Moonstone Midwifery

02/22/2024

Looking for a receptionist with Medical experience. Thanks!

Steinmann Family Health Clinic

12/02/2023

What sets us apart? Our extensive proven clinical experience.

At Moonstone Midwifery, we all come with considerable clinical experience.....and the humility to know when not to use it. Lori offers a 30+ year background in working with Midwifery, NICU, Labor and Delivery, and other areas of women's and neonatal health. She is time tested. This experience has allowed Lori to recognize problems early AND to recognize when 'problems' aren't really problems at all. This extensive skill set means that many things can be safely handled in the home setting.

She also employs only Registered Nurses with proven clinical experience in both the home AND hospital settings. That means we have been in attendance at thousands of deliveries, with years of training, and a strong understanding of normal, next steps, and time tested ways to quickly resolve issues as they arise.

For a free consultation with Lori and her Nurse - please call Steinmann Family Health Clinic to schedule at 515-243-2888.

10/11/2023

That MOMENT! We were so blessed to hold space for this amazing family recently. And she was AWESOME!!

Photo posted with permission
Photo courtesy of Oak + Ivory

09/28/2023

One of the things we've noticed is that there are a lot of misconceptions about home birth:

- why people choose it
- what the care you receive is like and how it compares to hospital based care
- who should and should not have a home birth
- and so many more assumptions, questions and myths!

So - we want to offer you the opportunity to ask any question you have! What questions do YOU have about home birth? No question is silly, wrong, weird, or stupid. ASK. And we will answer it!

09/27/2023

Y'all. So much stuff.

IV's and medication and blood pressure cuffs, and dopplers, and sterile equipment, and oxygen, and ambu bags, and......SO MUCH STUFF.

Without providing a full top to bottom list - know this. It is literally the same exact equipment that we use in the hospital (and we'd know, with our vast experience in that setting too).

Just about the only things we don't have - an operating room, and an epidural. And if you need one of those? It's a short car or ambulance ride away. We've got you covered. Because the most important thing we bring is the skills and experience to know how to USE all of the stuff we bring with us.

09/25/2023

On the contrary, dear friends.

Let us be 200% honest, and abundantly clear: WE LOVE THE HOSPITAL.

We love the safety net that it provides. We love that it is there if things do not or cannot go as planned. We love that we have a backup plan to keep our families safe.

We love that we have so much experience in it, and can recognize all of the ways in which they are trying to keep people safe. We love that they can perform that c-section, or give that epidural. We love that we can maintain good relationships with them, and ask them to tag in when things go beyond what the home setting can offer.

We love the they will work with on us on respecting our patients wishes, because we have respect for the fact that we are working together for the best possible outcome.

Choosing home birth isn't about staying away from the big bad hospital. It's about recognizing that when everything is low risk, the most comfortable place to bring your new baby into the world CAN be your home. It CAN be the place where love resides. You CAN choose that for yourself and your baby if you are low risk, and some people want that.

We are focused on what you do what want. And that is bringing your baby into a place surrounded by love. That can be at home, and that can be at the hospital. Which do you choose?

09/22/2023

Another one of the many decisions you'll need to make as a new parent is whether or not to have the Newborn Screenings done after birth. This extremely low intervention assessments are to screen for conditions or syndromes that are best identified early, and were developed to catch the most common newborn issues quickly and easily. They include:

📌 The Heel Poke (Or Newborn Metabolic Screening)
📌 Critical Congenital Heart Defects Screening (or CCHD)
📌 Hearing Screen

2 of the 3 can be performed at your 24 hour postpartum visit, right in your home, and while you are holding or breastfeeding your baby! The Hearing Screen is something that we will refer you to Heartland AEA for. Some things to know about the Newborn Screenings:

👉 While these are highly recommended, they are all optional, as with all things.
👉 The Heel Poke is a SCREENING tool. That means that you may see a positive on this test, which means you would then go on to TEST for that disease. It does not automatically mean your baby is sick!
👉 The CCHD is a simple pulse oximetry reading and does a great job of screening for the most common congenital cardiac concern that you would not see on an ultrasound.
👉 The hearing screen is more important than you think! 98% of babies diagnosed with hearing loss do not have a family member that has hearing loss. And early intervention is very important to speech development, and interventions overall!

We are always happy to answer questions on Newborn Screenings! Do you have any questions on Newborn Screenings?

09/20/2023

Baby wearing for the WIN! Parents - who else carried your baby in carrier? It ain't just for parents!

09/19/2023

Sometimes - a provider will make a recommendation, and you won't quite know how you feel about it! One of the best things you can do to determine if it's right for you? Ask them this question:

📣 WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO WITH THAT INFORMATION?

Not only does this tell you a lot about the person you're talking to, but it also gives you a frame of reference for WHY they are recommending that thing, test, or procedure, and knowing that you can decide if that's important to YOU.

For example:

🥸 I 'm pretty sure the Midwife would like to check your cervix during our appointment today, so I'll leave a drape here for you.

🤩 Hm.....I didn't plan on that. But I guess? Maybe? I guess I'd just like to know.....what are we going to do with that information?

🥸 Well honestly......nothing! Checking your cervix won't necessarily tell us when you are going into labor. There are some risks to having your cervix checked, such as possibly rupturing your bag of waters early, and introducing foreign bacteria into your vaginal canal. But, it can tell us if you are doing any dilating or thinning of your cervix up front, and some people like to know that! It also gives me a baseline if you think you're in labor. For example I check you today, and you're 3cms, you call me because you aren't sure and we check you again and you're still 3 cms. We know you were the last time you were here, so there hasn't been a change to your cervix. Does that make sense?

🤩 It does, but that information isn't really important to me. I think I'd like to decline a cervical exam today. Thanks!

🥸 You got it! So anyways.....

See what we mean? It's a great question!

09/18/2023

Who doesn't hate a UTI, amirite?

Sometimes, pregnancy is the first time in their lives that a person may experience a UTI! There's a couple of reasons, but the biggest one is simply this: between 6-24 weeks, your uterus is expanding, sitting on top of your bladder, and it isn't able to empty as efficiently (in some people).

The tricky part with an infection here, is that it can travel it's way up to your kidneys, and become a kidney infection, aka Pyelonephritis. This can become a lot more severe, and require hospitalizations. So of course, we want to treat UTI's before they get THAT exciting.

Signs of a UTI don't look the same for everyone, but you'll probably have these symptoms:

🚽 Pain or burning (discomfort) when urinating
🚽 The need to urinate more often than usual and/or urgency
🚽 Blood or mucus in the urine
🚽 Cramps or pain in the lower abdomen
🚽 Pain during s*xual in*******se
🚽 Chills, fever, sweats, leaking of urine (incontinence)
🚽 Waking up from sleep to urinate
🚽 Change in the amount of urine, either more or less
🚽 Urine that looks cloudy, smells foul or unusually strong

💥When bacteria spreads to the kidneys you may experience back pain, chills, fever, nausea, and vomiting.💥

If you think you've got a UTI - contact your provider right away!

09/15/2023

There are 5 categories of Gynecological Cancers, and with September being Gynecological Cancer Awareness Month, we wanted to remind you that while Lori is a Home Birth Midwife, she is also a Nurse Practitioner capable of assisting with all of your gynecological screening needs. In addition to a Pelvic Exam, a part of standard Gynecological screenings include a Pap Smear.

What is a Pap test and what is its purpose?

A Pap (Papanicolaou) smear, also called a Pap test, is a procedure to test for gynecological cancer. It involves collecting cells from your cervix so that they can be looked at under the microscope to find cancer and pre-cancer. The main purpose of screening with the Pap test is to detect abnormal cells that may develop into cancer if left untreated. Cancer cells, as well as non-cancerous conditions, such as infections and inflammation, can also be found with a Pap test.

🔷 You should start having screening at age 21, regardless of when you first start having s*x. How often you should have cervical cancer screening and which tests you should have depend on your age and health history.

🔷 People who were assigned female at birth who are 21 to 29 should have a Pap test alone every 3 years. HPV testing alone can be considered for people who are 25 to 29, but Pap tests are preferred.

🔷 People who were assigned female at birth who are 30 to 65 have three options for testing. They can have a Pap test and an HPV test (co-testing) every 5 years. They can have a Pap test alone every 3 years. Or they can have HPV testing alone every 5 years.

Steinmann Family Health Clinic can schedule a Gynecological Visit with Lori! Just call 515-243-2888

09/14/2023

💥 HEADACHES IN PREGNANCY 💥

They. Are. The. Worst.

If you already suffer from headaches before pregnancy, they may or may not cause you some issues during pregnancy. And if you've never had one - this might be the time you get your first big one. However for between 60-80% of migraine sufferers, pregnancy is a nice break from.

Headaches are common in the first trimester, when your body is responsible for the hormones to keep your pregnancy going. After the placenta takes over that job during the second trimester, headaches usually subside. So when do you worry, and when do you treat them yourself with the (admittedly kinda limited) resources you have at home?

Report headaches immediately if:
📣 You also have visual disturbances (floaters, blurry vision, etc)
📣 It's the worst headache of your life
📣 You have a lot of sudden swelling
📣 You attempt to treat it and it doesn't go away
📣 You just feel 'wrong', anxious, or any kind of 'impending doom'.

You can probably attempt to treat a headache at home if you are:
📣 Less than 20 weeks pregnant
📣 It seems familiar, like a kind of headache you struggle with often
📣 There is another obvious cause, such as dehydration

That being said - it is always a good idea to check in with your provider. Y'all, that's what you pay them for! If you're nervous, unsure of what to do, or need reassurance - chat with your provider or their nurse. We can walk you through what's normal and what's not, ways to feel better, or advise when we might want to make sure you and baby are doing okay.

Did you suffer from headaches during your pregnancy?

09/13/2023

Folic Acid

Ready? This is a bit of a hot button issue in certain crowds. What do we do about Folic Acid?

First of all - we would encourage you to do very little about it, beyond making sure that if you are considering pregnancy or your are currently pregnant - to take a very good prenatal vitamin. This will provide you with Folic Acid (you want to shoot for 400 mcg).

💊 Folic Acid is one of the best and easiest ways to prevent Neural Tube Defects (NTDs), the most common one that most of us are familiar with is Spina Bifida.
💊 Taking it before pregnancy can be very important, because these conditions form in the first few weeks of pregnancy, sometimes before a person knows that they are pregnant.
💊 Anencephaly is one of the most severe NTDs. It affects about 1,000 babies each year in the United States. Anencephaly is caused when the upper part of the neural tube that forms the brain doesn’t close completely. Babies with this condition do not survive long after birth, usually for just a few hours.

The controversy comes in when people start to consider the MTHFR Gene variants. The advice from various sources has evolved to conclude that looking at the Folic Acid source on your vitamin and ensuring that it is 'methylated' or a 'methylfolate' is best, however, most recent research studies don't support this, even if there are specific higher risk variants of MTHFR. So, at this point, including methylated options has become a bit of a marketing advantage.

Honestly? Whatever you'll take. But focusing on this particular nutrient is the easiest and simplest way to dramatically reduce your risk of developing a baby with a NTD.

09/12/2023

So many right ways to feed a baby. Breast/Chest. Pump and Bottle. Formula. Donor Milk. SNS Device. Induced Lactation. Wet Nursing. Finger or Cup.

Or any combination of these methods and more.

How you feed your baby is so much less interesting than how you nurture your baby. And there are a lot of right ways to nurture your baby, your bond, and yourself in the process.

How did you feed your baby? What worked best for you, your baby, and your whole family?

09/11/2023

This isn't a traditional This or That.

Because there is no right or wrong answer, there is no team A or team B, there are no guarantees, and there is no need to make a plan that you can't pivot on in the moment.

There are pros and cons to every option, and things to consider for every person, patient, parent, and provider. We are here to counsel you, offer you all of the options, and keep you as safe as we can! If you want all of the medical interventions? AWESOME! If you want to keep interventions to a minimum? We're here for it.

There are no right ways or wrong ways to have babies, as long as it's what YOU want or need!

09/10/2023

Today is National Grandparents Day. Are you a Grandparent? Or do your kids have amazing Grandparents in their lives? Tag them or share a picture! We want to love on them too!

09/09/2023

One surge at a time. You GOT THIS.

09/08/2023

It's World Physical Therapy Day! And both Newborns and Pregnant/Postpartum People can greatly benefit from a relationship with a Physical Therapist.

Newborns may see a PT for:
👉 Torticolllis
👉 Feeding Issues/Tongue Tie Revision Care
👉 Misshapen Skull
👉 Prematurity
👉 Specific Medical Diagnosis - such as Down Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, Spina Bifida etc.

Pregnant and Postpartum People may see a PT for:
👉 Pelvic Floor Dysfunction or Issues
👉 Pregnancy related pain and problems, such as lower back problems
👉 Breastfeeding related issues, such as ultrasound therapy for a clogged duct
👉 Postpartum Sexual Discomfort

And so many more.

Which PT's have you loved in Central Iowa! Tag them here!

09/07/2023

We know. We get it. They are JUST SO KISSABLE.

As much as we want to kiss those chunky cheeks, we want to protect them more. Please keep those lips to yourself. Every family has their own tolerance for this - but we would recommend that extended family, friends, acquaintances......basically anyone that doesn't live with you keep themselves from kissing new babies. The risks of an immature immune system and some of the more common and mild for adults but potentially very dangerous for baby viruses are real and relevant.

Keep those puckers to yourself!

09/06/2023

These are the moments, friends. The ones you don't forget.

09/05/2023

MYTH: Home birth providers aren't the same level safety and care that you get at an OB/GYN or Hospital Birth, because they don't do the same tests.

Okay. Sigh. Let's dispel this myth. There is NO REASON that you cannot get the same level of screenings or tests with an out of hospital provider, if that is your preference. The provider you choose may not have the same level of access or experience with some of the more moderate risk tests, but they can often refer you for just these tests or screenings, or refer you to a different provider if your situation dictates a different level of care.

At Moonstone Midwifery, we follow the Universal Screening standards set forth by ACOG. A few of those are considered 'required' to maintain a low risk status and to remain eligible for home birth, but many of them are at the discretion of the patient and the provider to decide if you can safely forgo them or if the information is important for you.

We want you to know TEST RESULTS DO NOT MEAN YOU HAVE TO DO ANYTHING IF YOU CHOOSE NOT TO. For example, if you screen for Group B Strep and are found to be positive, you are not required to receive antibiotics in labor. If you do not fall under the threshold on your Glucose Screening, you do not automatically need to start taking insulin.

Moonstone offers all of the options. In very rare circumstances, we may discover an issue along the way. Then, you and Lori can decide what to do with that information. Simple as that.

09/04/2023

Join us in wishing Midwife Lori a very Happy Birthday! As the person that attends to so many births, we would like to take this day to honor the birth of the woman that has held space for so many journeys.

09/02/2023

If you're looking for medication management, this will be a wonderful resource!

Starting in October, we will begin offering in-house medication management services as well as individual, group, and family therapy!

Dr. VanMilligen will be joining us with her expertise in perinatal mental health and psychiatry and she will be able to offer the additional wrap around support of medication appointments for both current and new clients. She will be located in the Urbandale office and will also be offering telehealth appointments.

✨To make an appointment with her, you can call the main line at 515-499-4959 to schedule or email us at contactus@bloomwomenswellness.org. Jessica will guide you through the process and make sure you are taken care of from start to finish.

✨Dr. VanMilligen also has the option to book an appointment with her via our secure portal and you can book at the link below. Please note: At this time, we accept Wellmark BCBS & Anthem insurance plans and private pay.

https://bloomwomenswellness.clientsecure.me

09/02/2023

An interesting new article - eczema may increase your risk for Group B Strep!

"The rate of GBS colonization among pregnant females with a history of AD has not been previously reported," the authors of the study wrote.

09/01/2023

Clever way to swaddle your baby!

09/01/2023

September is Baby Safety Month, and we wanted to give you our top Baby Safety Tips that apply to our teeniest tiny babies!

📌 Have your car seat correctly installed and/or inspected, preferably before they are born! There is some research that indicates that up to 90% of car seats are incorrectly installed, in one way or another. Please have your seat checked.
📌 Even teeny tiny new babies can wriggle there way towards the edge of a bed, or towards a step. Never turn your back on a baby on an elevated surface or leave them unattended, unless they are secured in some safe way, such as in a safe crib, or a car seat.
📌 As early as 2-3 months, babies will wave their arms and even grab at things. Watch that hot coffee cup or if you are cooking! It is very easy to spill hot liquid if you aren't expecting those fast little fists!
📌 Check your water heater, and consider lowering the temperature to prevent burns. Turn it down to a max of 120F. Did you know that it takes ONE SECOND to cause a full thickness burn at 140F and 5 MINUTES to cause the same burn at 120F? Turn that puppy down!

What other tips would you give new Parents?

08/31/2023

We like to keep our calendar in a place that allows for us to never feel overwhelmed by anyone, and to give EVERYone the most of ourselves.

We have several spots available through the end of 2023 and into 2024. We accept late transfers, or transfers from other providers if you're having a less than ideal fit.

Join Lori for a FREE consultation to discuss whether or not she is the right guardian for your birth space! Home birth services with the extra bonus of a large established clinic for the rest of the family to establish care in for whatever needs they have!

☎️ Call Steinmann Family Health Clinic at 515-243-2888 to schedule your free consult today! All you have to do is ask for a consult for Moonstone Midwifery!
📫 Also, you can send an email to info@moonstonehomebirth.com - and we'll get you on the books for a free consultation!

08/30/2023

When you consciously consider yourself to be a GUARDIAN of a birth space instead of a COMMANDER of a birth space.......the dynamic and attitude within that space shifts. The laboring person, the baby, and the physiological process itself command that birth space.