River Valley Midwives - Family Centered Homebirth

Combined we have provided birth care to over 1400 families

Our practice serves all of the Pioneer Valley (91 corridor from Northfield to Longmeadow including Northampton/Amherst/Hadley area), Berkshires, Hilltowns, Springfield Area, Quabbin Area, Northwest-Central MA (Rt 2 area) from Greenfield to Fitchburg and Northern CT from Enfield to Hartford.

Midwives: Kirsten Lane, Jharna Harvey-Ahmai and Kristen Bernard Apprentice: Chana Luba Ertel

We are three midwives sharing our life's work of educating expecting mothers/families and assisting the women we care for to achieve the birth they desire through natural and holistic means. We consider ourselves guides for this amazing process - with our firm belief being that women instinctively know how to birth their babies. The care we provide is both highly skilled and highly individualized to meet a birthing families specific needs. We have each been attending births from 8-18 years. As homebirth midwives, we are very respectful of the physiological, emotional, spiritual, sexual, and cultural aspects of the birthing process. Each of these things matters so much to setting the tone for a woman giving birth. We are honored to serve you family in this way.

Our prenatal appointments are a time to build a personal, warm, and most importantly, trusting relationship. During your labor and birth we will continuously and carefully watch over mother and baby, doing everything possible to avoid interfering in the perfect process that is birth. Our birth team will support you throughout your pregnancy, labor, birth and postpartum helping you to feel truly empowered by this transformational process. We look forward to providing you with the very best homebirth care -- the care you and your family deserve in order to ensure the best possible outcome - a healthy mama and a healthy baby born naturally and safely.

With River Valley Midwives you can expect:

•An environment where you are completely held and supported by your birth team and those you have invited to participate in your birth

•Skilled birth attends with many years of experience between them who have been present at over 1400 births (and counting)

•A safer, relaxing, and more comfortable birth where you are in charge

•An easier and faster recovery just by virtue of being at home

•Absolutely no separation from your baby

•Efficient clean up  - your home will be clean and tidy when we depart

•A warm and peaceful welcoming of your new baby

Our Care:

•Complete Home Birth care including 24/7 availability

•Comprehensive prenatal / postpartum care

•Nutritional counseling

•Breastfeeding information and counseling

•Newborn screening exams

•Continuous care even in the event of transport we will never leave your side

•VBAC and Waterbirth

•Pregnancy tests, lab work, & diagnostic referrals

•Excellent working relationships with your choice of 3 hospital-based back-up midwifery practices

•Skilled in a variety of relaxation and massage techniques including hypnobirthing and craniosacral massage therapy

•Skilled in the appropriate use of herbal and homeopathic remedies as well as allopathic medicine when applicable

•Insurance billing when applicable

•Birth and Pregnancy Photography