Our clients routinely receive a 24-hr home or hospital visit after birth, lactation care as needed anytime after birth, a 2-week, and a 6-week postpartum visit, with their midwives. Additional visits and check-ins for clients with histories of mental health issues or lactation difficulties - or who are experiencing them in the present - are made quickly available in those difficult first weeks and months. We want each of our clients to feel seen, heard, and supported in what can be a challenging and isolating transition from pregnancy to life with a baby.
Screening and Testing
After your baby’s birth (if at the birth center rather than a hospital), we’ll send all the pertinent information regarding your baby’s health to your chosen pediatrician and test results will be received at our office (Newborn Metabolic Screening). We will also perform the Critical Congenital Heart Disease screening in your home at 24-36 hours which is a simple test required by the State of Alaska since January 1, 2014, using a pulse oximeter to see your baby’s oxygen saturation. Finally, we will screen your baby for hearing loss in our office at two weeks.
Breastfeeding
Our IBCLC (Internationally Board-Certified Lactation Consultant) can help you with any breastfeeding problems, and will see you in the first week if you develop sore nipples or ‘latch’ problems. Our goal is to give you the support you need to succeed in feeding your baby in whatever way is right for you. For many of our clients, this means exclusive breastfeeding to at least 6 months or more, as recommended by the AAP, though we provide non-judgmental support for any feeding choices that are right for your family. While breastfeeding is indeed "natural," that in NO way means that it is easy. Getting timely and expert help, if and when you need it, can make the difference between meeting your breastfeeding goals or falling short of them. If you are hoping to exclusively breastfeed past the 6-month mark, working with a clinic that has highly-trained Lactation Consultants, who can see both moms and newborns as 'patients' under their supervising clinician's license, and who are invested in helping you reach your goals, is absolutely essential.
Mental Health Support
Our team supports the mental and emotional health of our postpartum clients in several different ways. We have a Licensed Professional Counselor here, named Jasmine Porter. She will have her PMH-C credential by the end of the summer of 2024, having already completed the Components of Care training on PMDs (Perinatal Mood Disorders) through Postpartum Support International. She provides in-person and telehealth counseling in our office. Our CNMs also have a lot of experiencing managing mental health medications such as SSRIs, SNRIs, etc. for our clients. Our whole office team is also here to help connect our clients with individualized resources and recommendations depending on their needs, for support and connection within the community.
At the 6-week visit we will do a pap smear if one is needed, provide a wide array of birth control options, and then hope to see our clients back for an annual exam after one year. But if something comes up sooner, we can most likely provide additional care as needed.