Birth Assistance
I provide birth assistance for home birth midwives.
A birth assistant does all or some of the following:
- Vital signs
- Assessing fetal heart tones
- Charting
- Labor support
- Baby care at birth (drying/stimulation/warmth, vital signs, APGARs, assisting with resuscitation if indicated)
- Mother care after birth (assisting with emergency care if indicated, postpartum assessment of the mother, breastfeeding assistance)
- Helping with clean-up, laundry, food preparation
A birth assistant is someone who is highly trained to assist a midwife in an out of hospital birth setting and has the ability to function in an emergency situation in caring for a mother or a baby in distress. A birth assistant uses or performs clinical skills and functions under the supervision of a midwife.
As a birth assistant, I am contracted by a midwife on a fee-for-service basis. I am on call for a client’s birth beginning at 37 weeks. My birth assistant fee is $500 and is normally paid by the midwife.
Client note:
If you are having a home birth and you choose to hire me as a labor doula, I will not serve as a birth assistant for your birth. Your midwife will need to make separate arrangements with another birth assistant. A doula works for the client. A birth assistant works for the midwife.