Midwifery 101
Midwifery is becoming a mainstay in the lives of American women. If you haven’t visited a midwife yet, here’s what to expect from this unique style of care.
 Cheryl doesn’t visit her midwife because she’s pregnant. In fact, Cheryl is beyond her
Fast Facts about Midwives
*Certified nurse-midwives are registered nurses who have completed graduate-level training in midwifery and who have passed a national certification exam.
*Nurse-midwifery practice is legal in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
*Nurse-midwives can prescribe medication in 50 states and the District of Columbia.
*Nurse-midwives practice in homes, birth centers, clinics, and hospitals.
*33 states mandate private insurance reimbursement for nurse-midwifery services, and Medicaid reimbursement is mandatory in all states.
*In 2005, nurse-midwives attended 11.2% of all vaginal births in the U.S. |
childbearing years but still visits her midwife annually for regular checkups and guidance through the normal physical and emotional changes of menopause.
During a routine a breast exam, Cheryl’s midwife found a lump in her breast. The midwife promptly referred Cheryl to an oncologist, but was surprised to discover she never showed up for her scheduled appointment. After some gentle probing, the midwife discovered that Cheryl was simply too frightened to go alone.
When the midwife offered to accompany Cheryl to her next appointment, Cheryl agreed. The lump turned out to be an early, treatable form of cancer. This human involvement and concern is a hallmark of midwifery care that’s drawing many women out of impersonal care settings and into the hands of midwives.
Midwives are more popular than ever. Midwifery care is on the rise as more women seek the personal care midwives provide. Certified nurse-midwives (CNMs) and certified midwives (CMs) have been ushering American women through pregnancy and other normal stages of life since the early 1900s. Today women seek midwives for prenatal care, birth, postpartum care, gynecologic exams, vaginal infections, and birth control, including injections, implants, IUDs, pills, and diaphragms. Midwives also provide primary health care to women from puberty through menopause and beyond.
Midwives practice in homes, birth centers, hospitals, private offices, and public clinics. Wherever midwives choose to practice, their mission is the same: Caring for and empowering women and their families.
An alternative approach to health care. When you decide to visit a midwife, you can expect a special kind of care. Some midwives spend up to an hour with first-time patients, and all midwives stay with women through the entire birth process. Midwives strive to become partners in care rather than simply providers of health care.
Midwives approach birth, puberty, and menopause as normal life events rather than potential medical emergencies. These are times when women need special education or support, but nobody needs to cure or fix them. Midwives believe that if women are given the correct information, they can make safe and satisfying choices.
Midwives are trained to recognize complications early and refer you for appropriate care. In a midwife you’ll find the best of health care and human support in one savvy professional.
Cathy Collins Fulea, CNM, MSN, FACNM, is an “ask the midwife” expert on RealSavvyMoms.com. She is also the division head of midwifery and medical director of inpatient obstetrics at the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, MI.
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