Midwifery care and homebirth contributes to lower overall risk to the mother: fewer interventions, fewer and less severe perineal lacerations or episiotomies, lower rates of postpartum hemorrhage and infection, and lower cesarean rates.
Benefits for baby include: a gentler transition to extrauterine life, including optimal cord clamping to reduce the need for resuscitation and lower risk of anemia up to one year of life; faster and easier start to breastfeeding, which conveys many lifelong health benefits; no separation from parents; reduced exposure to unnecessary intervention such as glucose monitoring and antibiotics.
Emotional benefits of homebirth include a familiar care provider, convenience to the family, inclusion of siblings and friends, the attendants of choice, and a greater sense of safety, comfort, and satisfaction.
Multiple studies confirm that the safety of home birth relies on thorough prenatal care, continuity of care provider through the pregnancy and birth, open access to and communication with physicians and emergency care, and more frequent direct postpartum contact with parents and child: things that nobody does better than homebirth midwives and their support teams!
Homebirth care is appropriate for the majority of people having a low-risk pregnancy, including those who have had prior cesareans.
Every individual pregnancy is different, and we encourage anyone who is curious about home birth to contact us or attend our monthly information sessions to learn if homebirth is right for you, and if we are the right midwives for your family!
Yes, we are currently accepting WellPoint with Medicaid as in-network providers. We will bill other insurance providers for out-of-network coverage, including Healthshares and TRICARE Select. Click here to read more about our fee structure and insurance billing.
We attend births throughout Baltimore and surrounding suburbs within 20 minutes.
It is legal to give birth at home in every state; both Certified Nurse Midwives and Certified Professional Midwives must be licensed by the State of Maryland to attend homebirths “legally,” which requires them to practice within a defined scope as determined by the Board of Nursing. There are also traditional birth attendants or traditional midwives who have chosen not to pursue any licensure. All of the Charm City Midwives are licensed in the State of Maryland.
Certified Nurse Midwives (CNM) are Registered Nurses who go on to receive a Masters in Nursing and then a Certificate in Midwifery from the American Midwifery Certification Board, an additional 18-month program of study. Their training and experience focuses on hospital-based midwifery and providing well-person care through the entire reproductive lifespan. Because of this, they are more readily covered by insurance policies and Medicaid, and are able to work as midwives in hospitals, providing care to pregnancies at various levels of risk and complexity.
Certified Professional Midwives (CPM) are trained exclusively in out-of-hospital birth (at home or a freestanding birth center), via programs of study that vary in style, formality, and content but must always include an apprenticeship lasting several years, where hands-on experience in providing community-based care for normal, low-risk pregnancies and out-of-hospital births is the focus. CPMs may not work in hospitals, and Maryland does not yet recognize them as Medicaid-eligible providers. CPMs are certified by the North American Registry of Midwives.
Each style of midwife brings a different, but equally critical, set of skills and capabilities to their practice. CNMs who provide independent out-of-hospital care are rare, and passionate about homebirth! We feel that our combination of CNM and CPM practitioners gives us the ability and flexibility to provide comprehensive midwifery care to more people, and to learn skills from each other to continually enhance and evolve our individual practices.
