Shea Childs is a state licensed, CPM practicing in central Arkansas, offering families in a one and a half hour radius from Hot Springs prenatal care and home birth services. SHEA CHILDS, LLM, CPM::
While pregnant with my first child, my colleagues at the Chicago Waldorf School awakened me to the world of home birth and I've never looked back. Both of my daughters were born into the comforts of th
eir own home, surrounded by the people I chose to be present, attended by the loving, capable hands of skilled, professional midwives. I have entered this path of midwifery to provide the opportunity for women or birthing people to guide their birth experience as they envision it and welcome their babies in the most gentle, loving environment as possible. My birth philosophy is rooted in trust in the physiological process of birth and the capability of the body, respect for the wishes of the laboring person, reverence for the emotional and spiritual components inherent in each birth, and an appreciation for the gift of each newborn. I have been attending families and their babies since 2007. I received my license with the State of Arkansas in July of 2011 and completed the requirements to become a Certified Professional Midwife through NARM in early 2012. I have a BA in Psychology from the University of Arkansas. I am passionate about continuing the age-old tradition of midwife-attended, normal birth for families, for babies and for the betterment of the planet. I look forward to a lifetime of learning from those I will serve. I invite another licensed midwife to attend all births with me. Some of the midwives I work with are:
KIM JACOB, LLM, CPM, MBC
BARBARA MULLER, LLM, CPM, MBC
PAULA VANLANDINGHAM ROSS, LLM, CPM, MBC
SERVICES::
I charge $5000 for my services. I see clients once a month for the first 28 weeks of gestation, every two weeks from 28-36 weeks and then once a week until the birth. The charges are the same whether you start seeing me when you're 8 weeks pregnant or 33 weeks pregnant. Continuity of care is one of the strengths of midwifery care, having plenty of time to become familiar and comfortable with one another and to build a close, trusting relationship makes for the most rewarding birth experience possible. Visits take about an hour, with attention given to the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual needs and concerns my clients and their partners. We will spend time discussing nutrition, your physical well being and any important personal issues in addition to the routine BP, pulse, weight, fundal height, fetal heart tones, fetal size and position, urine check and occasional hemoglobin and glucose finger prick. The state of Arkansas requires that my clients see another practitioner twice in their pregnancy - once fairly early on and once at 36 weeks. Our local Health Department unit can fulfill these requirements or you can see an OB or CNM. When you are 36 weeks pregnant I will visit your home to be sure I know how to get there, make sure you have all your supplies on hand and see that everything is in order for the birth. When you go into labor, I will come to your home and stay through the labor and 2-4 hours after the baby is born to make sure mom and baby are healthy and well. I bring another licensed midwife to each birth as it is good to have two sets of hands. I return the next day for a 24 hour check, on day 3-4 when your milk comes in and again at 1 week, checking baby's weight gain and well-being and ensuring you are recovering well. We stay in close touch by phone those first days and weeks to make sure all is well with breastfeeding and any other issues that may arise. A 6 week postpartum visit is scheduled once the routines are established with the new baby and to see that all is going smoothly.
