Home Birth Transfer

One of the top questions I get from my people interviewing with me is “What would necessitate a transfer in labor and what might that look like?”⠀

This is an awesome question to ask any midwife you interview with as different midwives will handle transfers differently. ⠀

For my practice my ultimate goal is to have a safe and peaceful birth and a healthy momma and baby. And yes sometimes that does mean a hospital birth in the case of a transfer. ⠀

I always try to look for early signs that a transfer may be necessary and if mama or baby isn’t responding well to my corrective measures then I don’t mess around. I don’t hesitate to transfer when I believe that the best outcome will be in the hospital. With that said, my transfer rate is pretty low at 6%. That means that I only transfer 6 out of 100 clients. My top reason for transfer in labor is malpresentation (breech specifically) followed by hypertension and then lastly fetal distress.⠀

In this image you can see me discovering the baby is breech. See my hand cupping my client’s belly? That is where the baby’s head was. ⠀

I always feel so sad to transfer. I am totally invested in my client’s births and want them to have the outcome they desire! But nothing is more important than safety when it comes to giving birth to your baby. 💜⠀

📷 @moonandmountainbirth