Healthy Mother is India’s only institutional provider of complete maternity services based on the Midwifery Model of Care backed by appropriate use of technology infrastructure all under one roof.
From a historical perspective, midwifery in India has been a time-honored tradition, especially in rural communities. “Dais”, or traditional midwives have been part of the Indian birth culture for decades, especially among the poorer sections of Indian society. However, their practices tend to be based more on experiences handed down the ages and rituals, compared to their more “modern” counterparts, i.e., doctors and nurses. Even so, traditional Dais score higher in helping mothers deliver naturally, because of their emphasis on the social, psychological and emotional aspects of mothers in labor, in addition to her physical well being. One of the best resources for information on traditional midwifery in India is Janet Chawla’s Matrika NGO (http://www.matrika-india.org/index.html) which has done groundbreaking research into the cultural, sacred and indigenous medical traditions. More recently, in the US and and Europe, a new breed of midwives has emerged, that respects and judiciously uses traditional birth practices along with the practice of modern health care, all within the framework of a holistic model. This is the new Midwifery Model of Care, that considers the mother as the center of the care universe and has her physical as well as emotional well being as a unified objective of care giving.
At Healthy Mother, we have taken this unified model as the foundation of our care practices. We have taken the best practices of each individual model (midwifery and medical) and combined them to offer to our customers the benefits of both, without the failings of any of the two. Under the Healthy Mother Midwifery Model of Care, we consider pregnancy and birth as a natural process, for which nature has perfected the woman’s body for thousands of years. We help women rediscover their own bodies’ strength and ability to birth on its own and be in tune with their baby all throughout their pregnancy and labor, thus laying a strong foundation for bonding and motherhood. Our care model is highly individualized, continuous and unlimited in nature and scope. During our antenatal checkups, we take the time to sit down with mothers and discuss their emotional fears, questions, and any other concerns (such as family issues) in addition to physical checkups. Our model ensures mothers look to us as a friend, guide, and care provider, at any time they need us, thereby making the whole experience of pregnancy, a holistic, and pleasurable one.
Under the Healthy Mother Midwifery Model of Care, we provide you with individualized care by:
- Monitoring the physical, psychological and social well being of mother throughout her childbearing cycle. We generally spend about 45 mins with you per consultation so that we have ample time to get to know you and address your concerns and questions, over and above clinically monitoring your and your baby’s physical well being.
- Providing mothers with individualized education, counseling and prenatal care, and continuous, hands on assistance during labor and delivery, and postpartum support.
- Antenatal Care: Diet Counseling, Clinical monitoring of your and your baby’s health such as blood pressure checks, listening to baby’s heart rate, or helping you to choose the right prenatal tests for you.
- Continuous support during labor – Monitoring your health and your baby’s health continuously during your labor (such as fetal heart rate monitoring, internal exams etc), helping you with various positions to facilitate progress of labor, comforting you with back massages, starting an IV if it becomes necessary, or doing a water birth, if you desire.
- Minimizing Technological Interventions: While it sometimes becomes necessary to do medical intervention, numerous studies across the world, as well as our own experience has shown that less intervention means better outcomes for mother and baby. Good, supportive care and a safe, private environment in which to labor are the most important factors to facilitate a healthy and natural birth.
- Identifying and referring women who might require obstetrical attention: This is rare as most labors and births progress normally and in most cases, only monitoring, support and patience is required in order to have a happy and healthy baby and mom. In the event that complications arise, we are immediately able to identify the need for specialized help and call on our specialist Obstetrician(s) in our team for help. Our Healthy Mother team of doctors, midwives, pediatricians, nurses and other support staff are always ready to provide high quality care whenever mothers or babies require.
- Transition to new familyhood
- Immediate Postpartum Care: We ensure that mom and baby stay together after birth so skin-to-skin contact can occur, easy breastfeeding initiated and mother-baby bonding happens.
- Postpartum Followup: We counsel mothers on good nutrition for breastfeeding and recovery, infant massage and newborn care, and importance of good pediatric care.
The application of this woman-centric Midwifery Model of Care has been found to reduce the chance of birth injury, trauma, and c-sections around the world. Countries that boast of the best birthing outcomes for mothers and babies are the same countries that have the highest rates of midwifery care. In 1990, The World Health Organization (WHO) declared that birth was actually safer for mothers and babies when utilizing midwifery care for normal and low risk pregnancy and childbirth.
Please refer to Coalition for Improving Maternity Services and Listening to Mothers II Survey for more information. By following these mother/baby friendly care practices our model of care reinforces that birth is a natural, empowering and yet deeply personal event. We, as care providers consider it our mission to help mothers experience this life-changing moment in an environment which is emotionally and physically comforting.
For further information about the Midwifery Model of Care practiced across the world, please refer to the following links:
http://www.cfmidwifery.org
http://www.mana.org