Safe Journey's Midwifery, LLC

A pregnancy belly cast is a plaster cast made of an expectant mothers pregnant belly. Pregnancy is a wonderful time in a woman's life, but memories fade. Flat two dimensional photographs don't really capture the actual shape of your body carrying your child.

A belly cast is a wonderful way to preserve the memory of this fleeting period of your life. Your belly cast can be a private memento that you keep to remind yourself of what you and your amazing body have accomplished. You can also proudly display your pregnant silhouette, carrying the child that you will cherish. Belly casting is a wonderful way to preserve your beautiful pregnancy shape.

 I do occasionally take photographs during prenatal/postpartum visits (with your permission of course) and these photos will be loaded on to a CD for your use at no charge. If you would like photographs taken during your labor/birth, please let us know and a photographer will be contacted to come with the support team or I can provide photography only. This takes all of the worries from the partner trying to capture those precious moments.

Cost:$250.00

The well women exam basically is performed in four parts: the health history, physical exam including a breast exam, pelvic exam and an assessment for other health problems. Always remember to discuss all healthcare issues with your care provider—your best source for advice on healthy living.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG, 2004) recommends that young women have a complete physical exam that includes a pelvic exam with a pap smear, by age 21 unless they are sexually active. For sexually active women, this exam is recommended approximately three years after the first sexual encounter no matter what age that occurred. Women, younger than 21 who are not sexually active, but are having gynecological problems, should seek care if symptoms are severe or do not improve.

Until age 30, ACOG recommends that all women have yearly pap tests. After age 30, if a woman has a negative history of abnormal pap smears for three years and no evidence of a virus called HPV, cervical screening can be extended to every three years unless they are at high risk for cervical cancer. Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a sexually transmitted virus that is responsible for genital warts, cervical cell abnormalities and, in some cases, cervical cancer. There are treatments available if HPV is detected, and often it clears up on its own.]

Women who have had hysterectomies (removal of the uterus and often the ovaries) should know that ACOG suggests that if a hysterectomy was done for health reasons that did not include abnormal cells and cancer, they do not need pap smears. After age 70, the American Cancer Society suggests that pap smears are no longer necessary. It is important to know that ACOG advises all women to continue yearly pelvic exams even though they may not need a pap smear.

Cost: $150.00



Pricing depends on the tests being ordered, but most can be quoted a reasonable price.

See our Contract Page for details regarding homebirth pricing.

A monitrice is similar to a doula, but there are some added benefits. A monitrice does clinical skills for you at home before going to the hospital. She is able to listen to fetal heart tones, check your dilation, check for rupture of membranes and take your blood pressure.

This enables you, the mom -to-be, to stay home as long as you would like without going to the hospital only to have them send you home telling you to come back at a later time.

As a monitrice I draw on my knowledge and experience to provide emotional support, physical comfort and as needed facilitate communication between you and the birthing staff to make sure that you have the information you need to make informed decisions as they arise in labor.

I can provide reassurance and perspective to you and your partner, make suggestions for labor progress, and help with relaxation, positioning and other techniques for comfort. I am independent and self-employed. As your monitrice, I work for you, and not your caregiver or hospital if that is what you choose.

Women choose to labor at home for a variety of reasons, but the most common is they don't want to go to the hospital until their labor is well under way. This can be especially important for women wanting a Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC) because they are usually asked to come to the hospital as soon as labor starts.

FREE Initial Consult

  2 prenatal visits, getting to know each other and devising a Birth Plan

  2 postpartum visits, my helping you adjust to life with a newborn and helping with typical breastfeeding issues

  Unlimited phone calls & texts, including early labor phone consults

  Unlimited emails

I join you in the hospital once you are in labor.

  Provide knowledgeable and experienced support for you and your partner throughout labor, the birth and at least one hour postpartum, making sure you've nursed the baby (if that is what you desire to do).

  As able to, take photos with your camera.

Home visit to see if you're in labor (including vaginal exams)

Home visit to see if your membranes have ruptured (with nitrazine paper)

Once you're in labor, I remain with you (or near if you're very early) and begin working with you as if you were a homebirth client. I monitor and chart your vitals and the baby's heart rate as required by law or as needed for your and the baby's safety. When we move to the hospital, I share the information with your nurse and doctor (with your permission), so they are aware that you've been well-taken care of and both of you monitored before you arrive.

Together, we work out the details about when you want to go to the hospital. For some women, it's a certain dilation, for others, it is when they feel they are ready for an epidural. You decide when to go in... unless there is a medical reason to go in earlier or if I see you are getting close to pushing.

Will consider bartering







• Placenta ingestion in animals results in pain relief and change in hormone levels.  A study in 2004 found that elements in the placenta created pain relief and block pain receptions in the brain.  Another study in 1980 showed that the placenta contains orally-active substance(s) which modify blood levels of pituitary and ovarian hormones when ingested.  These two studies were done with rats.
• In 1954, a study was conducted in which 210 women, expected to have low milk supply, were administered dried placenta. 86% of the mothers noticed a significant increase in milk production.  That’s impressive.
• In 1998, a study investigated the biological causes of postpartum depression.  Researchers discovered that the last trimester of pregnancy, the placenta secretes a horomone called corticotropin-releasing hormone, or CRH. The rise during the third trimester is so dramatic that CRH levels in the maternal bloodstream increase threefold, which it is believed helps the women go through the end of pregnancy, labour and birth. George Chrousos, the endocrinologist who led the NIH study, and his colleagues monitored CRH levels in 17  women from the last trimester to a year after they gave birth. All the women had low levels of CRH – as low as seen in some forms of depression – in the six weeks following birth. The seven women with the lowest levels felt depressed. Chrousos suspects that CRH levels are temporarily low in new mothers because CRH from the placenta disrupts the feedback system that regulates normal production of the hormone. During pregnancy, when CRH levels are high in the bloodstream, the hypothalamus releases less CRH. After birth, however, when this supplementary source of CRH is gone, it takes a while for the hypothalamus to get the signal that it needs to start making more CRH. Since the placenta storehouses a large amount of this particular hormone, it makes good scientific sense that ingesting the placenta would result in more stable levels of CRH and therefore a more stable emotional life for the mother.
• We also know that the placenta has high amounts of iron. Low iron has been linked with feelings of fatigue. Low iron in the postpartum period has been linked with greater instances of post-partum depression.  Greater feelings of fatigue have also been linked with greater instances of postpartum depression.  So it follows that ingesting the iron from the placenta which is a bio-available source of iron, would result in more energy for the mother.  More energy would conceivably help to protect her from depression.