Greetings!

We hope you and your families are well. There are hundreds of expectant families wondering if this global pandemic will affect them, their pregnancy, their family, and their unborn baby. We assure you we have the same concerns for ourselves, our own families, our clients, and community as well. Midwives have been rooted in every community since communities began. Our care for women and their families has been a pillar in every community on the planet. The idea that women can physiologically have their babies without intervention is not new. Physiological birth, also known as low intervention, or “natural” birth has been shown to be very beneficial for mothers and babies worldwide.

For good reason, there are lots of families who have some anxiety surrounding their impending birth. Some are finding out daily that things are changing at their chosen birth location and are unsure what birth will look like when their time comes to welcome their new baby. We assure you that your concerns are not unheard. The midwives of Mississippi Midwives’ Alliance hear your concerns and hold those and other concerns close to our hearts.

Midwives are frontline workers when it comes to the care of low risk mothers and babies in out of hospital environments. Some families choose midwifery care as soon as they have the earliest inkling that they may have a baby on the way the same way others choose the medical model of care. Mississippi has too few midwives who specialize in out of hospital birth. Mississippi does not currently provide licensure for midwives. Most insurance companies do cover out of hospital birth. Many practices are full many months in advance.

The midwives of MMA understand that parents are facing many new restrictions at their medical facility of choice. This is a scary and uncertain time, with hospital policies changing almost hourly. There may be some midwives who are taking new clients, but many don't have the capacity to take clients late to care. Keep in mind, even though clients are coming into care late, fees can’t be discounted and the strict criteria we maintain for low risk mothers remains the same.

Midwives, like many OB/GYN practices, have gone to some telemedicine visits with their clients. Families may find that some midwives can begin telemed prenatals, even though the midwife may not be able to provide care during the birth of the baby. Some midwives also can be very helpful in the time postpartum by doing postpartum telemed, lactation counseling, or general health assessments for new parents and their newborns. Each midwife will be different in what she decides to do for her community so utilize our directory and contact each midwife directly with any individual questions. Expectant families will find that midwives will be happy to hear from them and answer any question they have during a consultation.

Cordially,
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The midwives’ of the MMA