A couple welcomes the new addition to the family at the Santa Barbara Midwifery & Birth Center. 
Santa Barbara Midwifery & Birth Center midwife Beth Lang had an extensive support system for the homebirth of her fourth child. In addition to family, midwives Alissa Herbert and Laurel Phillips assisted. 
Santa Barbara Midwifery & Birth Center alums get a play date.
Pregnancy is a wonderful — well, mostly wonderful — experience, but it can be stressful under even the best of circumstances. Being pregnant during the COVID-19 pandemic only heightens the anxiety, especially with hospitals on the front lines of the bewildering battle.
Moms-to-be in Santa Barbara have the option to birth outside of the hospital under the care of licensed and experienced midwives at Santa Barbara Midwifery & Birth Center, which has been in an evolving partnership since 1978.
Laurel Phillips, the center’s director who heads a team of four midwives, has been fielding more and more inquiries, mostly from women who were planning hospital births between April and July.
“It’s very important for women to give birth where they feel safest,” Phillips told Noozhawk. “For many, that will be their original plan of being in a hospital, and for others it might change to considering a home birth.”
With the coronavirus requiring new safety precautions and protocols, she said, women are concerned about the increased risk for themselves or whether their partner or families will be turned away. Elsewhere, some women have even had to give birth alone.
“The good news is our hospital is welcoming known doulas to accompany the patient on a case by case basis,” said Phillips, who added that the birth center is always prepared to change its policies in the interest of safety.
In addition to monitoring the mother and baby’s health during prenatal visits, the SBBC midwives focus on the psychosocial aspect of pregnancy, birth and after care. They’re available via email and phone on evenings and weekends, too.
Two midwives attend each birth and work as a team. If medical intervention is needed at any stage, the midwives are well networked and are prepared to advocate and support women through the health-care system.
Midwives are trained to deal with birth emergencies such as hemorrhage and neonatal resuscitation and to understand when timely transport to a higher level of medical capability is warranted. Postpartum home visits are part of the standard care.
COVID-19 certainly has changed the dynamics.
Phillips said that even more intense sanitizing has been implemented and temperature taking and contact screening questions about the center’s clients and their home environments are now a regular part of the center’s protocol.
“Our job by definition is intimate,” she explained. “We miss the hugs with our clients and we miss hugging each other!
“We continue to offer our most heartfelt and loving attention to our clients despite the masks. Every one has had to adjust and, while we don’t like it, we won’t let it stop us from ensuring every woman we care for feels sure we are right there by their side for the duration.”
Click here for more information about Santa Barbara Midwifery & Birth Center, at 2958 State St., or contact the center at 805.770.3700 or sbmidwifery@gmail.com.
— Judy Foreman is a Noozhawk columnist and longtime local writer and lifestyles observer. She can be contacted at news@noozhawk.com. Click here for previous columns. The opinions expressed are her own.