Midwives in Santa Barbara, CA

What a midwife does

Midwives attend births and provide prenatal and postpartum care. In California there are two kinds. Licensed midwives (LM, often also CPM) are licensed by the Medical Board and mostly attend home and birth-center births. Certified nurse-midwives (CNM) are nurses with graduate training, licensed by the Board of Registered Nursing, and mostly work in hospitals and birth centers. Both can be looked up on the state's license search.

Worth asking before you decide

• Where do you attend births: home, birth center, hospital?
• Who is your backup, and which hospital would we transfer to if needed?
• What does your fee cover, and does it include newborn care?
• Are you accepting clients for my due month?