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What is a Nurse-Midwife?

Midwife - originally meaning "with woman" - according to Webster is simply "a woman who helps women in childbirth." In a broader sense, midwifery is a field of holistic health care for women by women.

Midwifery Care Encompasses:

• prenatal care
• labor and birth assistance
• postpartum care
• healthy-newborn care
• nutrition counseling
• fertility awareness and family planning
• and well-woman gynecological care

Certified Nurse Midwives (CNM) are women's health care providers with advanced educations. CNMs offer comprehensive care based on a practical nursing model and a holistic approach.

A woman who chooses midwifery for her health care wants care that respects her individuality and social, spiritual, and family priorities. She wants a care provider who understands that pregnancy, childbirth and her lifelong reproductive cycles are natural, healthy life events - not an illness.

Midwifery is part of the back to basics trend in women's healthcare. A trend away from healthcare systems which focus more on institutional guidelines, liability costs, and technical procedures than on the mother's or the family's wishes. To choose midwifery health care is to choose sensitive, holistic assistance from a professional who works with you, not on you.

• Midwives empower you. They want to work with educated healthcare consumers.
• Midwives use fewer interventions, trusting a woman's body to maintain its own optimal health.
• Midwives lower the risk of Cesarean section and episiotomy.

A Nurse-Midwife Provides Comprehensive Care for Women

• Throughout the life cycle - care is consistent, reliable.
• No unnecessary exams or procedures - you help decide your plan of care.
• No more crowded offices, overbooked specialists, or confusion - your questions and concerns are thoroughly addressed.
• No intimidation and no patronization. Expect to be respected.
• You are educated on your options every step of the way.
• Finally, a specialist in natural childbirth.

© 2003