Interview With Camila Santiago About Midwifery
Camila Santiago, a Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) started her own home birth service called From Bump to Babies. She also has three children of her own. I asked her a few questions about her experiences as a midwife, what she enjoys most about it, and how the pandemic impacted her business.
Doulas vs. Midwives
Doulas and midwives are similar but have different roles, so I asked Santiago what their difference is. She explained that the two act in distinct ways but that their work “beautifully compliments each other.”
“Doulas provide educational, emotional, and physical support. Doulas are magical and can support birthing families in so many different birth settings (hospital, birth center, home birth) and ways: messaging mom during labor, fixing a snack for mom and partner, continuous/switching support so partners can rest, an extra set of hands that can do so much, so you and your partner focus only on birthing your baby,” she said. “Just the presence of a Doula in the room lowers the chance of a C-section or interventions.”
Santiago then explained what midwives do for birthing families: act as a care provider who monitors low-risk pregnancies.
“I am a Certified Professional Midwife that attends planned home births. I provide holistic prenatal care following the same OB prenatal schedule, home birth, holistic postpartum care, lactation support to mother and baby until two months after the birth,” she said. “Each midwife has their own approach to conducting care. I personally love to educate parents, and my prenatal visits are usually one hour long. Midwives see the mom and baby around five times during the first six weeks postpartum, and I also offer extended postpartum care for moms that need that extra support. We also monitor the baby’s weight gain and wellbeing, and file birth certificates.”
Santiago also explains the three basic newborn screenings midwives provide: Blood spot test (heel poke’ test), congenital heart defects screening, and hearing screenings.
“Postpartum visits are also one hour long, and we are there to listen to your birth story and concerns, give a shoulder to cry if needed because being a mother is the hardest job ever!” she said. “Midwives can also provide fertility counseling, well-woman care, and well-baby care up to 24 months.”
The Best Part About Being a Midwife
Helping bring a new life into this world is a special moment, and in this business, I would think there are only happy moments that come from it. So, I asked Santiago what she enjoys most about being a midwife, which she said was being part of the entire journey of bringing a baby to a family.
“From the moment they are forming and growing inside the womb, to the transition outside the womb; witnessing a couple becoming a family or family growing, siblings witnessing how babies are born; it is all so sublime,” she said. “Bringing forth a new life brings forth a new mother and a new family dynamic. How the dad is treated during birth can impact them for the rest of their lives.”
Santiago also shared how wonderful getting to see that personal interaction between family and baby is.
“I’m always over the moon when I get to witness a mother gently yet powerfully birthing and then having uninterrupted skin to skin with her baby. When the first person a baby sees and hears is their mother, father, sibling, grandparent, etc.,” she said. “Midwives do honor and respect the physiology and sacredness of all aspects of birth. I also have a great passion for supporting mothers not only at the birth but in several aspects in the childbearing years as a whole: body, mind, and heart when growing a baby, when healing from birth, when making milk, and when caring for and raising their baby.”
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From Bump to Babies and the Pandemic
With the Covid-19 pandemic affecting many small businesses and delay of events, it has been difficult trying to get everyone back on their feet again. However, in Santiago’s case, the pandemic positively impacted home births because midwifery services are often conducted at home.
When asked how the pandemic impacted her business and how she responded to that, Santiago responded that, as far as business goes, midwives received more inquiries about homebirth.
“A great number of these new inquiries were by FEAR; fear of being in the hospital, fear of being alone in the hospital, fear of catching COVID in the hospital,” she explained. “Unfortunately, those are not good reasons to have a homebirth. However, even with those motives, the pandemic shed light on the home birth and midwifery care option. So many more people know that there’s a midwife near them, and they can have your baby in the comfort of their home. So I consider that a good thing for sure!”
The pandemic hit just three months after obtaining her CPM credentials for Santiago.
“All of a sudden, I had to learn how to navigate our so hands-on care to telehealth visits, creating home kits with dopplers, blood pressure cuffs, measuring tape, teaching clients and partners on how to self-assess while I was on a computer screen,” she said. “I faced clients testing positive for COVID around their due dates; we faced getting called to a homebirth in a tiny apartment where nine people lived together (social distance to the space!) Yet, midwives took a huge leap of faith and always showed up despite all the craziness and the fear this pandemic brought upon the entire world. After all, babies still need to be born, and mothers cared for.”
Learning Something Along The Way
Everything and every journey you come across is a learning experience. Santiago says she has learned a few things from her being a midwife.
“Control is an illusion; knowledge is power; pregnant bodies are magical; babies are strong and resilient miracles,” she said. “Most midwives provide complimentary initial visits. Even if you’re on the fence about having a home birth, book a visit with a midwife to chat about your options. We can point you in the right direction no matter where you feel safe to birth your baby.”
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