Rachel Wheeler Midwifery is a concierge full-scope midwifery practice in San Diego County, offering personalized and family-focused pregnancy, homebirth, and postpartum care in the privacy of your home. As your midwife, I partner with you and your family by listening respectfully, educating, and offering evidence-based, and individualized midwifery care. Your birth team will bring encouraging support, gentleness, and trust to the birth so your family can experience this life-changing transformation safely together, with joy and dignity. I believe that all families will benefit from receiving the Midwifery Model of Care.
Centrally located to serve the cities and communities of San Marcos, Vista, Escondido, Carlsbad, Fallbrook, Valley Center, Ramona, and Julian.
Services: home birth, waterbirth, VBAC, home visits, fertility and nutrition, well-woman care
Midwifery Services
Routine Care includes prenatal visits, labor and birth, immediate postpartum, and postpartum care up to six weeks. Prenatal visits are every four weeks from the start of care through the first and second trimester, every two weeks through the third trimester and weekly when you are “in dates.” Being “in dates” refers to thirty-seven weeks gestation.
Licensed Midwives are qualified and licensed to provide care for normal, low risk pregnancy, birth and postpartum. According to California law, LM’s can attend births between thirty-seven and forty-two weeks at home. The baby must be head down and a singleton pregnancy.
Choice: You make the decisions for your family. My responsibility is to give you information, general recommendations including the options presented in obstetrical care, and risks and benefits of each option so that you can make an informed decision for what is best for you and for your family. I seek to answer your questions that you feel informed and to provide a safe space for your decisions, without judgment or prejudice. I support my moms and families to utilize my resource library, to do their own research, to educate themselves through Birth Education Classes, and to talk with supportive and encouraging family and friends. Ultimately, you, as the parents, will make the choices for your baby and your family. This journey of becoming parents starts well before the actual birth of your child. My role is to support you in this process.
Safety: I am a Certified Professional Midwife and Licensed by the Medical Board of California. I am current in CPR and NRP certifications. Each birth will be attended by myself and a second qualified birth assistant who is certified in both CPR and NRP. Under most circumstances, you will have the opportunity to meet this birth assistant at one of your prenatal visits. In accordance with the licensing recommendations, I also participate in a Peer Review with other local midwives in the community.
Health/Nutrition: I believe that nutrition from real food is an important and essential part of nourishing your body to grow your baby. I encourage moms to educate themselves, to take responsibility for their food choices, and to focus on nourishing their bodies to grow their babies.
Convenient and Personalized: I will come to your house for your Prenatal and Postpartum visits. Typical visits are forty-five minutes to an hour in length. The first prenatal visit is ninety minutes to include the necessary time for medical history review, lab work, and meeting the birth team. Each visit includes routine prenatal care such as nutrition and pregnancy education, monitoring mom and baby’s vitals, and preparing for the birth and postpartum period. Family and kids are invited and welcomed to participate in visits. A dress rehearsal visit, also ninety minutes in length, is scheduled about thirty-six to thirty-seven weeks. Everyone who is expected to be present at your birth is invited to attend.
Lab Work and other diagnostic tests will be billed to you or your insurance. Labs are a routine part of your care and done in the privacy and convenience of your home. Insurance and cash-pay pricing for labs is available. Labs are individualized and charged separately from the midwifery services global fee as they are individualized to the client and their needs. Routine lab work is the same as obstetrics care and includes the Prenatal Panel, Complete Blood Count, Blood Type and Factor, Vit D, Gestational Diabetes Testing, Group B Strep, and others.
Supplies: Your birth kit is included in your global fee and will be brought to your dress rehearsal. A list of household items to gather such as towels, sheets, and other personal comforts will be provided.
Waterbirth: Tub Rental is available directly from your midwife at an additional fee of $150. This includes the tub itself, the liner for safety and sanitation, a lead-free hose, and miscellaneous supplies. All tear down will be done by your birth team after the birth. Let us do the cleaning and enjoy your baby!
Finances: I accept Cash Pay clients and I also work with an Insurance Biller to provide more options for families. Please call me to discuss current pricing, your insurance, and to complete a Verification of Benefits to determine what will be covered by your insurance. The VOB prior to care is $15; this fee is applied to your global fee if you choose to enter care with Rachel Wheeler Midwifery. An initial non-refundable deposit of $800 is required at the first prenatal visit.
Education: I encourage my moms and dads to read and educate themselves. My library of books is available for check-out including topics such as childbirth education and labor preparation, healthy pregnancy and nutrition, and breastfeeding. I highly encourage moms and dads to take a childbirth education class and to seek out reliable resources to further their own knowledge and information base. Childbirth education is required for first-time parents.
Well-Woman Health Services