Complications

Most women do go a few days or a week past their due date. You can come in labor, or come ahead of time to stay in a birth house on The Farm before you deliver.

Tennessee Midwives  Association (TMA) practice guidelines state a “post-maturity pregnancy (>42 completed weeks) require physician consultation and may require physician referral and/or transfer of care.”
If you go past 42 weeks, we will facilitate and be present with you, if you choose one of our local hospitals. Collaborative care can continue for your post-partum.

Some people choose to continue to the birth house or BNB that they rented and receive postpartum care.

While good prenatal care will identify or eliminate most complications during the pregnancy, there is always a possibility that a complication may arise during labor. For this reason, midwives are trained in handling emergency situations. Sometimes transfer is appropriate. If it should arise, the midwife accompanies the client and her family prenatally or in labor to the hospital to provide support and facilitate a smooth transfer of care.

The vast majority (98%) of transports in labor are for non-emergency reasons and transfer is done by private car to the hospital. In the case of a true emergency, transfer might be by ambulance to the nearest hospital with an obstetrical unit. An emergency care plan is completed by the 36th week of pregnancy to outline the plan for each client.

Yes. VBAC is an option for many clients at The Farm, depending on your individual history. We will review your surgical and prenatal records to ensure safety before confirming VBAC eligibility.