If you started your prenatal care today with Puget Sound Midwives...

Each prenatal care appointment will last for 45 minutes.

We view pregnancy and childbirth as normal, healthy processes. Our goal is to empower you by helping you master the challenges of pregnancy and birth. In our model of care, the childbearing woman has the central role, and we provide the supervision and care. The vast majority of the prenatal visit time will be spent talking in a family room setting. We conduct prenatal appointments in the birthing suites to allow you to become familiar and comfortable in the rooms where you will labor and birth.

The prenatal visit is a time for learning, exploring issues, preparing for parenting, and dealing with the social stresses of life as they relate to the pregnancy. Our goal is to promote family bonding while maintaining safety for the mother and baby, making this a growing experience for the birthing woman and family.

You will be encouraged to bring your partner or other family members to ask any and all questions and to use this time to get to know your midwives and for them to learn about you. Partner and family involvement is valued highly in midwifery care. We provide clinic hours up to 7pm to accommodate working partners and we not only have a seat for them, but furniture that is actually large enough and comfortable to boot!

During your visits we will monitor the physical development and health of both you and your baby. We will spend time educating you about how to maintain a healthy pregnancy and lifestyle. We will answer your questions about prenatal care nutrition and exercise, your baby's development, and your changing body, and we will begin the process of preparing you for the transition to parenthood and the new addition to your family.

We work hard to provide a safe, sensitive environment where you are truly heard. We spend time learning about your desires, challenges, concerns, and joys. We will answer your questions about safety, choices for prenatal testing, and the process of labor and birth with the latest information available.

"The value of this trust and in-depth relationship cannot be over-emphasized. It provides the health professional with crucial information that can predict or prevent complications. It also plays a vital role in making women more comfortable and diminishing unwarranted anxiety of both parents-to-be, and thereby produces more normal labors".
                        www.birthingthefuture.com/AllAboutBirth/midwiferycare.htm