FREE NEW CLIENT CONSULTATION
Ready to start care? Have more questions about the services that we provide? We offer free phone consultations for those who are interested in receiving care from our practice. During this 30 minute session, we’ll explain what care looks like at the Midwives Cooperative and answer your questions. To schedule a free orientation, call 352-377-3879 or click below.
PRECONCEPTION+
Preconception Plus visits are available for those who are planning to conceive. During this a 45-minute visit with one of our midwives, we’ll discuss optimal pregnancy health and preparation. This visit also includes a lab panel, nutrition and supplementation counseling and review of fertility awareness around conception. You will also have time to ask questions and hear more about the type of care we offer for pregnant people. The cost of this visit is $250.
PRENATAL CARE
We believe that personalized prenatal care should be an option for all folks. Prenatal care typically begins around 10-12 weeks of pregnancy, or sooner if you need it. We’ll see you monthly until 28 weeks of pregnancy, every other week until 36 weeks of pregnancy, and weekly until delivery.
Prenatal care with the Midwives Cooperative looks a little different. Your appointments will last about 45 minutes, providing ample opportunity to ask questions and discuss your pregnancy and birth. We offer all the usual parts of prenatal care - vital signs, lab work, listeining to the baby’s heart beat and measuring for growth - but we counsel on a variety of topics related to where you’re at in your pregnancy. We hold space for your needs and concerns. Your family members are always welcome at prenatal visits… siblings love to help! Most appointments will happen in our cozy office space in Gainesville.
Prenatal labs are collected in our comfortable office space and include an initial pregnancy panel, genetic screening, gestational diabetes screening, GBS testing, anemia testing, and cervical cancer screening. Having symptoms of a UTI, yeast or BV? We can test and provide treatment for that too. A routine anatomy ultrasound is scheduled at 20-22 weeks with a local-to-you provider and reviewed with you by our team.
We offer medications and treatment for common pregnancy and postpartum conditions too, including UTIs, BV, yeast, hypermemesis, and HSV.
During your pregnancy, your midwives are on-call and available for urgent matters 24 hours a day – when calling you will reach a midwife directly.
CHILDBIRTH PREPARATION & SUPPORT
No matter what setting you deliver in, preparation and childbirth education is key. Throughout care we discuss all aspects of bringing a new baby into the fold and answer your questions as we go. We recommend buidling your labor support team and offer referrals to trusted local doulas, which you can learn more about here. First time birthers are strongly encouraged to include a doula in their labor support team!
For those planning their first home birth, childbirth education classes are required and typically occur during the second or third trimester of pregnancy. Midwives Cooperative offers group classes in our office to prepare you for labor, birth, postpartum, breastfeeding and the new baby. The series includes two 2.5 hour classes that include:
Anatomy and physiology of labor
Comfort measures for labor
What to expect postpartum and with your newborn
Breastfeeding 101
HOME BIRTH
Planned home birth can be a safe option for low-risk pregnancies. What makes the difference? Care from trained and licensed professionals, careful screening during pregnancy, and evidence-based pregnancy and birth management. Preparing for your birth mentally, physically and emotionally are just as important.
Conception, pregnancy, birth and breastfeeding are natural processes and many parents are reluctant to see labor as a medical event. Giving birth naturally can be a profound and transformative experience. Your midwives will provide education and resources to help prepare you for what to expect and how to cope in labor. Our care aims to reduce unecessary intervention, giving your family the space to settle in while the midwives work quietly in the background to maintain safety and comfort.
Birthing with Midwives Cooperative means you’ll have continuous care with our close-knit team of midwives throughout your prenatal, labor, delivery and postpartum periods. We attend births in teams of 2-3 and you’ll have a chance to get to know all of us during your prenatal care. We’re on-call and available for your birth between 37-42 weeks of pregnancy. During labor, we support your in laboring in the manner that suit you. We’ll monitor vital signs, baby’s heart rate, and continue to assess progress and risk while respecting your space and needs in labor. After your birth, we carefully montior both you and your baby to ensure a safe transition from birth to postpartum. We carry medications for labor and postpartum and are trained in managing emergencies. After your birth, we support uniterupted skin-to-skin bonding, initiation of breastfeeding and will conduct a head to toe newborn exam within arms reach of you.
Service area: We serve Gainesville and the surrounding communities, including Ocala, Alachua and High Springs. As long as your birth location is within thirty minutes of a hospital with labor and delivery services and within an hour or so from us, we can travel for your home birth.
WATER BIRTH
Midwives Cooperative is happy to support use of water in labor and/or birth. Our clients find that it alleviates pain and reduces stress. Studies show that water immersion in labor and birth result in:
Pain reduction
Shorter average labor time
Higher rates of normal vaginal birth
Reduction in the incidence of perineal tearing
Greater satisfaction with the birth
Check out Evidence Based BIrth’s podcast and article about water birth.
Clients are welcome to use their own tub, purchase a birth pool, or purchase rental/setup with Midwives Cooperative. Our pool rental service includes use of our pool (liner purchased separately), pool set-up in active labor (inflation, hose/adapter hook up, fill) and pool breakdown (drainage with pump, cleaning, deflation and removal).
POSTPARTUM CARE
Postpartum care includes two in-home visits over the first couple of weeks and an office visit at six weeks postpartum. Having trouble with breaatfeeding or need to check-in about your own recovery? We’re still on-call for you during this time! During your postpartum visits we’ll assess vital signs for you and baby, check baby’s weight, discuss establishing new routines, returning to work, and family planning or contraception options. If you’re due for cervical cancer screening or labs we can provide that as well.