By Karen Collins, MS, CNM, WNHP, FNP & Samantha Martin, BSN-CNM student
Peoria, like a growing number of US cities, has a resource that is just beginning to be recognized. This resource is a specially trained subset of health care providers called Certified Nurse Midwives (CNM). CNMs are bachelors-prepared nurses who have experience in an area of expertise such as obstetrics. These nurses go on to receive a minimum of a master’s degree in that specialty and are referred to as Advanced Practice Nurses (APNs). CNMs are just one type of APN.
CNMs must pass a rigorous board certification exam and maintain this certification throughout their career in practice. Midwives are experts in low-risk vaginal deliveries, spending hundreds of hours of hands-on training to perform deliveries and develop other clinical skills, along with the coursework during their master’s program. One basic premise of midwifery care is to encourage minimal intervention and focus on the individual woman and her specific needs. Midwives include the woman and her family support in the labor experience to provide a more holistic approach to healthcare. Promotion of emotional support during labor correlates with improved birth outcomes for both mother and baby. The goal of the midwife during labor and birth is to help women promote their own physiologic processes while minimizing unnecessary interventions (Henci G., Romano, A., 2013).
Hallmarks of midwifery include incorporating scientific evidence into clinical practice while empowering women to be partners in their own care. Midwives tend to be skillful communicators, offering knowledge and counseling appropriately to the women they serve (Phillippi, and Avery, 2014 & American College of Midwives, (ACNM), Core Competencies, 2012). Midwifery is a science and an art, focusing not only on the physical aspect of care but also on the psychological, social, and spiritual aspects resulting in a more comprehensive model of care.
Midwives provide care to women throughout their lifespan. Meaning, midwives are trained in gynecological health as well as obstetrics. CNMs can care for most gynecological needs from contraceptive counseling to annual examinations, as well as menopause and beyond. The care midwives provide is in collaboration with an Obstetrician/Gynecologist. This team-based approach to care ensures everyone, including the woman, works collaboratively towards shared goals (Faucher, Collins, and Breedlove, 2016). Team-based care maximizes the expertise of health care providers, giving women safe, effective, efficient, and equitable care (ACOG, 2016).
The practice of midwifery and its benefits are not new concepts. Decades of research has shown that women who receive care from a midwife during their pregnancy and labor have lower rates of induction and other interventions, fewer cesarean births, fewer 3rd and 4th degree perineal tears, lower rates of regional anesthesia use, and higher rates of breastfeeding (ACNM, 2012). The research is out; it is time to spread the word!
Women in this community and many others have the benefit of choosing Certified Nurse Midwives as their healthcare providers. Enjoy the supportive, evidence-based care midwives offer. Call a midwife for your obstetric or gynecological health care needs.
Teverbaugh, Croland, & Mueller Ob/Gyn & Associates, S.C. is devoted to the care of women and finding the best solution to your health care needs. For more information, please visit www.obgynofpeoria.com or call 309-692-2025.