0:22

Welcome to another episode of Live a Full Life .

0:24

We're with Tampa Bay Midwives . This

0:26

is an exciting one . We work so much with

0:28

the community and labor as chiropractors and

0:30

prenatal chiropractors

0:32

that we love them . We work with

0:34

many different ones , but we love them .

0:37

It's honestly great . We're going to go through some stuff about midwifery

0:40

.

0:40

If you've been through midwives before , then

0:42

you know , but if you haven't

0:44

, why would we ever consider

0:46

a midwife to help us with our

0:49

pregnancy ? Because

0:51

we're just better at it .

0:52

No , but

0:54

because we want people

0:57

to know that we have choices in this

0:59

right . We learn

1:01

growing up that you get pregnant and go to the

1:03

hospital and you have a baby and

1:06

you kind of just do what you're told to do . But that's

1:08

not really how it works . So when you

1:11

seek out midwifery care you're getting a completely

1:13

different experience where you are kind

1:16

of in control and you have

1:18

your provider who's listening but also

1:20

giving you helpful hints

1:22

and informed consent just to

1:24

kind of navigate through pregnancy and postpartum

1:28

.

1:29

And it's a more one-on-one type of

1:31

relationship . Obviously we

1:34

have the on-line not the online

1:36

, but the on-call 24-7

1:39

, which is awesome . Business

1:41

hours , business things we like to keep it

1:43

nine or five . And

1:45

then there's the new emergencies . They can get a full of a

1:48

midwife like that and they don't have that

1:50

. Someone this morning called upset

1:53

because she had some issues . She

1:55

never would have gone through

1:57

to her OB as someone who just had the established care of it completely

2:00

. So it's a very one-on-one , very

2:03

symbiotic relationship

2:05

, giving all the information

2:07

, letting women know that

2:09

they , like a court , has said choices , that

2:12

you do not have to just be

2:14

like cattle and

2:16

do this , do that , you

2:19

have to do this , you do that , you can say no . You

2:21

can say no .

2:23

Yeah , there's a lot of freedom that comes with your

2:25

pregnancy that maybe you don't feel like there is , because

2:28

we've made it condition . It's got an ICD-10

2:30

code . I'm

2:33

like why it's not a symptom , it's a thing

2:35

. So we made it this thing and

2:38

people think that it's not a freedom type thing

2:40

. They say , oh , I have this condition

2:42

, literal condition , that I have to follow

2:44

a prognosis with , when really it's such

2:46

a innate process in itself that you

2:48

really can't follow any program with

2:50

it . I feel ridiculousism and you can talk

2:53

about this . So

2:55

when we go through this freedom and we have

2:57

we're not limited to this matter

2:59

of the medical system what does a healthy

3:02

female that's going to consider pregnancy

3:04

or maybe is early on pregnant right

3:06

now listening to this ? That may be like huh , maybe I

3:08

should look into midwives . What are

3:10

some things you suggest ? When you were looking into the

3:13

river for a minute , maybe listening to Seattle

3:15

, they don't have options to see you , so

3:17

you know what's going on .

3:20

I think women

3:22

, just one , knowing that

3:24

they do have choices to you

3:27

know , researching the , what they have available

3:30

to them locally , like you know

3:32

, like you said , do they have midwives available

3:34

? You know , right

3:38

out of list of questions , I always want people I love

3:40

the list of questions and also have your

3:42

spouse talk to your spouse

3:44

or your partner , or you

3:46

know , friends , family . You know

3:48

and not also know that they all may not

3:51

feel the same way you do about

3:53

your health care , but

3:55

that's okay . You know it's your choice and

3:58

that it's personal to you and

4:01

yeah , so I mean there's lots of resources

4:03

out there to look

4:05

at for to find

4:07

a midwife , yeah I definitely think

4:09

sorry , no not at all

4:11

Doing your research on said

4:13

providers .

4:15

There are licensed midwives or certified

4:17

professional midwives . There's certified

4:19

nurse midwives , and then there's

4:21

OBs . So just

4:23

knowing who you're going to , there are , and

4:26

Florida we have birth keepers who are

4:28

not train

4:31

the way that we are trained , and so just make

4:33

sure that you're with someone who

4:35

knows how you do the things

4:38

when we need to be safe and stay safe in that

4:40

moment yeah , let's introduce 10

4:42

midwives .

4:42

Let's go through each and every one of you in

4:44

your credentials and what you

4:46

bring to the table .

4:49

So I'm Courtney Julian and I'm a licensed midwife and certified

4:51

professional midwife .

4:54

I am Michelle LeFollow . I'm a licensed midwife . I've been practicing

4:56

since 2010

5:00

and I'm Nicole Whiting .

5:01

I am also a licensed midwife

5:03

and certified professional midwife . I'm

5:05

fairly new I only got licensed last

5:07

year but

5:10

I train under both of them and I feel like all

5:12

together we make a really

5:14

good team . Great , you guys are located

5:16

at Tampa Bay .

5:17

Midwives here , and is it loose

5:19

or ?

5:20

under legs , loose , loose , yeah , so

5:22

you guys can look them up right here if you're local to the

5:24

Tampa Bay area You're fantastic .

5:26

So that's great . So when we talk about the

5:28

plan , birth plans this is a

5:31

big thing too . Some women think

5:33

about the plan and some don't

5:35

, but I think they've all had a vision

5:37

since before even getting pregnant or

5:39

as a woman , just having a vision of what

5:41

birth would be like a dream look

5:44

like how do you guys work through birth plans

5:46

? How do you do help moms

5:48

go through their birth plan ? Make sure that they thought

5:50

about all the checks and balances of a birth plan ? What

5:53

does that look ?

5:53

like . So

5:55

most people that come into Midwifery

5:58

Care , they kind of have already done all of

6:00

the research and they have their birth plan and

6:03

we just kind of go with it . But then there

6:05

are people I mean even me when I got

6:07

pregnant , knowing all the things that I know as

6:09

a midwife , I was still like what ? The

6:12

like ? Oh , I really have to think about this Like

6:14

a human's going to

6:16

come out of my body . So , just going over all

6:19

of the things that you have to think about , like

6:21

, are you doing chiropractic care

6:24

in pregnancy ? If you're not , you probably should

6:26

be , because it's going to help with

6:28

x , y and z Like what

6:30

do you want to happen immediately after your baby

6:32

comes out ? Do you want to be the one that puts your

6:34

baby to your chest ? Do you want someone

6:36

to just hold your baby while you take

6:38

a breather to realize , like what just happened , things

6:41

that you want done or not done

6:43

to your baby . And

6:46

I'm like back in the day , washing the baby

6:48

was a thing . Now I'm just like why would we wash a baby like

6:50

that ? Well , I can ask me do

6:52

that ? It's kind of weird , but that's some things that

6:54

people don't think about . Inviting

6:57

UK injections with the

6:59

eye ointment . So really laying out like

7:01

this is what it's going to look like . I

7:03

remember in Midwifery school one of our

7:05

assignments was like draw out your

7:08

ideal birth . And mine was like , oh

7:11

, I'm going to be making cupcakes and then I'm

7:13

going to have a baby . And then literally

7:15

I got my picture of it , but like

7:17

when I actually went

7:20

in to labor , there were no

7:22

cupcakes involved . I was not smiling

7:24

like there were none of the things and it was really

7:26

helping to , because

7:28

some people me was one of those people

7:30

that had really unrealistic expectations and

7:33

to have Michelle be like hey , no

7:35

.

7:36

But that's an ideal birth plan

7:38

, right ? And then of course , it

7:40

never goes that way , but by happy

7:42

. I call it the blueprint . Sometimes you can't

7:45

build the house without the blueprint , and

7:47

even though you start building the house , sometimes

7:49

you have to change the kitchen . You got

7:51

to change your wall and it may not end up the same

7:53

way . I think that's all . Birth is too . So if you're

7:56

overlooking a birth plan , I highly suggest not

7:58

to To have some type of plan , some boundaries

8:00

that don't get crossed .

8:03

And also keeping an open

8:05

mind , because birth is unpredictable

8:07

and we , just as licensed

8:10

midwives in the

8:12

state of Florida . We undergo

8:14

over-versed educational training through

8:17

years plus basically

8:19

two and a half year internship . So

8:22

we are well versed

8:24

in normal and happy . So

8:26

we're going to take care of our moms

8:28

and make sure everyone's small and

8:30

stays within that range

8:32

and have a great birth and no issues

8:37

. So , yes , yeah nice

8:40

.

8:40

What are some things that you find the wiffery

8:42

? Just kind of sales of everything else

8:44

when Pages actually end up using

8:46

it . That just puts them ahead

8:49

or puts them in a good spot or that you

8:51

feel like aside from the natural . If you

8:53

look natural , people listening or all nodding their heads

8:55

right now , I guess great podcast . The

8:57

other ones were like crossing their arms and

8:59

Well wait , I didn't even thought

9:01

about this , I didn't even know this was an option . What

9:04

does it look like ? How do I get into

9:06

this ? I'm already tied to my insurance play or

9:08

this hospital . I did all that homework

9:10

. So just go through that little navigation

9:12

, because I think people who are curious might

9:15

be asking those questions .

9:17

I think it starts with a phone call and

9:20

just asking so hey , I have

9:22

insurance . What does that look like for you ? We

9:25

aren't contracting with any Insurance's

9:27

, but some insurance is offered out of network

9:29

. So we work with the company that will help

9:31

you get that coverage taking

9:34

care of . But

9:37

yeah , the best place to start is just with

9:39

a phone call to ask all of the questions

9:41

. Or it can be an Instagram DM

9:43

or Comment on something . You will

9:45

get a response . It's just like hey , yeah , congratulations

9:49

on your pregnancy . Or sometimes I just ask

9:51

like are we excited about this or how are we feeling

9:54

, just so I can address it appropriately

9:56

. But so we start

9:58

with our phone call and then we set up our very

10:01

first appointment . We

10:03

that can be at eight weeks , that

10:05

can be at 32 weeks . When

10:07

you were just finding out about me with recovery care

10:10

, you've already been in OB care . It's

10:12

just a matter of like all right , let's

10:15

get some records going to make sure that you are

10:17

in that healthy , low risk category and

10:19

our can have a state of .

10:22

Hospital bird . So there's a qualification process for

10:24

all that as well .

10:25

Yes , we have a risk assessment that we have

10:27

to follow and as long as they have the

10:29

records , and the records you

10:31

know look good and they're , you

10:33

know , normal , healthy , we will take them

10:36

. We will take late Transfers

10:38

and have a problem with it , great

10:40

, yeah , I think the difference you're what

10:43

you got a little bit between the wives

10:45

, I think , is the bond

10:47

and the

10:50

communication , but

10:52

I mean our clients become like our families , so

10:55

it's it's more intimate , definitely

10:57

, yeah . So I think , when

10:59

you're asking about differences , I

11:02

think that is one of the big differences between

11:04

the OB world and the midwifery .

11:06

That's what we have three through midwives and three

11:09

babies and and the

11:11

unique connection you have with them through

11:13

the whole broad . They see everything . They see the ultrasound . I

11:16

see the blood work . They sometimes

11:18

draw your blood . I mean they're doing everything there for you , so

11:21

they're in the whole process . So , unlike the

11:23

medical system , which we all know .

11:24

We're not bashing it . It's very I'm , I don't do

11:26

everything .

11:27

They don't see everything . This is report

11:29

. So this depends on your , your flavor . You know

11:32

how you want , how you want to approach

11:34

this . But the big things I wanted to ask about

11:37

on this podcast was you know how to

11:39

seek out midwifery ? What are some

11:41

of the red flags ? You know

11:43

, any of us check that . You do it through the history

11:45

, you're your process and what happens

11:47

if it all seems fine and Andy

11:49

the turn sideways ? Week 37

11:52

, week 39 or

11:54

whatever ? Whatever happens up

11:56

happening ? Pre-compsia Plus

11:59

, there's a preview . We want to have a list of medical terminology

12:01

that can happen during , but what happens

12:03

when those things start happening ?

12:05

So the process is if something you

12:08

know , one , if they're in labor , the

12:10

goal is to identify it

12:12

and get them to where they need to

12:14

be , you know , as soon as possible

12:16

. Our goal is to well , everyone

12:18

is still healthy and normal , to get you

12:20

to the hospital , to where you can

12:23

have we can , successfully

12:25

set you up for a bachelor . That's really

12:27

, you know . Sometimes , maybe

12:30

you know the blood pressure is just

12:32

starting to creep up and it's just

12:34

continuing . It's not resolving . That

12:36

might be a reason to transfer during

12:38

labor , but it doesn't mean you

12:40

have to , you know , be taken by

12:43

ambulance or anything like that . We'll

12:45

go in our , go in your own car . We do have a

12:47

relationship with the midwives

12:49

at TGH , and

12:52

so we can call them and we can one . We can ask

12:55

their opinion too . We can also

12:57

say , hey , I have a mom who's been laboring

12:59

. Or hey , I have a mom , you

13:01

know , maybe all of a sudden baby

13:03

is breached and you know

13:06

, can we look at getting

13:08

a version and what is the

13:11

best ?

13:11

way to do that .

13:11

Sometimes they can help us with the verdict in part . Sometimes they can't

13:14

, but they will take

13:16

transfers midwife to midwife , which

13:19

is so important because you're

13:22

gonna . They understand the type

13:24

of care that we want to give and what the client wants

13:27

. Now they may not be

13:29

able to give exactly that type of care , because

13:31

they do have someone . They have two ends or

13:33

two and we practice mainly autonomously

13:36

, so they but

13:39

they understand . In our community

13:41

anyways , in the Tampa Bay area there's

13:44

a lot of relationships

13:46

being made and just to smooth

13:48

that process for women

13:50

who are worried ?

13:50

what ?

13:51

happens if I , you know you run midwife , what happens A

13:54

lot of times . You know we will go with you . Depending

13:56

on the circumstance , we'll stay with you . Sometimes

13:59

moms just want to get an epidural , go to sleep

14:01

, and you know we'll check back

14:03

in with you . So there's just so many

14:05

different scenarios , right , that could happen

14:08

. Yeah , thanks to blueprint .

14:10

Thanks to blueprint yeah , thanks to blueprint , because we just signed

14:12

up to get up a girl near sleep who's advocating

14:14

for you how one of they advocated for .

14:16

so there's things that come out with that .

14:18

So that's what they do , they think they think

14:20

about all these things for you so that you have the most

14:22

comfortable experience as possible , whether

14:24

it's perfect or not right Anything

14:27

else you guys think is important

14:31

for people to think about

14:33

?

14:33

when considering the periphery . Well , I think hiring a doula is

14:36

very important and

14:38

a doula is . So a doula is

14:40

a professional or a support person

14:43

. Only they usually

14:46

do a prenatal visit with you

14:48

. They go there with you early labor

14:50

, active labor , transitional

14:52

labor . Obviously they run deliberate and

14:54

then they stay with you post part only for

14:56

a few hours and then they usually

14:59

do a post part of visit . So

15:01

the difference between a doula and a midwife and

15:03

this is a question we get a lot-

15:06

what is the ? difference because you're my doula , right . Well

15:08

, at the end of the day , as

15:10

your midwife , I am responsible for

15:12

your life and your baby's

15:15

life , so I am the clinical person as

15:17

much as I want to you know , give

15:20

you a massage , or you know , brush your hair

15:22

. At the end of the day , I'm looking at

15:24

this , you know , I'm looking at what's happening

15:26

and that mom is safe

15:28

, baby safe , and we're gonna have this baby and go like

15:30

that . A doula is the person

15:32

that's going to be behind you giving you the massage

15:35

, helping your . Your partner , you

15:37

know , do the things that

15:39

they need to do to help you get you

15:41

to the next level , to the next level to have

15:43

this baby . If

15:45

you are looking for a doula and

15:47

they want to take the blood pressure , for

15:52

service , you know , do

15:54

more medical , listen to the baby . They are

15:56

not acting as a doula , they're acting

15:59

as a medical

16:02

professional without a license , and that's

16:04

kind of a problem we have there .

16:07

Oh wow okay , good question

16:09

. Yeah , so that kind of hits

16:11

why I'm touching on it . Yeah , okay that's

16:13

important . I mean we all have our lanes

16:16

because we have the credential with the Florida Department of

16:19

Health to do what we do here in Florida . But every

16:21

state has that as well and there's federal guidelines

16:23

as well .

16:24

so don't mess with that stuff . Anything else

16:26

, that that's worked , I think , knowing

16:29

that nothing is set

16:31

in stone . So if you are with an OV

16:33

provider and you wanna switch

16:35

over , that is an option . But just

16:37

because you come into the Wiccarie care , you

16:40

may decide like actually I was

16:42

just kidding , I want an epic girl . We are not gonna be like

16:44

, oh no , you said Like we're

16:46

gonna support you and make you feel empowered

16:48

. Sometimes you think you can like oh

16:51

yeah , this is not gonna bother me , but the

16:53

body keeps score . It's a great book

16:55

if you haven't read that and things come

16:58

up in labor where you're like , oh no , it's taking me

17:00

back somewhere else and you need to

17:02

be in control in whatever ways that

17:04

you need that , we wanna support that

17:07

. So just know that , like , you have

17:09

options and you can change your

17:11

mind , but you want a strong

17:13

, solid team that's gonna support you in whatever decision that

17:15

you make .

17:17

One of the . I've seen some clients

17:19

that work with both OVG and

17:21

midwife , but when you dissect it it's

17:23

really kind of a bounce back and forth . They're

17:26

not both co-carrying for them at the same time . So

17:29

I've seen that too . When they start off with

17:31

an OV , then they're like you know what ? No

17:33

, I'm gonna go to midwifery . And then maybe something

17:35

comes up or whatever , or their plan changes and they

17:37

go back to OVG and that's

17:39

perfectly fine too .

17:40

They're happy to help . They're

17:42

totally happy to help .

17:43

So that's for you too . But I think a question

17:45

that sometimes can I have both at the same time . The

17:47

reason . I say no is because

17:49

they're not both gonna run labs on you at the same time

17:52

. They're gonna use each other's things . So it's

17:54

like bouncing between two doctors for these exact same

17:56

wellness checks and they to no sense . So I hope

17:58

that through .

17:59

Yeah , yeah , yeah , definitely .

18:02

But again , it all comes down to a choice and

18:04

we support everyone's choice . Like Courtney

18:07

said , if you want an epidural , let's

18:09

go , girl , first we're gonna take you to the

18:11

hospital . We're gonna have the best epidural

18:13

ever . And then we're also gonna help

18:15

you , you know , avoid

18:18

any other cascade interventions that might happen

18:20

. But you know it doesn't matter , we're

18:22

there to support you . 110% .

18:24

Nice , perfect , love it . Anything

18:26

else , yeah . So if you're thinking about having

18:28

a baby , you call Tampa Bay midwives

18:30

. If you're an 8-weeks pregnant , you call

18:33

Tampa Bay midwives . If you were 31-weeks pregnant

18:35

, you call Tampa Bay midwives .

18:37

If you have a baby , call them next time . All

18:40

right , sounds like a plan . If you have a baby

18:42

next time , all right , there

18:44

you go , thanks guys Thank you , thank you .