Midwifery Care
Blissful Midwifery offers personalized maternity care provided
by Raquel Shoemaker, a licensed, certified professional midwife. Raquel serves the Madison area and provides midwifery care in the comfort of your home. She specializes in homebirths, waterbirths and VBACs. Blissful Midwifery would be honored
to be a part of your family's birth experience.
Midwifery Care Includes:
- Prenatal Care
- Home Birth
- Water Birth
- Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC)
- Postpartum Care
- Newborn Care
- Lactation Support
- Placental Encapsulation
Prenatal Care
Prenatal Care
Prenatal Care
Blissful Midwifery provides the best prenatal care in the Madison and surrounding area. Prenatal care visits are scheduled monthly until 32 weeks, then every two weeks until 36 weeks, and lastly every week for the last month of your pregnancy. During these hour long visits Raquel is not only evaluating maternal and fetal well-being physically, but also checking in with you mentally and emotionally. She will provide education throughout your pregnancy and birth, discussing topics such as nutrition, supplements, preparing for birth, and transitioning into parenthood. Your partner, other children, relatives, and friends are welcome to accompany you for any of the visits you desire.
Throughout your care we will discuss the options of routine lab work and provide you with the pros, cons, alternatives, medical standards, and other information you need to be able to make an informed decision that is right for you and your family. From establishing care at your first prenatal visit until your final postpartum visit, Raquel will be available for you and your baby.
Home Birth
Prenatal Care
Prenatal Care
Imagine being in the comfort and warmth of your home, surrounded by the people closest to you, with your favorite snacks and drinks available at a moment's notice. You can move and change positions as you please, and husbands/partners are welcome to help catch your baby. A few hours after you have given birth, established breastfeeding, had a nourishing meal, and are feeling settled, your midwife will tuck you in for a nice restful nap in your own comfortable bed.
Safety is always at the forefront of our care and for healthy, low-risk women, giving birth at home with a certified professional midwife (CPM) is as safe or safer than being at a hospital. Birth is a normal life event, and women's bodies are made perfectly to give birth.
Send a message or schedule your complimentary consultation to see if a home birth is the right choice for you and our family.
Water Birth
Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC)
Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC)
Water birth is the process of giving birth in a tub of warm water. It is sometimes called “Mother Nature's epidural” because it has the ability to bring sweet relief and relaxation throughout the birth process. The warmth of the water softens tension, provides a calming influence and allows for deeper concentration. Women often experience enhanced freedom of movement from the buoyancy of the water.
Some women choose to labor in the water and get out for delivery. Other birthing people decide to stay in the water for the delivery as well. Whichever your preference, Blissful Midwifery is proud to include this optional service to all of our midwifery care clients.
Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC)
Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC)
Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC)
Blissful Midwifery strongly supports vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) as an option for birthing people who have had a previous cesarean birth and according to the American Pregnancy Association, 90% of women who have undergone cesarean deliveries are candidates for VBAC.
There are many factors that influence decision-making about VBAC and each woman comes to Blissful Midwifery with a unique set of health needs. Raquel understands that some births, whether vaginal or cesarean, can leave women feeling disappointed or saddened. Past birth experiences can have a profound effect on your health. Some women will choose to try to have their next baby vaginally and others will not. Making this decision is very personal. Raquel respects and will honor your values and perspective.
As your midwife, Raquel will learn about the circumstances of your cesarean birth, counsel you regarding your options and personalize your care.
Postpartum Care
Postpartum Care
Postpartum Care
Since postpartum is usually the time when more questions come up, we expect to see you and talk with you more often. The first few weeks of your baby's life are a huge transition for your whole family. Blissful Midwifery will have helped you prepare for this transition prenatally, and will be right there with you as the experience unfolds.
Raquel offers 5 or more postpartum appointments. The appointment dates approximately occur at day 1, 3, 5 or 7, at 2 weeks and the last appointment is at 6 weeks.
If there are any breastfeeding concerns or other issues, more visits are scheduled as needed. From your initial prenatal visit until your final postpartum visit, Raquel will be available for you and your baby.
Newborn Care
Postpartum Care
Postpartum Care
From the moment of birth, parents and baby are not separated. All newborn checks or procedures can be done with baby in your arms or right next to you. Standard newborn procedures are all offered with informed consent. These options include erythromycin, vitamin K, newborn metabolic screening, hearing, and critical congenital heart disease (pulse oximeter screening).
Newborn procedures are routinely delayed until after breastfeeding has been established, unless medically necessary.
At each of your postpartum visits your midwife will monitor your baby's vitals and weight.
Lactation Support
Your breast milk is made to order for your baby and the benefits of breastfeeding extend well beyond basic nutrition. Research points to the significant value to infants, mothers, families and the environment from breastfeeding. In addition to containing all the vitamins and nutrients your baby needs in the first six months of life, breast milk is packed with disease-fighting substances that protect your baby from illness.
For many parents and babies, breastfeeding goes smoothly from the start. For others, it takes a little time, effort and practice to get the process going effectively. This is perfectly normal!
Blissful Midwifery offers complimentary breastfeeding information, support and encouragement to all midwifery and doula clients. Whether you are a first time or an experienced mom, Raquel has the expertise for you.
Placental Encapsulation
Blissful Midwifery believes that placental encapsulation is a vital part of postpartum recovery. Encapsulation ensures preservation, allowing the placenta to be utilized while your postpartum hormones gradually regulate themselves. It is the most noninvasive form of consuming your placenta, so it's usually the most accepted as it comes in easy-to-take capsules.
Pregnancy and childbirth are unbelievably taxing to a birthing person's system, and scientific research has shown that the placenta is rich in the vitamins, minerals, and nutrients that your body needs to recover. Throughout history and around the world the placenta has been used by women after birth. The purpose of placenta encapsulation is to reintroduce the beneficial vitamins, minerals, hormones, proteins, and other nutrients back into your body following labor and birth.
complimentary Consultation
Raquel Shoemaker, CPM, LM
Before choosing a midwife or doula, it is important to have an opportunity to ask questions, learn more about the care you will be receiving, and make sure you have found the right fit for you and your family.
Blissful Midwifery offers complimentary hour-long consultations just for that purpose. These consultations take place virtually via zoom. Husbands, partners and children are always welcome.