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San Diego Midwife

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Encinitas, CA
San Diego Midwife

La Shel Montgomery MSN, CNM
Jamin Slyvada LM, CPM

03/12/2025

Your placenta has worked hard to supply your growing baby with oxygen and nutrients, what do you do with it after it’s born?

There are a few options:

1. Make art with it!
You can have art paper available after the birth to make a placenta print with either the blood on the placenta or paint. Sometimes placenta encapsulators will also dehydrate the cord in the shape of a heart. It takes on a stained glass effect!

2. Encapsulate it
Some people have their placenta dehydrated, ground up and encapsulated to take as pills throughout the postpartum period. It’s quite popular here in California but if you’ve never heard of it, the benefits can range from more energy to improved mood. Our student Eva provides this service if you are interested!

3. Plant it to be used as fertilizer for a tree. If you go this route you’ll need to plant it quite deep so that animals don’t dig it up and so the placenta doesn’t suffocate the roots of the tree.

4. Throw it away.
Not everyone wants to keep it ;)

Water color art by

03/04/2025

Many of you have probably heard of a membrane sweep being offered at a doctors office to start labor. Today we want to shed some light on what this entails and the risks/ benefits and how likely it is to work!

1. What is a membrane sweep? It’s where your provider inserts a finger or two (if it will fit) into your cervix, then moves the fingers around in a circular motion, detaching the amniotic sac (membrane) from the lower part of the uterus. This can have different levels of discomfort depending on the size of the providers hands, your own anatomy and pain tolerance. It is normal to have some spotting and possibly cramping after this procedure. It is also possible to have cramping that does not turn into active labor.

2. Will it break my water?
It’s unlikely but it’s possible. We have never seen this in our practice.

3. How likely is it to help me get into labor? Well that depends on your gestational age and probably many other factors we don’t know as much about. But for sure, the closer you are to your due date, or even past it, the more likely you are to go into labor from any kind of labor encouragement. There is not a lot of high quality data on just how likely you are to go into labor after a membrane sweep but there are a lot of studies showing that is does reduce the length of pregnancy.

What do you think? What has your experience been?

02/28/2025

Generations of care, one shared purpose—welcoming life with love. ✨❤️

02/26/2025

Sometimes you may be in a situation where you need/want to get into labor, usually in our practice this happens if you’re approaching 42 weeks gestation. In California licensed midwives cannot legally attend a birth after 42 weeks so when people get close and still want their home birth, we have a few things to offer! We will give each of these options their own post to explain how they work but for now, here is our list!

1. Membrane sweeps

2. Ni**le stimulation combined with herbs

3. Acupuncture

4. Chiropractor

5. Exercises to help baby drop/stimulate labor

02/21/2025

Meet Ava Flynn, our current student midwife! If you are a current client you already know that Eva is smart, savvy and calm but did you also know that she offers placenta encapsulation? Hi! I’m good how are you!? She offers pick up from the birth location and drop-off within 24-48 hours. It is offered for anyone whether you’re a client at San Diego midwife or not. Either way you can reach out on our website if interested!

02/18/2025

In the first couple of weeks with your baby there are a couple of breastfeeding positions that it’s good for you to know about. The lovely Sila is demonstrating the “cross cradle” in this photo. This is generally the easiest position to start nursing in since you have the best control and access of both your breasts and baby here. But the side lying is a really excellent at night when you’re waking up to nurse but don’t want to get to worked up and alert that you can’t fall back asleep. It can take a bit longer to get baby latched well in the side lying position but try it every so often until it works! It will make night feedings much more comfy! Not to mention it’s also nice not to have to sit if you have hemorrhoids or a very sore perineal lacerations. Happy nursing!

02/15/2025

Our last official visit is at 6 weeks postpartum but we don’t just go away! We’re still your midwives and are here for you to answer questions, weigh your baby or support you in any of the other ways you may need postpartum.

02/03/2025

How can midwives tell what position my baby is in and why does it matter?

In school, midwives learn to detect the fetal position by feel using their hands in a series of maneuvers called Leopold’s. By 28 weeks the baby’s head feels harder to the touch than the baby’s butt which lets us know if the baby is breech (head up) or vertex (head down). This matters because home birth midwives in California aren’t legally allowed to assist breech birth BUT there is a lot we can do to try to help the baby turn head down before term. Fortunately only 3-4% of babies are breech at term, most turning head down by 34 weeks.

At our office we also have a small ultrasound machine to do a very basic position check if feeling with our hands is ambiguous.

Photo of and Jamin

01/26/2025

It has been a pleasure to see this family adjust to the joy and challenges of life with a new baby. To say the least, all 9 pounds of this gorgeous baby entered the world ready to steal the hearts of everyone he met. The parents are completely obsessed (swipe for the obvious reasons why) and give such an important reminder that the early postpartum weeks aren’t just hard, they can also be such a sweet bonding time where you are getting to know and love your baby more than you thought possible!

01/23/2025

January is cervical health month and a great time to remind you all about the importance of getting a regularly scheduled pap. I know I know, it is no one’s favorite activity but this short test is one of the only of its kind. It actually detects cancerous cellular changes BEFORE cancer develops. And since cervical cancer is slow moving, usually about 10 years, getting regular paps and any necessary follow up treatments helps you ensure a healthy future for your cervix. Plus if you have it done with us, it can be in a warm and friendly environment. How frequently you should get your test depends on your age and if you have had an abnormal test in the past few years so give us a call and ask for Emily for her recommend and a reproductive health visit!

Also…How about this adorable design by ??

01/18/2025

We experience so much together with our families and when they return for a subsequent pregnancy, the experience is just that much sweeter!

01/13/2025

What does this mean in the minute to minute reality in labor? One things that trusting your body means is trusting the intensity of the contractions or the pressure from the baby coming down even if that feels scary. Your body knows how much effort and force it takes to bring the baby out. Our mind can’t be the leader when our body knows the way!

What does trusting your body to give birth mean to you?

Address

451 La Veta Avenue
Encinitas, CA
92024

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 5pm
Tuesday	9am - 5pm
Wednesday	9am - 5pm
Thursday	9am - 5pm
Friday	9am - 5pm
Saturday	9am - 5pm

Website

http://www.sandiegomidwife.com/

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