birthing Center closed in January of 2019, we were truly sad to lose such a historic part of NYC birth culture. We thought long and hard about whether or not it would be smarter to move to another hospital, but in the end we decided to stay at Mount Sinai West because we have such excellent relationships with the Staff, Doctors, Nurses, and Administration. We are able to continue using the exact same protocols in the Labor & Delivery rooms as we did in the Birthing Center, such as Intermittent Monitoring, no IV unless medically necessary, moving about the room, and using hydrotherapy. There is a bathtub and shower in each L&D room, and we use them often. We truly feel supported in providing the best hospital-based midwifery care that we can at MSW. |
A Central Park Midwifery client laboring on the toilet in the Labor & Delivery room bathroom.
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Do you work with doulas? |
Yes! We love doulas. In fact, we strongly encourage anyone having their first baby to consider hiring a doula. We do not have doulas on staff at CPM, however, so we leave the hiring process up to you. If you work with us we will share a list of doulas we've worked with before and recommend other clients work with.
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When should I schedule my first appointment with you? |
Reach out to us as soon as you think you would like to work with us so that we can schedule a free phone consult and discuss our practice in more depth. If after that you decide that you'd like to move forward, we usually see people for their first visit at around 8-10 weeks of pregnancy. After that we see our clients once every 4 weeks until 28 weeks, then every 2 weeks until 36, and then every week until the baby comes. We will adjust that schedule as needed to fit you and your family's life, desires, and requests.
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Do you work with non traditional family structures? |
Absolutely! We often with work LGBTQ families, single parents by choice, and polyamorous families. We have many referrals for doctors, acupuncturists, doulas, Childbirth Education Classes, and other practitioners/birth workers who we trust to provide respectful, knowledgable care to all of our growing families.
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