Homebirth with Certified Nurse Midwife
New South Dakota Law Provides Safe Home Birth Option
Homebirth with Certified Nurse Midwife becomes Law. South Dakota's law now provides a safe option for mothers planning their births at home. A licensed Certified Nurse Midwife can now attend home births, without the previous restrictions that where banning them from attending homebirths.
The new law which became effective July 1st will let specially trained nurse midwives help women give birth at home.
The South Dakota Legislature has battled for more than 10 years on whether to allow midwives, whether professionally trained or not , to help in home births. But lawmakers this year passed a compromise suggested by state boards that regulate doctors and nurses.
The law requires midwives to become registered nurses, get master's degrees in nursing and pass additional tests and get approval from two state boards.
 After 2 years of waiting for South Dakota's legislature to pass laws allowing for homebirth by certified nurse midwives, Jeanne Prentice of WomanKind Midwifery of Beulah, Wyoming has recently moved her office to Spearfish, South Dakota and has completed the full approval process to become one of the state's first legal homebirth midwives.
WomanKind Midwifery, owned by certified nurse Midwife, Jeanne Prentice, was originally established 1 mile across the South Dakota border in Beulah, Wyoming where nurse midwives have been recognized as independent practitioners for several years.
The practice of nurse-midwifery was established in the United States in the 1920s. According to the American College of Nurse-Midwives, women who use certified nurse-midwives as their primary care providers have low rates of infant mortality and have low chances of having a Caesarean section or needing epidural anesthesia. They can also allow vaginal birth after Caesarean section. Most hospitals in Wyoming and South Dakota do not allow vaginal birth after Caesarean.
Giving birth at home isn’t for every woman, and Prentice said she has an extensive screening process. While those with low-risk pregnancies are ideal, those with high blood pressure or diabetes may not be candidates for home births, Prentice said. Moms wanting a home birth must be committed to giving birth without an epidural or other medication, Prentice said.
Prentice was recently featured in "LIVE WELL, A Look at Alternative Birthing Experiences." Read Here
Beginning July 1st, WomanKind midwifery will be located at 544 N. 7th Street in Spearfish and open from 9am - 5pm daily by appointment. WomanKind is the first legal homebirth service in the State of South Dakota as well as the first midwife owned practice. Most of South Dakota's midwifery services are owned and/or operated by physicians or hospitals. WomanKind midwifery provides prenatal care in a homelike clinic setting. Delivery, postpartum and newborn services are provided in the comfort of the mothers home. Jeanne Prentice specializes in care of low risk women and their newborns. She also offers waterbirths as an option to assist mothers in relaxing during their labors and deliveries.
WomanKind has launched a new motto to signify this new change in South Dakota - "One small step for newborns, one giant leep for WomanKind"
To schedule an appointment with Jeanne go to www.womankindmidwifery.com and click contact or call 605-580-5495.
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