Jennifer Lucas O’Briant, CPM, LM

Home Birth Midwife, Monitrice, Doula, VBAC Health Coach, Childbirth Educator, Placenta Encapsulation Specialist

Is a South Carolina Licensed Midwife licensed by SC DHEC and Certified Professional Midwife under the North American Registry of Midwives. She has a bachelors from The University of South Carolina, as well as seven additional years of education to become a NARM certified CPM. She has over 15 years of experience as a birth worker.

She also has education, training and certifications from organizations such as:

• The University of South Carolina

• Dar La Luz School of Midwifery

• The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) Advanced Life Support in Obstetrics (ALSO)

• Mercy In Action

• Birth Emergency Skills Training (BEST)

• Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP by Karen Strange)

• Breech Without Borders

• American Heart Association CPR for Providers

• Childbirth And Postpartum Professionals Association (CAPPA) Doula

• VBACFacts.com Provider

• American Pregnancy Association

• Hypnobirthing International

Columbia Midwifery is a private practice seeking to serve women and birthing people of South Carolina and beyond.

Our home birth services provide quality maternity care to low-risk birthing people throughout your pregnancy on the same obstetric schedule as you would see an obstetrician throughout pregnancy. Home birth clients have in-office prenatal appointments every four weeks until they are 28 Weeks Gestational Age (WGA), every 2 weeks from 28 WGA to 36 WGA, and weekly from 36 WGA to delivery. At 36-37 weeks, we provide a home visit where we make sure everything is ready and you feel prepared for the big day. When you go into labor, we bring all the equipment and skills with us to provide a safe delivery for normal physiological birth. We provide heated birth tubs for a comfortable labor and water birth. We monitor you and your baby throughout labor, delivery, and the postpartum period and offer newborn care and postpartum care for six weeks. We have caring higher-level providers and doctors on our consulting team that help monitor you as a good candidate for out-of-hospital birth. Our prenatal counseling, nutritional counseling and maternal care help to set you up for success, mitigate risks, enhance your experience and set you up for a beautiful breastfeeding journey with your little one. When you have delivered, are stable, and your newborn is feeding well, and you are comfortable and confident, we leave you well-nourished, tucked into the comfort of your own bed, with your home cleaner than we found it.

Our consultation services ensure that you get that prenatal and nutritional counseling, evidence-based expert advice, quality maternal care, birth education and preparation, breastfeeding knowledge and postpartum preparation, and set-up for success that only a midwife can provide no matter with whom or where you deliver. Feeling unprepared for the childbirth and new parenting journey? Wish you could have the care of a midwife, but home birth isn’t quite right for you? Don’t live somewhere where midwifery care is available? Not getting all of your questions answered in only five minutes that your provider is allowing you at your visits? Then birth consultation may be right for you. Our prenatal visits with all of our clients last an hour and a half. We believe that everyone new to parenting or natural childbirth needs that quality time to lower your risks and to care for you as a whole person- mind, body, baby, and soul. Contact us today for more information!

Our placenta encapsulation services transform this amazing organ safely into supplement capsules that you can easily take just like a vitamin during your postpartum period. Reported benefits include increased milk production, improved energy and mood, lowered risk and symptoms of postpartum depression and anxiety, decreased healing time, increase of iron stores, and more. We can provide this service anywhere, too! We pick up from all Columbia area hospitals in your immediate postpartum period and deliver to the comfort of your home after they are finished and you’ve been discharged. If you are outside of the Columbia area, we offer safe mail-delivery services. Contact us today for more information.

Jennifer Lucas O'Briant is a native to Columbia, SC.  She was born and raised in West Columbia until moving to Aiken, SC.  She graduated from South Aiken High School and went on to study Psychology at The University of South Carolina.  She and her family lived all over the state together including in Aiken and Charleston.  She has three beautiful children she is currently raising downtown in the capital city.  

Jennifer began her path as a birth-worker after the birth of her first daughter.  Though her life was filled with joy at her arrival, she became fascinated at the prospect of birth remaining a natural process rather than the highly interventative medical procedure she had undergone.  She soon became a doula and started researching her paths to becoming a midwife.  Her second child was born at home and she knew it was her life's calling to provide the same service to others.  She trained through Childbirth and Postpartum Professionals Association, (CAPPA) and attended midwifery school in Spartanburg, SC studying with Ms. Susan Smart.  She also worked at Covenant Birth Center while it served the Midlands.  She founded O'Baby Birth Services offering physical, emotional, and lactation support to women and their newborns as a labor doula.  Her work as a doula calls her to still provide Monitrice services when applicable. A monitrice provides midwifery and monitoring skills at home in early labor and goes with you to be your doula in the hospital if home birth is not right for you. Jennifer has also been an activist for birth rights in South Carolina.  She was Vice President of the South Carolina Birth Coalition protecting the right of women to have access to quality care providers and facilities.  She studied midwifery as an apprentice and student for seven years while also working as a doula, birth assistant, activist, and having their second and third child at home.  She attended over 100 births before completing her apprenticeship.

Jennifer took her national board exam, the NARM in March 2016 and obtained the credential of Certified Professional Midwife.  In May 2016, she was granted a license by the SC Department of Health and Environmental Control to serve the women of South Carolina as a licensed midwife.  She has enjoyed building her practice and serving even more South Carolinian families.

Jennifer is also a performer, creator, and writer in the South East. She seeks to join her talents and passions to spread awareness of quality maternity care and the rights of birthing people. She enjoys acting, theatre, music, dance, and spending time watching her children discover this life.

She has recently created a journal that any birthing person can use regardless of where they are delivering to help set themselves up for success and a healthy pregnancy and birth. Follow the link below to purchase on Amazon today!

Jennifer’s newest expansion as a childbirth expert is that of a VBAC Health Coach. Birthing people planning their best birth can hire Jennifer to be their birth concierge every step of the prenatal way to help them conquer a successful vaginal birth after cesarean no matter where they deliver, no matter where they live, and keeping their own doctors!