Getting to Know You…Prenatal Home Visits

During at least one of our visits I will meet you in your home. I love these visits because as you welcome me in, I have the opportunity to observe you in your space.

Sometimes, your home gives me little clues about you…photos of family and friends might reflect a value of the important people in your life. I can often spot the chefs in the bunch by the serious kitchen utensils and athletes and lovers of outdoor adventures invest in some serious equipment as well.

Some of you treasure your library of books and others have a keen and passionate appreciation of music or movies. Some of you have a wonderfully lived-in space where a child’s (or a pet’s) experience is priority. I see attention to detail that sometimes reveals the value of comfort for some and others use the home mostly only as an anchor for sleeping as you are serious lovers of life and a house is for shelter, while the living happens elsewhere.

If you have other children, I can meet them now (as well as the 4-legged “children” you also love dearly.) We spend time celebrating the changes that are coming…brothers and sisters who might be moving into big boy or big girl beds, who show me “where the baby is” as they point to mommy’s belly and let me get a picture of them…maybe.

Spending time in your home allows our relationship to expand a bit beyond your pregnancy and we connect around the bigger picture of your life as well as your upcoming birth. This is often a time when partners and I find common interests or experiences and this is reassuring to dad that I am there to support him as much as mom. I enjoy this time with you both and appreciate all you are willing to share.

During this visit, there is a bit of paperwork, and some questions. I am definitely there to find out how you see me helping you best and learning about your preferences for your labor – there is always a lot of information gathering, by all of us, happening in these visits. But I will share this with you…

…when I am in your home, I am looking for clues. What intrigues and inspires you? What motivates and moves you? What relaxes you? What brings you comfort?

The greater the sense I have of you as a woman and the two of you as a couple, the better I am able to support you together in labor. So, I am very serious when I say…when I come to visit, don’t tidy or clean up too much. You might be putting away a valuable clue as to how I can help you best at your birth.