Give Birth at Home with NYC Midwives
Expert midwifery care that honors physiologic birth, in the comfort and privacy of home.
CONTACT USFamilies receive the same commitment to thoughtful risk assessment, physiologic birth, maternal and newborn wellbeing, and appropriate consultation or transfer when needed.
Giving birth at home means laboring in your own space, on your own timeline, with midwives who have known you for months rather than met you at admission. There is no triage desk, no shift change halfway through your labor, and no clock running on how long you are allowed to push.
What a Home Birth with Our Midwives Looks Like
You labor in your own space, on your own timeline, with midwives who have known you for months rather than met you at admission. There is no triage desk, no shift change halfway through your labor, and no clock running on how long you are allowed to push.
Three of our midwives attend every birth. One focuses on you, the other on your baby once they arrive. You decide who else is in the room, what you eat and drink, how you move, and what position feels right. Most of what we do is watch closely, keep you and your baby safe, and stay out of the way of a process your body already knows how to do.
We stay for a few hours after the birth, help you get feeding started, complete the newborn exam on your bed rather than in a nursery, and clean up before we leave. Most families are settled in their own bed by the time we go.
Is Home Birth a Good Fit for Your Pregnancy?
Your Care from First Visit Through the Fourth Trimester
Prenatal Care
Prenatal visits run longer than the ten or fifteen minutes typical in an obstetric practice, which leaves room for real conversation about nutrition, sleep, aches, fears, and what you want your birth to look like. We offer prenatal visits monthly until 28 weeks, every two to three weeks until 36 weeks, and then weekly until labor starts.
Standard prenatal screening, lab work, and ultrasound referrals are part of your care, and we talk through what each test tells you before you decide whether to have it. In the final weeks of pregnancy, a home visit gives us a chance to see where you might labor, where a birth pool would fit, and how the team would reach you at three in the morning.
Labor and Birth at Home
Call us whenever you think labor has started, day or night. We talk you through the early hours by phone and come when you want us there or when your labor pattern tells us it is time.
Your baby’s heart rate is monitored intermittently with a handheld doppler, which means you stay free to walk, shower, use the tub, or rest however you like. Home birth midwives carry emergency equipment and medications to their births, including supplies for newborn resuscitation and for managing bleeding after delivery.
If you are drawn to laboring or delivering in water, ask us about a water birth and what setting up a pool involves in your space.
Postpartum Care at Home
The weeks after birth matter as much as the birth itself. Postpartum care happens at your home, not in a waiting room with a newborn in a car seat.
We check your bleeding, healing, feeding, and mood alongside your baby’s weight and wellbeing, so the fourth trimester gets real attention rather than a single six-week appointment.
What Happens If You Need to Transfer to a Hospital
Every home birth plan includes a hospital transfer plan, and we discuss it with you long before labor begins. Most transfers are not emergencies. The common reasons are a labor that stalls, a parent who decides she wants pain relief, or a situation that would benefit from closer monitoring.
If transfer becomes necessary, we go with you, bring your records, and give report to the receiving team, so you do not arrive as a stranger with an incomplete story.
Planning a Home Birth in New York City
Midwives in New York are licensed by the State Education Department. Every member of our team is a certified nurse midwife, which means graduate-level training in both nursing and midwifery, along with the authority to order labs and prescribe medications.
City living raises questions a suburban practice never hears. A fifth-floor walk-up. A building where the doorman has to buzz us in. Neighbors on the other side of a shared wall. A bathroom too small for a pool. We attend home births in apartments and houses across the boroughs and can tell you what will work in your particular space.
See where we practice in our home birth service areas, including Brooklyn and Queens.
Contact Us
We’re standing by ready to answer any questions you have.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does insurance cover a home birth?
Many New York plans cover midwifery care, though coverage for out-of-hospital birth varies from plan to plan. Our insurance explains how we handle billing and what to ask your insurer before you commit.
What if I have had a cesarean before?
Some people who have had a previous cesarean are candidates for a home birth after cesarean, and some are not. It depends on the type of incision, how many cesareans you have had, why the first one happened, and how your current pregnancy is going. That conversation belongs in a consultation rather than on a website.
Do I need a birth pool?
No. Plenty of people give birth in bed, on a birth stool, or standing in the shower. If you want a pool, rental kits are widely available and we will tell you what to look for and how to set it up.
Can I have a doula at my home birth?
Yes. Doulas and midwives do different jobs, and many families are glad to have both. Your midwife handles clinical care for you and your baby while a doula focuses on continuous physical and emotional support.
What if my labor starts in the middle of the night?
Someone from our team is available around the clock. Babies rarely consult a calendar.
Is home birth messy?
Less than people expect. Waterproof layers go down ahead of time, and cleanup is part of what your midwives do before leaving. More questions like this one are answered on our midwifery and home birth FAQs.
The information on this page is general and is not medical advice. Whether home birth is safe for you depends on your individual health history and how your pregnancy progresses. Talk with a qualified midwife or physician before making a decision about where to give birth.