< See all departments

Midwifery Services

The Midwife Birth Experience

The Certified Nurse Midwives of Redwood City are honored to be present with you on this wonderful and miraculous journey. “Midwife” traditionally means “with woman”. You can visit with a midwife at any time during your prenatal care. We attend approximately two-thirds of all Kaiser Permanente Redwood City vaginal deliveries and assist with most Cesarean sections. We will work with you and, if you desire, your personalized birth plan, to keep your birth experience as close to what you want as possible.

We support the people who are there to support the laboring woman – family members, friends and doulas. The number of support people is limited to no more than 2 designated visitors, to comply with safety and privacy issues in the labor and delivery suite..

We fully support the intention of women who would like an unmedicated birth.

We likewise support women who desire a birth that is as pain free as possible. We provide medication to decrease the pain of labor and work closely with our anesthesia department to order epidural anesthesia at the best time.

We strongly recommend childbirth preparation classes to help women and their birth partners understand the natural process of labor and giving birth. Classes also explain coping skills for early labor, when it is too early in the process for most to receive an epidural. In addition, they introduce some of the medical interventions that are sometimes necessary to ensure a healthy outcome.

  • Not every woman needs an IV, but it may be recommended on a case by case basis for medication, hydration, preparation for an epidural or as a safety precaution.
  • We can monitor the baby intermittently if the baby is handling labor well, based on a review of the initial fetal heart rate, and if the woman is unmedicated and there are no other complicating factors.
  • We believe most women should eat lightly according to preference and drink frequently during labor, though there are some circumstances where this may be restricted. We can provide refreshments or you may bring your own.
  • Once the baby’s initial status is assessed, women can walk, utilize a variety of labor positions, or try a warm shower to help move labor along. We encourage you to bring your own “birthing ball” (if you like) and your own music, to set the right atmosphere for you. Women who have an epidural are restricted to bed rest.
  • We do not do routine enemas, shaves or episiotomies. We do not routinely utilize internal monitors or other interventions.
  • We work with you during the pushing phase and crowning to ease the baby out and prevent perineal tearing.
  • When possible, we encourage mothers to reach down and help deliver their babies if they would like.
  • Unless otherwise indicated, the mother’s significant other will cut the umbilical cord.
  • We place the baby directly on the mother’s abdomen when he/she is born so that mother and baby can maintain skin to skin contact.