Clementine Midwifery & Natural Birth

Excellent service. So sad they couldnt take me because they are closing in March. I was sold from the first phone call. Love it, love it!!!

Stacey is wonderful. Incredibly knowledgeable, warm, and professional. I trusted her immediately and all of my interactions with her and her office were positive. My husband, who was skeptical about home birth at first, is now a huge fan of her and of home birth in general. My daughter is now a year old. If I have another child, I’ll definitely go back to Stacey and I’ve recommended her to friends who have also had fantastic experiences with her. This really feels and works the way medical care should be, in my opinion! I’m so thankful for Clementine Midwifery.

Clementine Midwifery is the private practice of Stacey Rees, a certified nurse-​midwife (CNM). I saw Stacey for prenatal appointments throughout my pregnancy, and she attended my daughter’s home birth in March 2014. I was really happy with the whole experience.
I scheduled my half-​hour consultation appointment when I was about eight weeks pregnant — and I was the last client that Stacey took for March due dates — so schedule your consultation early, ladies.
I then saw Stacey for a comprehensive first appointment in the first trimester, and a regular schedule of appointments thereafter, in her office until 34 weeks and then at home. Stacey did blood work and regular checkups in her office, and referred me to Carnegie Women’s Health for the 20-​week ultrasound. She reviewed my testing options with me and would have provided additional ultrasounds and referrals if that’s what I’d wanted.
Stacey has a sign that says «listen» where she can see it during appointments. I think her excellent listening skills really promote a high quality of care. Some prenatal appointments were quick because I needed to get back to the office, and others were a little longer because something was on my mind that I wanted to discuss. I always felt like Stacey was listening, and that her answers reflected her understanding of my situation as well as the medical literature and her own substantial experience.
The labor itself was normal. This was my second baby, and labor had a different feel from my first time and was also faster. We had all of usual issues: pain, noise, mess, and cord around the baby three times — all of which Stacey handled no problem. I really appreciated Stacey’s calm and quiet presence during labor. She let my husband be there for me, and he was really the one I wanted. Then, after the baby came, my mom, who had been listening in the next room and watching my sleeping older daughter, made us an *awesome* breakfast, with fresh homemade bread. That part of the birth story could only have happened at home.
For those new to home birth, you should know that home birth midwives do bring medical equipment in addition to medical expertise. They bring IV’s, oxygen for mother and baby, medications to prevent hemorrhage, and stitching supplies. They don’t bring pain medication, though, which requires special monitoring. Transfers to the hospital happen with about 10% of clients, usually in the case of long labors, and emergency transfers are very rare.
Stacey works with a medical billing specialist to handle insurance reimbursement. It is my understanding that in New York, home birth must be covered by health insurance, although potentially at the out of network rate. I believe Stacey also requires first-​time moms to work with a doula, which seems very wise to me, but may also need to be factored into the cost.
Clementine Midwifery is coming up on their tenth anniversary this summer! Here’s hoping that the practice will be attending homebirths for ten more.

Stacey is amazing! She is so knowledgeable and not at all «hippy-​dippy»… everything she recommends (or does not recommend) is grounded in research, which helped a lot with not so home birth friendly family members.
My little guy is 6 weeks old and I still call and email for help and she is always happy to assist.