Hayley Oakes

Location

Virtual

Pronouns

she/her

Education/Certification

BA in Psychology

Licensed Midwife

Certified Practitioner Midwife

Integrative Midwifery Care

Have intention but release expectation.

Specific Expertise

Midwifery-based consultative aka ‘integrative’ care.

What drove you to this work?

With my background in psychology, I have always been fascinated with the mind and its expression of feeling, memory and thought and specifically that of a child. In my late teens, I watched a documentary called What Babies Want, which explores the growing research in perinatal psychology – the consciousness of babies while in the womb! It was a formative film and the reason I studied psychology, became a doula and later a midwife. I knew I wanted to be a part of the earliest phase of a person’s life and help make that transition to this world (and thus the experience of the birthing parent) as safe, nourishing and a positive experience as possible.

What inspires your work?

Observing and listening to the collective experiences and needs of those planning, pregnant and/or postpartum.

What’s it like to work 1:1 with you?

During our one-hour virtual visit, we address health topics in the pregnancy such as  recommendations for exercise, nutritional guidance, and prenatal supplements. We will discuss  ways of preparing for upcoming lab work as well as review any ultrasound reports that you may have questions about. This is also a time for the client to ask questions or address  concerns about common aches and pains, referrals for classes, and/or other providers to work with. We will review ways to prepare for the postpartum period with  information given around physical recovery, newborn behavior and sleep, emotional/hormonal  transitions, and herbal recommendations – all to ensure you feel as prepared and supported as  possible going into this new phase.  

During our postpartum visits, we review the birthing experience as it pertains to your physical  recovery. Ideally we meet within the first three days postpartum and again at two weeks, four weeks and six weeks postpartum to ensure feeding and healing is optimally being supported.  These first six weeks postpartum are crucial for the birthing parent’s recovery and new baby’s  health and development. My goal is to inform and educate by ensuring one knows their  options, so they have the power to choose what’s best for them and their baby.

Could you share more about 'integrative midwifery' and how this can benefit pregnant and postpartum people? How do you work with people in this respect?

Integrative midwifery care serves to complement the medicalized model by offering more  holistic and individualized guidance and support throughout the childbearing year. In the US,  midwifery care is more commonly provided in a home or birth center setting. However, out-of hospital birth is not always an option medically, emotionally or financially for many pregnant  people. So in an effort to bridge the gap, integrative care is for those planning a hospital birth  with their doctor, but also wanting the time with a healthcare provider to discuss wellness, childbirth choices as well as alternative modalities to encourage a healthy pregnancy, birth and postpartum.

Self-Care ritual?

Taking a solo walk, painting my nails, and ordering food delivery.

What are you watching/listening to/reading right now?

I alternate between fiction and non-fiction books for the distraction/indulgence and the humbling/grounding effect. Right now it’s Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson and before that it was The Last Story of Mina Lee by Nancy Jooyoun Kim. Same alternation style with TV and film. The ‘Recently Viewed’ lists on the streaming sites are eclectic to say the least!