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As professional, community-based homebirth midwives, we help bridge the gap between traditional midwifery, evidence-based practices, intuition, wisdom, and modern medicine... bringing decades of combined experience directly to you!
We provide traditional midwifery care with access to basic clinical services for low-risk, healthy individuals throughout the childbearing years. Autonomy and informed decision-making are hallmarks of our midwifery care.
OHMI Midwives have established business practices according to the Midwives Model of Care (cfmidwifery.org). Each midwife on staff is a licensed professional midwife, having completed an extensive didactic and hands-on apprenticeship, passed the National Professional Midwife Certification exam through the North American Registry of Midwives, maintain active membership and involvement in state midwifery organizations, and participate in extensive continuing education practices to maintain their credentials.
We provide traditional midwifery care with access to modern clinical services for low-risk, healthy individuals throughout the childbearing years. Autonomy and informed decision-making are hallmarks of our midwifery care.
Meet your OHMI Midwives
Lisa Baldwin, CPM, LM
Licensed/Certified Professional Midwife
Lisa Baldwin is a Licensed Certified Professional Midwife serving Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan. "I have over 25 years of childbirth, breastfeeding, and holistic mothering experience. I have extensive knowledge and experience in fertility awareness and ecological breastfeeding". Lisa is a mother of sixteen children, 15 of them (including one set of twins!) were born at home with the support of an amazing midwife. "
It is my hope to offer the same kind of support that I was blessed with throughout my childbearing years. I am an advocate of woman-to-woman support. I believe it is our duty to pass our experiences down from one generation to the next".
Michele DeMeo CPM, LM, RCS, LMT
DBA: Shelly Varelli
Licensed/Certified Professional Midwife
Shelly Varelli is a Licensed Certified Professional Midwife serving Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan.
Shelly is the mother of three children and has worked with pregnant people as a doula, childbirth educator, midwife assistant, and licensed massage therapist for over 20 years.
"My hope is to offer well-rounded care that pulls on the collective knowledge from all of my prior experiences working in emergency medicine, as a professor of cardiovascular testing, a registered sonographer, bodyworker, and years of studying alternative/holistic lifestyle and parenting practices".
To book with a 1-1 appt with Shelly for massage therapy, energy healing, or other birth-related services including placenta encapsulation -please visit Shelly's personal website.
About OHMI Midwives
An Individual-Mother-Centered Approach
Description of Services: Comprehensive midwifery care spans conception, pregnancy, birth, and 6 weeks postpartum. As a client, you have access to our continued support and resources for up to 6 months postpartum, as needed! We offer on-site access to blood draws for prenatal labs, NIPT/Genetic Testing, and point-of-care ultrasound (non-diagnostic), as well as referrals to local maternal-fetal medicine practices if you desire to have clinically diagnostic testing.
Midwife Role: The midwife will engage in informed decision-making by providing evidence-based information, resources, and recommendations regarding clinical care. The client is responsible for making decisions regarding their personal health and their baby. Within our practice, informed decision-making looks like clients receiving verbal and written information regarding all pregnancy and newborn-related screenings and treatment, with ample opportunity to ask questions. Clients have the freedom to choose or decline recommendations. Certain parts of pregnancy are best understood by tuning in and listening. At OHMI Midwives, we understand that each journey is unique. Within each appointment, we will take time to focus on your mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical health -creating a personalized, holistic care plan for each client.
"Within our practice, we aim to provide inclusive pregnancy, birth, and postpartum care that is compassionate, respectful, and culturally appropriate for each individual client, parent, baby, and family. We have a personal and professional passion for helping people feel empowered, knowledgeable, and confident. We are honored to provide Toledo area families with a safe, meaningful start to pregnancy and parenthood."
Midwifery Fees: $4900. Global fee for comprehensive care as stated above. No reductions for those coming in 'late to care' or for catching your own baby (we fully support that!). Payment plans are available (please inquire directly). Midwifery fees are out-of-pocket, (with exception of labs and ultrasounds) as most insurance companies do not cover homebirth expenses -please see our FAQ section below for additional details.
If you are pregnant and inquiring about homebirth midwifery services, and you live in the Toledo area (within 60 miles) please complete the attached inquiry form. We will reply with additional information after your form has been reviewed.
For a list of questions to ask any midwife you are interviewing, see our FAQ section below.
Thank you!
Shelly Varelli & Lisa Baldwin, CPM
Certified professional midwives offering homebirth services in Toledo, Ohio, and surrounding areas.
5166 Monroe, St Suite 301. Toledo, Ohio 43623
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What is a CPM?What is a CPM? A Certified Professional Midwife is a midwife who has completed specialized training in home birth, and has passed a rigorous examination and skills competency evaluation administered by the North American Registry of Midwives (www.NARM.org) establishing their skill and knowledge regarding safe midwifery practice. We urge all parents to take responsibility for their birth experience by informing themselves regarding the competency of any birth professional they are interviewing/hiring. This can be done by asking questions, obtaining local references, and learning what quality midwifery care entails through reading and discussion with other parents and care providers.
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Do you take insurance?No, not directly. Unfortunately, the state of Ohio does not officially recognize CPMs as medical providers, therefore we do not personally handle insurance claims. We can submit labwork to your insurance on your behalf. We can order ultrasounds from area providers, and submit your insurance information to them for billing purposes. We have had great success with HSA plans and some Christian ministry health shares. Should you choose to reach out to your insurance company (which we encourage), you will want to call your company and determine if your plan has ‘Out-of-Network’ Maternity coverage. Then find out what your deductible is, what percentages are covered, and what you have to pay out of pocket. Know that some insurances will pay and some will not, it depends on your employer's plan with the carrier. (For ex. Paramount or Buckeye will not). We do accept payment plans, and all forms of payment. Regardless of your intention to pay out of pocket, or file a claim, we require payment to OHMI Midwives, LLC by 36 weeks of pregnancy. We can provide you with an itemized bill that you will file as a claim after the birth in order to help you to get reimbursed.
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If I have a homebirth, can I still get lab work, genetic testing, ultrasounds, and referrals as needed?Absolutely! Are these things required? No. Available, yes. OHMI is committed to making these additional services available as we believe they expand care for clients, based on interest or individual need. We offer on-site lab/blood draws for prenatal testing and genetic screening, SneakPeek Gender test, referrals for diagnostic ultrasounds, on-site POCUS ultrasound (non-diagnostic).
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What is the fee for your midwifery homebirth services?The full fee for all prenatal care, delivery & postpartum care (mother and baby up to 6 weeks) is $4,900.00. Due by week 36 of pregnancy. A non-refundable deposit of $500 is required at your first official prenatal visit and will be applied to your overall balance. There are no fee reductions for late to care, or late transfer clients.
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How do I set up a consultation?First, you will need to fill out out brief online inquiry form, located on our website homepage. As a beginning point of care, we typically schedule a one-hour initial consultation. If you are partnered it would be ideal for both of you to be present for this meeting. During this time, we will tell you about ourselves, our typical procedures, what you can expect from us, and what we expect from you. Additionally, we will take time to ensure that you are a good candidate for homebirth and that we are a good fit for you. There will be plenty of time to address all of your questions. Visits are scheduled on Mondays from 10-6pm, and Tuesday evenings 5-7pm, and occasional Fridays as needed. Meetings take place at our office located at 5166 Monroe St, Ste 301 Toledo, Ohio.
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Questions to ask a homebirth MidwifeAre you currently certified as a midwife and by what organization? Are you licensed? Are you certified in CPR and Neonatal Resuscitation? How many births have you attended? How many births have you attended as the primary midwife? If you are sick or otherwise unable to attend my birth, who will attend the birth ? Do you work with birth assistants or apprentices and what is their role? What is your hospital transfer rate? If I transfer to the hospital, will you go with me and stay with me as my advocate and support person? What is your fee for services? What happens with your fee if I have to transfer out of your care? Do you file with insurance? What conditions do you consider too 'high risk' for planning a home birth? Is it possible to prevent these conditions? Do you require that I take childbirth education classes? How often will you see me during the pregnancy and how long is a normal visit? What do you do during these visits? Where do these visits take place? How do you monitor and check the baby’s heartbeat during pregnancy and labor? Have you had any experience with shoulder dystocia? Breech babies? Cord prolapse? Do you do pregnancy and newborn screening blood tests, or will I need to see a doctor for this? How early can I birth at home? What happens if I go past 42 weeks? Do you have experience with water birth? What equipment do you normally bring to the birth? What do you normally do while I am in labor? What is your opinion about eating and drinking during labor? How long is it safe to wait for the placenta to be delivered before intervening? *list credit: https://www.ohiomidwives.org/for-parents
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How do I add a new question & answer?To add a new FAQ follow these steps: 1. Manage FAQs from your site dashboard or in the Editor 2. Add a new question & answer 3. Assign your FAQ to a category 4. Save and publish. You can always come back and edit your FAQs.
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Can I insert an image, video, or GIF in my FAQ?Yes. To add media follow these steps: 1. Manage FAQs from your site dashboard or in the Editor 2. Create a new FAQ or edit an existing one 3. From the answer text box click on the video, image or GIF icon 4. Add media from your library and save.
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How do I edit or remove the 'Frequently Asked Questions' title?You can edit the title from the FAQ 'Settings' tab in the Editor. To remove the title from your mobile app go to the 'Site & App' tab in your Owner's app and customize.
We are happy you have landed on the OHMI Midwives website. Licensed, Certified Professional midwives Lisa Baldwin and Shelly Varelli serve clients within a 60-mile radius of their Toledo office.
If you are looking for additional options outside of our radius, visit the Ohio Midwives Alliance website where you will find the "Find a Midwife" location service.