Senior certified professional midwife (CPM) students Samantha Woolman, left, and Louise Zook clean off Chelsey Montogmery-Gusta’s newborn baby boy while Shiphrah Birth Services Owner and CPM Bethany Gates records medical notes during the birth at Chelsey’s home in Riverside, Iowa on Monday, December 5, 2022. Bethany takes on two students every few years to train them to become certified midwives. According to Bethany the need for midwives in Eastern Iowa is on the rise, especially with smaller labor departments closing to serve rural women. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

Senior CPM student Samantha Woolman observes as CPM Bethany Gates checks Chelsey Montgomery-Gusta’s weight while her son Calvin Gusta, 2, plays during a pre-birth session at Shiphrah Birth Services in Vinton, Iowa on Tuesday, November 29, 2022. Gates will meet with her clients that are due soon on more bi-weekly or weekly basis to check measurements of the baby, how the mom is feeling and if she is having an pre-labor symptoms. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

CPM student Samantha Woolman feels the placement of Chelsea Eggleston’s baby during a home visit in Cedar Falls, Iowa on Wednesday, May 24, 2023. The team of midwives conduct a home visit a few weeks before labor to ensure the family has all the supplies they need for a smooth labor including medical supplies, clean bedding and disposable underpads. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

Birthing and medical supplies lay out among toys during a home birth in Riverside, Iowa on Monday, December 5, 2022. Shiphrah Birth Services owner and CPM Bethany Gates and her business partner Anna Sanner bring a litany of supplies for a variety of labor and post-labor scenarios such as herbal supplements for light to moderate bleeding and underpadsfor bodily fluids. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

Shiphrah Birth Services owner and CPM Bethany Gates smiles as Calvin Gusta, 2, reacts to the birth of his baby brother during Chelsey Montgomery-Gusta’s home birth at her home in Riverside, Iowa on Monday, December 5, 2022. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

Shiphrah Birth Services partner and CPM Anna Sanner, middle, smiles as she talks with Shiphrah Birth Services owner and CPM Bethany Gates, right, and CPM student Samantha Woolman during a home birth in Cedar Falls, Iowa on Wednesday, June 14, 2023. In the down time after labor the midwives will prepare food for the mother if she is hungry, tidy up messes around the home and launder dirty bedding. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

A fetal heartbeat monitor and birth notes sit out during Chelsey Montgomery-Gusta’s home birth in Riverside, Iowa on Monday, December 5, 2022. The monitor allows the midwives to check the babies heart rate during during labor to ensure the beats are not speeding up or slowing down. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

Dillon Gusta looks at his wife and child while senior CPM student Louise Zook does an initial check of Chelsey Montgomery-Gusta and her baby shortly after Chelsey labored at home in Riverside, Iowa on Monday, December 5, 2022. Students brought in by Shiphrah Birth Services work with CPM’s Bethany Gates and Anna Sanner for several years before they become certified. As they progress in the program they take over a majority of the care during home births to practice the skills they have learned including checking vitals of mother and baby and performing vaginal checks to ensure there is no bleeding or injury. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

Senior CPM student Samantha Woolman holds the umbilical cord for Elliott Eggleston to cut after his wife Chelsea Eggleston delivered their daughter Avery Eggleston at their home in Cedar Falls, Iowa on Wednesday, June 14, 2023. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

CPM Bethany Gates checks for a tongue tie on newborn Avery Eggleston shortly after her birth at home in Cedar Falls, Iowa on Wednesday, June 14, 2023. Various checks including tongue tie are performed on newborns by the midwives to ensure the child is healthy and doesn’t have any complications. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

Senior CPM students Louise Zook, left, and Samantha Woolman check the placenta of Chelsey Montgomery-Gusta after her home birth in Riverside, Iowa on Monday, December 5, 2022. Placenta checks are routine with every home birth to ensure the placenta is healthy and no pieces were left inside the uterus. The check also verifies there are no abnormalities on the placenta or the umbilical cord. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

Senior CPM student Samantha Woolman does a post-birth exam on Avery Eggleston during a home birth in Cedar Falls, Iowa on Wednesday, June 14, 2023. Midwives perform several checks of the mother and baby during the home birth as well as a next-day check-up. Midwives at Shiphrah Birth Services enroll in certifications, trainings and educational classes to continue their skills for successful and healthy home births. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

Doula Sarah Oldre holds newborn Avery Eggleston while senior CPM student Samantha Woolman checks Chelsea Eggleston’s pulse after labor during her home birth in Cedar Falls, Iowa on Wednesday, June 14, 2023. With at home births, midwives are able to give mother and baby one-on-one attention while in the comfort of their home. According to Shiphrah Birth Services many moms opt for home births because they believe home is safe place to give birth and the risk of intervention is lower than a hospital birth. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

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