Have You Ever Considered A MidWife?
What is a Midwife?
Midwives in the United States
"There are roughly 15,000 practicing midwives in the United States. Midwives may practice in private homes, clinics, birth centers, and hospitals. In most countries, midwives are primary health care providers and the central pillar in maternity care and women’s health care. However, slightly more than 10% of births in the U.S. are attended by midwives. Countries that utilize midwives as primary health care providers are also those countries in which mothers and infants fare best. The United States continues to rank behind most of the developed world in terms of infant and maternal mortality."
("What Is a Midwife?")
Professional Midwives
Certified Midwife (CM): is an individual educated in the discipline of midwifery, who possesses evidence of certification according to the requirements of the American College of Nurse-Midwives.
Certified Nurse-Midwife (CNM): is an individual educated in the two disciplines of nursing and midwifery, who possesses evidence of certification according to the requirements of the American College of Nurse-Midwives.
Certified Professional Midwife (CPM): is a knowledgeable, skilled and professional independent midwifery practitioner who has met the standards for certification set by the North American Registry of Midwives (NARM) and is qualified to provide the midwifery model of care. The CPM is the only midwifery credential that requires knowledge about and experience in out-of-hospital settings.
Direct-Entry Midwife (DEM): A direct-entry midwife is an independent practitioner educated in the discipline of midwifery through self-study, apprenticeship, a midwifery school, a college, or university-based program distinct from the discipline of nursing. A direct-entry midwife is trained to provide the Midwives Model of Care to healthy women and newborns throughout the childbearing cycle primarily in out-of-hospital settings. Licensed Midwives (LM) and Registered Midwives (RM) are examples of direct-entry midwives.
("What Is a Midwife?")
Pros of having a midwife
2.) Midwives form personal relationships with their patients.
3.) Midwives can monitor at home births as well as hospital births.
4.) Midwives are more flexible with mothers wants.
5.) Midwives are trained medically
6.) Midwives have a higher survival rate.
7.) Midwives allow mothers body to take its natural course without intervention.
Academic Support
Continuity of care by a midwife team versus routine care during pregnancy and birth: a randomised trial.
DESIGN: A stratified, randomised controlled trial. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: 814 women attending the antenatal clinic of a tertiary referral, university hospital.
INTERVENTION: Women were randomly allocated to team care from a team of six midwives, or routine care from a variety of doctors and midwives.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Antenatal, intrapartum and neonatal events; maternal satisfaction; and cost of treatment. RESULTS: 405 women were randomly allocated to team care and 409 to routine care; they delivered 385 and 386 babies, respectively. Team care women were more likely to attend antenatal classes (OR, 1.73; 95% CI, 1.23-2.42); less likely to use pethidine during labour (OR, 0.32; 95% CI, 0.22-0.46); and more likely to labour and deliver without intervention (OR, 1.73; 95% CI, 1.28-2.34). Babies of team care mothers received less neonatal resuscitation (OR, 0.59; 95% CI, 0.41-0.86), although there was no difference in Apgar scores at five minutes (OR, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.29-2.57). The stillbirth and neonatal death rate was the same for both groups of mothers with a singleton pregnancy (three deaths), but there were three deaths (birthweights of 600 g, 660 g, 1340 g) in twin pregnancies in the group receiving team care. Team care was rated better than routine care for all measures of maternal satisfaction. Team care meant a cost reduction of 4.5%.
CONCLUSION: Continuity of care provided by a small team of midwives resulted in a more satisfying birth experience at less cost than routine care and fewer adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes. Although a much larger study would be required to provide adequate power to detect rare outcomes, our study found that continuity of care by a midwife team was as safe as routine care.
("Europe PubMed Central.")
Where can I find a midwife close by?
Above are Certified Nurse Midwives, Jamie Brumley, Margaret Marsden, Melinda Gould, and Sybilla Reavis. At Catawba Women’s Center, the board-certified midwives work side-by-side with an entire team of professionals, supported and supervised by seven Ob/Gyn physicians and delivering the care you expect and deserve. Together, they care for both your physical and emotional needs throughout pregnancy.
Citations
"What Is a Midwife?" Midwives Alliance of North America. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Apr. 2014.