Why did you start offering this service?
I want to provide the service that I wish was available when I had my first child, Grace, in 2005. When she was born I was in the middle of intense medical training, lived hundreds of miles away from my family, and we experienced multiple problems, including difficulty “latching on” while breastfeeding, jaundice, and she did not gain weight. During my maternity leave, which was supposed to be my optimal bonding time with Grace, I felt isolated and unsure of myself, and I am certain that these feelings contributed to my development of postpartum depression. Although I loved my pediatrician (and am still friends with her today) I wish that I would have had someone I trusted who was able to come to my home, provide guidance with feeding, offer suggestions for all aspects of newborn care, and reassure me as to what was going well and that things were going to get better. I want new moms’ postpartum experiences to be much better than mine was.
Are you still keeping your “day job?”
Yes, I am continuing to work part-time as a neonatologist in an inpatient setting. My home visiting business is independent from my “day job” and is not affiliated with any hospital/hospital system(s).
Are you going to be your patients’ pediatrician?
No, my clients will all have their own primary care providers and I will encourage them to take their newborns to their pediatricians’ offices for well-checks, weight checks, immunizations, and other necessary outpatient visits. We are fortunate to have many amazing pediatricians in our community who I look forward to collaborating with. I will keep my patients' pediatricians updated via telephone, email, and written reports, and will also be available as a local resource for outpatient neonatal care. Our current medical model does not provide adequate support for mothers, especially during the postpartum period, and I believe that many new moms will benefit from having personalized and longer in-home visits (1 hour) during the first weeks of life.
Are you going to be covered by insurance?
I am not accepting insurance (at least for now) and am operating under a self-pay model. I will, however, provide a superbill to my clients so that they can use HSA funds to pay for my visits, if applicable.
Why “primrose?”
You can find the answer here.
