Before I even heard her name or knew "Business of Being Born" existed, I knew I wanted Cara…read moreMuhlhahn to be my home birth midwife. She was recommended to me by a friend, who had two home births attended by Cara, and very highly sung her praises as an attentive, knowledgeable, caring, and intuitive midwife. Finding the perfect midwife is like finding the perfect mate: one must go and see who's out there, meet some people, and hopefully find a person you "click" with. I met with other midwives and neither felt that click with their personalities nor practices. Cara is open, honest, and understanding -- and all but one of her scheduled pre-natal visits are in the patient's home.
The first appointment is an interview to see if that "click" exists and, if it does, where you fill out the paperwork, determine dates of conception (if, like me, you're not sure) and when you're due, as well as arrange for the first ultrasound exam. Cara, a certified nurse midwife (CNM), does her own blood draws and glucose testing -- in your own home. Bonus! -- but outsources ultrasounds and other "big" tests to Carnegie Imaging for Women on Madison Ave. Her office manager will call ahead to arrange appointments a few weeks apart for the first and second trimesters, then weekly as your due date nears. Again, all of these appointments were in the comfort of my own home. Cara lugs around a massive bag of medical supplies (stethoscope, blood pressure gauge, stuff for blood draws, fetal heart monitor; for births she carries oxygen and other stuff in case of emergencies) and does meticulous note-taking on her patients' progress. While she checks blood pressure and measure belly growth, she is relatively hands-off and finds intervention unnecessary when there's no need for it (mom in good health, fetal heartbeat okay, no massive weight gain, etc.).
In the weeks leading up to the birth, Cara will tell you what supplies are needed (think clean towels, sheets, gauze, and the biggest most absorbent maxi-pads ever created that probably could have mopped up the Deepwater Horizon oil spill) and where to buy them (online from a provider specializing in home birth needs). She'll go through the supplies and explain what they're for and help you devise an action plan for the birth: when to call her, where you'd like to labor/give birth, who'll be there, where the linen closet is, etc. I did this prep with Cara and fully expected to have her there laboring with me in my home for a few hours, doing breathing exercises, helping me push, etc. I am, however, a very, very fast birther. I woke Cara up at 7am (at her home on the Lower East Side of Manhattan) and she got to my apartment (in Kew Gardens, Queens, aka parking hell) **twenty minutes later***. How fast she had to drive, how many lights she ran through and the number of traffic laws she broke as she drove like she was racing the devil to get to my home birth is beyond me. Cara arrived five minutes before I delivered and she literally caught the baby (I delivered standing up. Gravity: It's fantastic!!). The rest is a blur, but she checked the Apgar score, helped my husband cut the cord, washed the baby, helped wash me, got me nursing, stitched me up, measured and weighed the baby, filled out the birth certificate forms, and was out the door to help another pregnant woman in need. She called the next day to check on us and had another in home visit a few days later.
Insurance companies in NY state are legally required to pay for midwives attending home births, but each company has their own way of getting out of this obligation. Cara's billing manager helped me navigate the various hoops I had to jump through to get my then-insurance company to pay for her services, but, in the end, the amount I paid was less than what I would have had to shell out for a hospital stay.
If you want a birth experience that includes being poked and prodded and having to pee in a cup every few weeks, the home birth experience is not for you. If you fear that your body simply cannot due what nature intended it to do, then home birth is not for you. But if you trust yourself and trust your midwife or, like me, just don't want to make the most natural of events a clinical experience, then home birth is for you. And I highly recommend Cara Muhlhahn for the job.