Vicki Hedley is truly committed to the well-being of women and their babies. Her background in child birth and support service is extensive: Certified Professional Midwife, Co-director and Co-founder of Seventh Moon ~ Homebirth Midwifery Services, Certified Child Birth Educator, Certified Birth and Post partum Doula and Educator, And the Mother to five children! Vicki Hedley currently works as a professional Home Birth Midwife, serving Northern NJ & Rockland, as well as Westchester Counties of NY. Visit her website at: (http://www.seventhmoonhomebirth.com/).
Vicki Hedley is beloved by her clients and I am honored to have her speak at the Bella Bellies Prenatal Teacher Training. Below is a summary of our interview!
What is a Midwife?
A Midwife is a skilled Health Care Practitioner providing expert care to women during pregnancy, delivery and postpartum. Many Midwives also provide well-woman gynecological care throughout the entire life cycle. Midwives have a unique philosophy of practice relating to their model of care. Midwives embrace the idea that pregnancy and birth are a healthy, normal process in a woman's life cycle. We support the relationship of mother and baby emotionally and physically. As a Midwife we try to make a decision based on the well-being of this relationship rather than legal or financial concerns. Midwives are trained to assess the need for treatment based on the unique, individual needs of the woman and baby in front of us. And thereby, minimize medical intervention while providing hands on care during labor and delivery. We educate and counsel our clients on the changes her body will undergo as a woman, during pregnancy, during labor, during delivery, postpartum and further into motherhood. For more information visit: http://cfmidwifery.org/
What questions should I ask when choosing a Midwife?
Ask questions which relate to their experience, philosophy, prenatal care practices, birth practices and postnatal care practices. Before your interview write down a general idea about your birth preferences including an idea of what role you would like your Midwife to have in the birth and after care. Ask the Midwife what she would do in an emergency situation and what she considers an emergency situation. Ask who her other practicing partners are and who her back up obstetrician/gynecologist is in the case of an emergency. If not covered by insurance, ask how she handles finances. The bottom line is: can you trust the Midwife in front of you, meaning do you have a good feeling about the woman in front of you?
What is a Birth Doula?
A Birth Doula is a skilled and trained woman who provides emotional, physical, informational and sometimes spiritual support to a woman and her partner during her birth, delivery and immediate postpartum period.
What is a Postpartum Doula?
The role of a Postpartum Doula is to help provide support to family after baby is born. Her knowledge about the changes that come with a baby should be able to help the family emotionally adjust to their baby/babies. A Doula will help integrate baby into the family by offering a variety of assistance depending on what the family needs (such as help with baby, cooking, light house work and advice on providing for baby). Ultimately, a Doula will help support mom and help her bond with her baby.
What questions should you ask when interviewing a Doula?
Depends on the needs of the family. Ask the Doula about her experience(s), philosophy, back up , how comfortable they are in the setting you will be giving birth in or providing care for baby in, what her philosophy is, what her experience with breast feeding is, what her fees are (average Doula will cost any where from $800-1300 for birth and, post partum $25-35.00 per hour). Ideally you want a Doula who is non-judgmental of your unique situation and someone who you feel comfortable providing for your family.
Midwife Vicki Hedley, is one of the health care providers joining the Bella Bellies Prenatal Teacher Training for a Q & A Session. To sign-up for the Prenatal and/or Postnatal Teacher Training, please go to: http://www.bellabellies.com/schedule or read more at: http://www.bellabellies.com/teacher-training
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