Inland Empire Midwifery is honored and privileged to serve you and your family. Our responsibility is to support your informed decision-making regarding your birth and care; our practice does not take this lightly. A planned out-of-hospital birth is both your right AND your responsibility as a birthing person. You must deeply feel that out-of-hospital birth and perinatal care provided by a Licensed Midwife is the best choice for you, your baby, and your current life circumstances.

 

In our culture, midwifery provides an option for parents who believe pregnancy, childbirth, and lactation can be natural and healthy experiences. Focusing on the normal does not mean that problems go unrecognized or unattended. Instead, they provide clues to what needs to be restored. They are neither expected nor feared. If problems occur at home, you will invariably be questioned by friends, family members, and professionals as to the wisdom of your choices. Your midwife asks you to honestly project yourselves into your worst-case scenario and examine how you would feel about your original choices after the fact. We strongly encourage you to have these brave and vulnerable conversations with your midwife so that a trusting relationship can be created, one that recognizes the wonder of birth and the inherent lack of guarantees in both life and birth. Inland Empire Midwifery depends on you, the clients, to stand behind them in case of problems; in the same way, our practice places all agents at personal and political risk so that you may have your choice of care and birthplace.

 

Emergencies can arise in any birth​ setting. Some unforeseen events may result in an unexpected outcome. The overwhelming belief in our country is that hospitals are the safest place to give birth. Though the US spends more per capita on medical care than any other industrialized nation, it ranks poorly amongst nations of similar income in life expectancy, infant mortality, and maternal mortality. US ranking in these categories has steadily declined since 1960 (lower rankings=poorer outcomes).

 

Despite statistical evidence, in choosing a planned out-of-hospital birth, consumers of midwifery care are going against the predominant belief that hospitals are safer, regardless of statistical data. The birth site is seldom questioned when emergencies or poor outcomes occur in a US hospital. However, suppose a similar situation occurs in the community, even if the outcome would have been the same in the hospital; in that case, the choice of a community setting is consistently called into question.

 

Your midwife cannot guarantee a normal, spontaneous vaginal delivery birth; your midwife cannot guarantee a healthy birthing person or baby; your midwife cannot guarantee an out-of-hospital birth; and acceptance of a client for homebirth in no way constitutes any such guarantee.

 

At all times, what is GUARANTEED, is compassionate and competent midwifery care.