What is the Midwifery Model of Care?

What do we mean when we say we are stewards of the Midwifery Model of Care?

Photo by Kailee Riches Photography.

The Midwifery Model of Care is a hands-on, relationship-centered approach to care during pregnancy, birth, and postpartum, which has been proven to result in fewer complications and less interventions for growing families. It prioritizes respectful treatment, personal attention, information and education, appropriate monitoring, confidence in the body, natural comfort techniques, and continuity of care. We feel honored to practice this framework, which allows us to meaningfully connect with our clients and focus on their wellbeing.

Respectful Treatment

Respectful treatment in the Midwifery Model of Care means honoring your right to informed decision making when it comes to tests and screening, recommended procedures, and interventions. Respectful treatment also includes honoring your family’s spiritual and cultural beliefs.

It is our belief that respectful treatment cannot exist in frameworks that do not work to uphold the birthing bill of rights. Freedom to move as you please, eat to maintain your energy, and bathe is a standard part of our care. We do not “prohibit” or “allow” you to do x, y, or z. We uphold your bodily autonomy and sovereignty and are present to provide patient guidance that is grounded in our expertise and familiarity with physiologic birth.

Lastly, respectful treatment includes an understanding that each birth process unfolds in its own unique way, and is a normal part of life. We do the work to regulate ourselves so that we bring calm to your birth space, even after experiencing secondary trauma. We are confident in the body’s ability to birth, and maintain healthy respect and preparation for the unexpected.

Personal Attention

Most of our appointments are 60 minutes long to allow adequate time for building a relationship with you and your family, answering your questions, counseling on your unique needs for birth preparation and wellbeing, as well as addressing worries and working through fears, all while moving through the clinical aspects of our time together with mindfulness and consent.

Information and Education

Throughout our time together, we incorporate lots of information sharing about pregnancy, birth, postpartum, the newborn, lactation, and newborn care. We want you and your family to have all the practical knowledge needed to make sure you and your baby’s needs are met and your experience becoming parents for the first time or expanding your family is one of upmost joy. We share connections to community doulas and childbirth education classes, as well as other professionals and knowledge resources.

We continuously provide full information about risks and benefits of recommended tests, screenings, procedures, or interventions so that you can make choices that feel best to you, even if hard to make.

Appropriate Monitoring

When we say “monitoring,” we mean regular, intentional, and thorough check-ups for you and your baby throughout the time you are pregnant, in labor, in the hours immediately after birth, and our time together postpartum to make sure all vital signs and experienced symptoms point to low levels of risk. Part of why midwifery leads to better outcomes is because of how much time we spend together and openly communicate in order to prevent complications whenever possible, and catch them early whenever they do develop. We refer to other healthcare specialists to collaborate or to transfer to a different birth setting when occasionally needed.

Confidence in the Body

We approach your birth with confidence in the body’s ability, and a willingness to support it. We do not incorporate routine treatments or arbitrary timelines that are likely to interfere with the labor process. We support your privacy, and individualize our care as needed to support you in doing the hard work of birthing your baby. We do not “deliver” our families’ babies: we witness them deliver their children as we provide expert care and attention.

Natural Comfort Techniques

We spend time in prenatal appointments sharing information about natural comfort measures with you and your family so that you have time to prepare and practice. We strongly recommend childbirth education classes for first time parents or parents who are having a homebirth for the first time to further fortify their preparedness. We also highly recommend hiring a doula to support you! We share best practices for maintaining your energy during the labor process, limiting risks that could lead to need for intervention, grounding in calm and relaxation, working with discomfort, and relieving intensity. This frequently includes position changes, encouragement, instruction on massage and other forms of hands-on support for family members or loved ones, and laboring in water.

Continuity of Care

We encourage our clients to schedule prenatal appointments with all three of our midwives so that before labor everyone knows one another well, and families feel safe and familiar going into their birth. Once you are in active labor, we are with you providing continuous individualized care, and stay two to four hours after your baby is born to make sure everyone is transitioning well. We will continue to provide care to you and your baby through the first six weeks postpartum. During this time, there is always space to discuss the birth and for families to provide feedback, in addition to our clinical tasks and discussions on the newborn phase and postpartum transition.

The Midwifery Model of Care is aspired to by many midwives, but it is important to understand that some do not practice it. There are some rare doctors who practice this model of care, but our current healthcare and insurance system makes it incredibly difficult for Ob’s to practice this way, even if they would like to. When interviewing midwives, it can be helpful to reference the Midwifery Model of Care to form your questions.

The “Midwives Model of Care” was copyrighted 1996-2008 by the Midwifery Task Force. As of 2024 the North American Registry of Midwives owns the copyright. The definition currently used was developed in 1996 by Midwives Alliance of North America (MANA), the North American Registry of Midwives (NARM), the Midwifery Education Accreditation Council (MEAC) and Citizens for Midwifery (CfM).