L-R: Tamara Taitt, Magnolia Birth Co-Founder, MS, LMFT, LM
Marina Langesfeld, Lactation Consultant
DellaReece Bastian, LM, Staff Midwife
When you choose to have your baby at Magnolia Birth House, you meet and interact with our team of professionals. These individuals are always collaborating and communicating to provide the highest level of care to you and your baby. Whether you’re talking to a staff member on the phone, checking in at our front desk, going to a prenatal appointment, birthing your baby, or receiving breastfeeding support, the Magnolia team is ready to help.
Who are the professionals who guide you during your reproductive journey? What are their roles, and how do they work together to serve you? This blog will explain Magnolia’s team approach, including who does what and how this method works.
Patient Care Coordinator
Our patient care coordinator serves as a direct point of contact for clients. At Magnolia, our patient care coordinator is a nurse, so she reviews intake forms and helps our Miami midwives be as prepared as possible for office appointments.
Many of our clients interact with and rely on the patient care coordinator because she helps with answering phones, scheduling appointments, obtaining past medical records, providing a medical note to go back to work, and checking in with clients to make sure everything is going well.
Licensed & Certified Nurse Midwives
Our Miami midwives provide holistic, individualized care during your entire reproductive journey, including preconception appointments, prenatal visits, labor and birth services, and postpartum care. Midwives are primarily responsible for your health and your baby’s well-being, so they perform clinical tasks.
Midwives provide individualized education and counseling, guiding clients through the childbearing cycle with a shared decision-making model. They view pregnancy and birth as normal life events and minimize interventions during the process of physiologic birth. In addition, midwives are trained to identify risks and refer those who require care from a physician.
Birth Assistant
Na'imah Delpeche
Birth Assistant & Wellness Educator
A birth assistant is trained to support a midwife with clinical tasks during birth. Duties include setting up supplies and checking vitals, like the birthing parent’s blood pressure, pulse, and temperature as well as the baby’s heartbeat. The birth assistant might also help with record-keeping, such as noting when pushing started or what time the baby is born.
Birth complications are rare, but in an out-of-hospital birth setting like Magnolia, it’s crucial to have two sets of clinical hands for these situations. Birth assistants help the midwife if there is a problem, like a postpartum hemorrhage or the need for neonatal resuscitation. Some birth assistants are also doulas, and others might be in midwifery training.
Student Midwife
Magnolia serves as a clinical site for students who are in midwifery school, so we usually have a student midwife on our team. As part of their hands-on training, the student midwife performs clinical tasks during prenatal visits, births, and postpartum appointments.
Our licensed and certified nurse midwives are always guiding the student midwife as they care for clients. By working with knowledgeable and experienced midwives, the student midwife learns the skills they need to become high-quality healthcare providers.
Birth Doula
A birth doula provides education during pregnancy, assists birthing parents during labor and birth, and supports the family after childbirth. Birth doulas offer a variety of services throughout labor, with the primary focus being on comforting and supporting the birthing parent. At Magnolia, we consider doulas to be an integral part of the birth team, and our sister company, The Gathering Place, offers doula services.
Each birth experience is unique, and every birthing family has specific needs. Therefore, the duties of the doula vary depending on the client. The birth doula’s role typically involves:
Giving advice on positioning
Suggesting techniques that support and encourage the labor process
Assisting with physical needs and comfort measures
Offering informational “back-up”
Providing diplomatic advocacy for the birthing parent and partnering with medical personnel
Lactation Consultant
Marina Langesfeld
Lactation Consultant
When you give birth at Magnolia, we support breastfeeding and provide an environment where you have plenty of time for skin-to-skin contact, which encourages the breastfeeding relationship. Many of The Gathering Place doulas also are breastfeeding counselors, so they can assist you in the immediate postpartum period at the birth center.
Following your discharge from Magnolia, you will likely discover that nursing your baby is an art that takes practice, with the two of you learning together. You may find yourself looking for help with breastfeeding, and our team of International Board Certified Lactation Consultants (IBCLCs) is available for office appointments, home consultations, and mini virtual visits. We offer support for positioning and proper latch, milk supply, engorgement, breast pain, sore nipples, infant weight gain concerns, breast pump education, and preparing for going back to work.
Mental Health Professional
At your postpartum checkups, we keep communication open as we discuss your mental and emotional adjustment to parenthood. Our midwives screen for mood disorders, helping to identify any postpartum depression or anxiety that may be developing. Mood disorders are much more common than many people realize, with postpartum depression affecting 15-20 percent of people after birth.
If you need treatment for postpartum depression or anxiety, we will refer you to a mental health professional who specializes in these types of mood disorders. Treatment may include therapy, meditation, mindfulness, medication, or some combination of these strategies.
Learn More with Miami’s Premier Natural Birthing Center
Are you pregnant and considering an out-of-hospital birth in Miami? Receive high-quality care from our team of professionals at Magnolia! Set up a free consultation by filling out our form.
