Believe Midwifery Services is a privately owned midwifery practice earnestly seeking to offer evidence-based healthcare to women and their newborns. We are not independently wealthy or financially supported by large corporations, insurance contracts, or grants. 

We have humbly detailed a practice wish list below that would allow us to better serve our clientele and assist the administration staff in maintaining a viable budget. We are a solo proprietor organization, so charitable tax deductions can not be provided.

The midwifery team at Believe Midwifery Services would greatly appreciate any of the items listed below in effort to better serve mothers & babies.

Equipment

Our greatest hope at this time is to obtain an ultrasound machine. Our motivation stems primarily from the reality that as skilled breech birth attendants have dwindled, so has those skilled in turning the breech baby. Dr. Soper, who has provided all our versions to date, retires in February of 2012. Penny has organized a workshop for learning breech-to-cephalic versions, but ultrasound techniques must first be acquired and equipment available to utilize. Penny has completed her training and received quotes for various ultrasound machines. GE has offered a quote of $35,000 for a portable Vulson e. It is our hope to organize a fund raiser in effort to obtain these funds and if successful, the practice will offer free ultrasounds to our clientele base. This price is only good through December 16th, as the new 2012 prices exceed $42,000. Again, the ultrasound machine would continue to offer clients one more step for flipping their breech baby before facing the decision to birth their baby breech at home, or face a planned cesarean section in the hospital. It would also allow the Nurse Midwives to offer GYN ultrasounds, dating, fetal anatomy scans and biophysical profiles for triage and/or postdate pregnancies. Your donations and/or energy in making this a reality would be very much appreciated.

A transcutaneous bilirubin monitor - This is a hand-held unit that allows the midwife to assess the newborn's jaundice level through the skin, without having to draw blood and send it into the lab. Not only would this equipment make assessing jaundice levels more convenient for families and decrease overall cost, but it will allow the midwifery team to capture those very rare and potentially dangerous levels, and initiate early treatment when appropriate within the client's home utilizing a bilirubin blanket. 

An external fetal monitor with capability of monitoring twins is near, if not at the very top of our wish list. This equipment would remain in the office and be used for fetal Non-Stress Testing with our high risk clientele. Clients with hypertension, gestational diabetes, post-date pregnancies, decreased fetal movements, or clients for example who have fallen on the ice can be provided this fetal well-being testing, in our office, rather than being seen in the hospital if their AAT is non-reassuring or offers an indeterminate result. Our Nurse Midwives have evaluated several models and medical suppliers and have chosen the DRE Kindred Fetal Monitor and have been quoted a price of $2,945.00 plus shipping by sales representative Ben Gill. This system is compact with dual fetal heart rate and TOCO monitoring. It has a 10.2' folding color widescreen and can store 12 hours of data.

Neonates require warm, stable temperatures. Transporting warm newborns from hospital to hospital, or home to hospital has always challenged the profession. Our practice had invested in the foil bunting used my emergency response teams and found them far from optimal. We have investigated other options and are optimistic about the Baby Pod warming mattress (quoted with a price of $200 for a box of six).

Thank-you Ramona Denk for your generous donation! We have purchased six of the baby pod warming mattresses.

Lending Library

We are always searching for more books for our lending library, and DVDs covering the full spectrum of maternal and child healthcare.

Office & Birth Supplies

We have added (and now seek to replace) a second Nurse Midwife to the practice, which meant doubling our office and birth supplies.

We would like to thank the Wuertz family for donating an instrument stand, otoscope and ophthalmoscope, and a wall mounted ear tip dispenser!!

Our second midwife (when added to the practice) would greatly appreciate a SureTemp Thermometer, which is pricey but useful for obtain quick and reliable temperatures on neonates ($317) and a microscope for performing specific labs in the office, reducing the need to send labs out or refer clients to the hospital that fear they have ruptured their amniotic sac prematurely. These are pricey as well, at approximately $725.

Thank-you Mrs. Lord, we have purchased the Sharp's box for Holly's office with your very kind donation. We'll be sure to write a big heart and Keegan's name on it!!