Introduction to Care

The Midwifery Model of Care is committed to depth. This means we take the time you need.

We commit to love and information. We are here to witness, honor and be by your side.

We offer care and assess one’s wellbeing. We also provide nutritional counseling, use complimentary modalities such as herbal and homeopathic remedies when ailments arise, strategize lifestyle changes that may support your process, discuss the choices you have before you, and offer referrals to other support networks and providers.

In deciding to have midwifery care, we, your midwives, commit to providing you with information and options for care, and to see out care as needed. Together, every step of the way, we create individualized care that supports your health and your baby’s health.

What Newborn, Prenatal and/or Postpartum Care Includes

• Regularly scheduled prenatal visits.
• Regularly scheduled postpartum visits until 3 months postpartum.
• Newborn care for the first six weeks of life.
• Postpartum Ritual Program is a preset program that starts at day 1-3 postpartum and ends at 3 months postpartum.

What Breastfeeding/Chestfeeding and Lactation Care Includes

• Private sessions are 2 hours. A package of visits can be purchased at a discounted rate.
• The Lactation Station: Open House Community-style lactation care. See details above. Please fill out this simple form to register, or text the main line for last minute drop-in confirmations.

The Process to Determine if we are your Midwives

If you think we might be the right midwives for you, the next step is to send us an inquiry letting us know you may be interested.

Please let us know what you’re hoping for and include any pertinent information to your history and health.

We can then set up an initial 15 minute consult to get the ball rolling.

Once a decision is made to proceed with Awakenings, it’s time to start the lovely intake process!

Logistics

If we have decided to move forward together as a team, we will send you, via email, links to the documents to get started with care.

Location: Prenatal visits occur in our home office.

The birth is planned elsewhere. Postpartum visits and newborn visits are planned to be in your home.

Lactation and Breastfeeding visits are planned at your home.

Miscarriage/Abortion care occurs in office, over phone and in home depending on the circumstances.

When: Appointments are during normal business hours 9a-5p, Monday – Friday.

Length of Appointments: Visits are 1-3 hours depending on the circumstances.

Frequency: Prenatal visits are suggested to be every 3-5 weeks (depending on your circumstances) until 37 weeks, then as needed thereafter until the birth.

Postpartum visits are 2-3 visits the first week, 2-3 visits the next 5 weeks, and we close out with a list at 3 months.

Newborn visits are 2-3 visits the first week, and 2-3 visits the next 5 weeks.

Breastfeeding and Lactation visits depend on the arising circumstances.

Abortion and Miscarriage visits depend on the arising circumstances.

Fees for Services

We offer various packages depending on your needs and desires. Please request the document outlining the cost for services.

We do offer a sliding scale in select circumstances (see sliding scale tab).

*Additional fees include labwork, ultrasounds, herbs, supplements, insurance biller, etc.

Sliding Scale

Access to midwifery care is EXTREMELY important to Awakenings. We hope to provide care to all families regardless of income.

As midwifery care and holistic care has grown, it has moved further and further from low-income communities. In staying true to the values of midwifery, we offer sliding scale and flexible payment plans. We encourage you to discuss your financial status and obligations with us to determine what you are able to pay for this quality midwifery care.

We trust you will value and prioritize the care you receive over accessories and abundance. But even still, it can be challenging to know whether one qualifies for a sliding scale. A guideline is: how much does paying for your services affect your current lifestyle? If after paying for the services you wouldn’t have to change anything in your day-to-day, you are at the high end of the scale and subject to the standard fee.

If, by paying for the services, you have to alter your lifestyle, you are eligible for a sliding scale. The degree by which you have to alter it, is what determines where on the scale you lie. If it means you are limiting your baby supplies purchases to make sure you can fill the car up with gas to get to work, you might get a small discount. If your basic needs won’t be able to be met, such as quality food and ability to pay rent to stay in your place, a larger slide in the scale is warranted. If you’re choosing to buy a home or remodel your home, that doesn’t meet the criteria for sliding the scale.

When assessing the need to use the sliding scale, please take into account familial income as well.

Potential barters are considered.

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If you are able to pay the full fee, thank you. Your doing so allows us to offer this high-quality service to those with less resources. Midwifery is about supporting one another, and this is part of that process.

Insurance Coverage

If you have a PPO health insurance, you may be able to obtain reimbursement in accordance with your insurance plan for services from providers who are “out-of-network.” Many apply for an “in-network exception” due to California laws and may be granted in-network coverage.

People are able to do this because if there are no in-network providers in your area offering out-of-hospital birth (which is the case here in the Bay Area), a California insurance plan must cover practitioners offering that care, as long as it is within the scope of their license.

We work with a third-party biller to complete any claims.