The Midwife Consultation

Have you ever wondered what happens during a midwife consultation? Also known as an interview, the consultation is a time to sit down with the midwife and ask any questions you may have about having a baby at home. It is a great time to see how you get along with the midwife, as choosing a midwife that you feel comfortable with is important.

I have a previous blog post with a list of questions to ask during a consultation. That is a great starting place, but of course, coming up with your own questions is always wonderful. Not all parents have questions, and that is okay. In those cases, I’ll do a lot of talking and sometimes questions arise during our conversation.

I offer the consultation for free, and I set aside 60 minutes for it. Not all consults last the whole hour, but I like to make sure that there is plenty of time to get to know one another. Because I do all in-home visits, this consult is in your home. If you have other children, then they are, of course, welcome to participate and be present. Sometimes the partner is present, and sometimes they aren’t. Sometimes there are extended families present, if they are wanting to learn more about homebirth as well and have questions.

After we sit down, we will either dive right into any questions you may have, or I will just give an overview of what midwifery care with me looks like.

There are no stupid questions! So, don’t be worried about whatever you may be wanting to ask. More than likely, someone else before you has had the same question.

I will ask you about your previous births, if this isn’t your first pregnancy. I’ll ask you why you are interested in having a homebirth, if this is your first time considering it. These two topics will often lead us to plenty of interesting conversations during the time we have together.

I always bring some printed documents to leave with the family that go over my philosophy, my training, what I bring to births, and the cost. These papers are yours to keep. There is no commitment from you at the conclusion of the consult. The vast majority of families call me later, after the consult is over, to hire me, and not at the end of consultation.

Setting up a consultation is easy. Just send me an email or give me a call, and we can pick a day and time to meet. I truly am thrilled when I get to meet a new family during a consultation. It is one of my favorite things about midwifery, probably because of how much passion I have for sharing how awesome homebirth is with as many people as I can.