Good-bye Oregon with Love from Lauren …

Welcome

Upper Cumberland Midwifery Services is accepting new clients. UCMS is a community home birth practice offering full-service midwifery care from the beginnings of your pregnancy, birth, to six weeks postpartum for both mother and baby because that kind of continuity of care establishes the best relationship between family and midwife. Our midwifery care is individualized, professional, and compassionate for every clients. Every birth is unique and different, just like every baby.  While the midwifery team is there to assist in the birth process, they strive do so safely by following evidence based guidelines.

• Serving Putnam, Overton, White, Jackson, Clay, Pickett, Fentress, Cumberland, Van Buren, Warren, Cannon, Dekalb, Smith, Macon, Scott, Morgan, and Bledsoe.

• If you are in need of records, please email and request a Records Release Form.

Lauren Stum BSM, CPM-TN

Who am I? Hello! I am Lauren, and I am a midwife. I am also a wife and mother of five. My midwifery journey has been and continues to be a beautiful and humbling adventure. After I graduated from Birthingway College of Midwifery in 2014, I immediately started my own practice where I faithfully served the community until our family moved to Tennessee in early 2022.

What does midwifery mean to me? Well midwife literally translates to with women. Being a midwife is tending to, care for, being with a woman in her most tender and vulnerable moments of her life. Midwifery is a calling, and I can say with absolutely integrity I was born to be a midwife. The seeds of midwifery were planted early in my life. Being the oldest, I witnessed the births of my siblings. I vividly remember watching the midwives at work, and being enthralled by these quiet, reserved women. When it became my time to embrace the world of motherhood, labor and birth was one of the most physically demanding and transformative experiences of my life akin to nothing else I have yet to experience.  I am incredibly grateful for the exceptional midwifery team I had for support.  Afterwards I felt empowered and accomplished, and I saw the world differently, all thanks to the midwifery model of care and compassionate, reserved midwives.

How did I become a midwife? My first baby steps into midwifery started in 2005 when I volunteered as a labor doula at Oregon Health Science and University Hospital.  I worked mostly with teens, immigrants, and inmates providing empathic care, support, and encouragement for these mothers. By 2007, I was enrolled in midwifery college. My journey to full-fledged midwife took seven years of schooling and training.  Additionally, I was blessed with the wonderful opportunity during my clinicals to be trained by exceptionally seasoned midwives. Finally in 2014, I received Bachelors of Science of Midwifery and obtained Certified Professional Midwifery credentialing.

What are my hobbies? Most of my spare time, I spend with my family. One of our favorite pastimes is "geeking out" for hours playing board games; we may be a bit too competitive. We also enjoy the outdoors adventures - kayaking, hiking, biking, swimming, and camping.

Alyssa Willis CPM-TN

Who am I? Greetings, I am Alyssa, and I come from a large family – one of eight children. I was born in Tennessee, and while I have not always lived here, I still refer to myself as a native Tennessean – my home, family, and heart are here. In addition to being a midwife, I am also a baker and a farmer.

What does midwifery mean to me? Midwifery is a different approach to maternity care than the mainstream medical model. It is client-led care instead of patient care. Women are treated as individuals each with their own unique story. Midwifery is about building a mutual and respectful relationship between client and midwife. It is not a “one-size fits all” approach. Through midwifery care women are educated about their body and pregnancy enabling them to become active participants in their care and ultimately the decision-makers for their care. In addition to these things, being a midwife to me is a work from the heart that began with a calling from the Lord. My heart’s desire is for women to feel valued and supported while under my care. It is my hope that our clients enter motherhood feeling supported, loved, and confident. It is a great honor to be able to service families during the child-bearing years.

How did I become a midwife? My calling to midwifery started in 2011 and continues to blossom. In 2016, I started a six-year midwifery intensive program at Charis Childbirth, and by early 2022, I graduated. Additionally during this time, I had the amazing opportunity and blessing to do my clinical training at a high-volume free-standing birth center in Grand Prairie, Texas where I attended for over 200 births. In early 2022, I returned home and began the daunting task of starting my own midwifery practice, Family Heritage Midwifery. About this time is when I met Lauren and we discovered our philosophy regarding midwifery, client care, birth, and faith aligned. So here I am in a fellowship with Upper Cumberland Midwifery Services and enjoying servicing families with Lauren in the beautiful Cumberland Plateau.

What are my hobbies? Outside midwifery, I love to spend time with the Lord, family, and friends. Crochet is one of my favorite pastimes. The kitchen is another area where I really enjoy spending time, especially with my family in our bakery. I also find joy in caring for farm animals, gardening, and hiking.

What We Believe

At Upper Cumberland Midwifery Services our philosophy is based on the understanding that pregnancy is a normal life occurrence, rather than an medical event, and birth is a natural process.  We offer professional midwifery care for prenatal, birth, and postpartum period.  We provide an alternative choice to the medicalized standard of care given to pregnant women at local hospitals.  The care is about building a trusting relationship with clients by providing continuity of care, continual risk assessments, and honest communication.  As your midwives, we will be your care provider throughout your pregnancy, labor, and postpartum journey.

A part of the care at Upper Cumberland Midwifery Services is that of collaboration with our clients, where clients are active participants in their care.  We practice evidence based care and informed choice.  Because the practice utilizes informed choice, we provide you with information about standard medical tests and treatments which you may choose to accept or decline based on your understanding of the benefits and risks, as well as your own beliefs.  After reading the information provided, we highly encourage clients to research the topic for themselves before making a decision.  The goal is always for a healthy momma and baby, and we believe that is better accomplished with a client’s active participation and input.

We wholeheartedly uphold freedom of choice, and in turn believe women should have the autonomy to decide where to birth and with whom.  Many women may only give birth once or twice, this is why choosing her attendant and birth setting is such an important decision.  Moreover, we nurture women's sense of personal strength and self-confidence; we believe women need to be given the opportunity to build trust in their bodies and in themselves.  We believe birth can be a transformative life event, and desire women to become empowered by their birth experience.  We practice the "Midwifery Model of Care" and hold the following expectations of ourselves:

• Safeguard your privacy by protecting the confidentiality of the care you receive

• To maintain high standards of honesty and always be truthful when communicating with you

• To provide respectful, personalized care based on your unique needs

• To provide continuity of care, so that we can form a relationship of trust and familiarity

• To serve as educator, adviser, and care provider, but not to make decisions for you. Rather, we strive to assist women in making their own informed choices.

Our Services

• Initial Free Consultation

• Prenatal Care

• Labor, Birth, and Immediate Postpartum Care

• Postpartum Care for Mom and Baby

• Well Women Care

Initial Free Consultation

We offer a one hour meet-and-greet consultation.  We will happily answer your questions over a cup of tea or coffee, while we get to know each other and decide if we are the right fit for each other.

Prenatal Care

Our prenatal appointments last for approximately an hour.  The desire is to build a provider-client relationship based on mutual understanding, trust, and familiarity.  During our appointments together, we will address your concerns and answer questions regarding your pregnancy and overall physical and emotional well-being.  Appointments occur every four weeks until 28-32 weeks, then every two weeks until 36 weeks, and finally once a week until birth.

Additionally, the philosophy and practices regarding deficiencies and illnesses in pregnancy is that, whenever possible, we utilize holistic and nutritional approaches before allopathic (Western) medicines.  We are skilled in the use of herbal treatments and recommend them, as appropriate, for pregnancy, as well as homeopathic remedies.  As with any recommended treatment be it holistic or allopathic, we discuss your comfortability, and allow you to decide which treatment best fits your needs.

During prenatal care, we strive to help you maintain optimal health during your pregnancy in order to keep you and your baby safe, and have an uncomplicated birth.  The following are routine monitoring procedures and assessments that will be done at each visits:

• Checking your vitals (blood pressure and pulse)

• Urinalysis

• Nutritional analysis

• Measuring uterine growth

• Monitoring fetal growth

• Assessing fetal heart rate

• Assessing fetal position

In regards to laboratory work and prenatal testing, we offer and can do at-home blood draws during your prenatal appointment when necessary.  We strongly recommend early lab work in order to find out your blood type, Rh factor, and your baselines which will provide ample time to correct any deficiencies present.  As with all laboratory work and prenatal testing, we will thoroughly discuss all your options, allowing you to decide what is best for you and your family.

We also can make ultrasound referrals to a radiology clinic of your choice.

Labor, Birth, and Immediate Postpartum Care

We trust in the birth process, and believe in the mother's body and ability to bring forth her child into this world.  As your midwives, we approach every birth as a sacred guardian.  We are there to observe, serve, protect, and monitor you and your baby's well-being.  Every labor is uniquely different, and every woman labors differently, and every woman and her partner have different physical and emotional needs during labor.  Although we desire to intervene as little as possible to allow you, your body, your baby, and your partner to work together; we stand on ready to provide whatever need of yours may arise during that time.

When labor begins and depending on your need, one or both midwives will come to your home to check on you and baby.  As labor progresses, both midwives will be in attendance.  We will remain with you throughout labor and birth, and at a minimum three hours following the birth to ensure that both you and the baby are doing well.  Before the midwives depart, a thorough newborn exam is performed, we make sure breastfeeding is established and going well, and your vital signs are normal. We also provide comprehensive postpartum and newborn care instructions.  We also have experience and skill in waterbirth.  We are more than happy to accommodate waterbirth in your home if desired either in our inflated birth tubs or your own tub.

Postpartum Care for Mom and Baby

Just like the compassionate and skilled care provided prenatally, midwives are capable and qualified to provide similar care for you and your newborn up to six weeks postpartum.  During the first week postpartum, we will come to your home one day after the birth to assess you and your newborn. If additional visits are necessary within the first week postpartum those can be arranges at no additional charge.  Additionally postpartum visits occur at one week, two weeks, four weeks, and six weeks. We care about your recovery as well as your emotional well-being for you and your newborn, if you or your baby need additional visits those can be arranged at no additional charged. This is an example of tailoring your care to suit your individual needs.

Well Women Care

We love to see our clients again, even if you are not pregnant, and new clients just seeking gynecological care.  We offer routine well-woman care visits, including Pap smears, breast exams, and fertility and birth control counseling.

Insurance

If you would like to utilize your private insurance, we use a third party biller, Birth Professional Billing, that specialize in out-of-hospital midwifery billing. You are welcome to a free verification of benefits from our biller at any time.

Fullscript

We have an established non-profit Fullscript account where our clients have access to a wide variety of vitamins and supplements at deeply discounted prices.

Testimonials