A Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) is a direct-entry midwifery practitioner who has met all the certification standards set by the North American Registry of Midwives (NARM). What distinguishes a CPM from other nationally certified midwives is that CPMs primarily attend to low-risk pregnant women in an out-of-hospital setting. CPMs are trained via a competency-based model of education, which requires them to gain direct hands-on experience in an out-of-hospital setting. NARM recognizes that this is the optimal model for educating midwives because it requires clinical experience, continuity of care, and risk assessment skills, which are required to determine when referral, collaboration or consultation with a physician is necessary.
We will schedule a home visit at 36 weeks to meet your birth companions and to go over details of your birth. We typically spend an hour together at our prenatal appointments. During a prenatal, we check your vital signs and the baby's size, position, heart rate, and we will discuss any physical and emotional issues that arise. We provide routine prenatal lab work if needed. We will also offer you information, resources, and support on how to nurture yourself through pregnancy and beyond.
The midwives at Boston Community Midwifery believe that a nurtured and well-nourished mother is the best assurance of a healthy baby and birth.
At your birth, you will be assisted by Tara Kenny and Audra Karp and an apprentice training with us. We work as a team, where each assists and contributes. This kind of teamwork allows for empowered, personalized care. We also will work with you and your insurance provider through our billing service to include some or all reimbursement for your care.
We will visit your home within 24 hours of the birth and another two times in the first week after the birth, at 2 weeks and at 6 weeks postpartum.