Midwifery

When you choose one of the certified nurse midwives (CNMs) at The Women's Hospital, you are committing to designing a birth plan that works best for your particular circumstances. Our midwives typically care for women experiencing low-risk pregnancies, and happily work with your obstetrician gynecologist (OB/GYN) to determine if there are risk factors that would exclude you from receiving midwifery care.

Once you begin midwifery care, we will discuss low-intervention birth preparation, your birth preferences and the labor communication plan. Midwifery care is available 24/7, and our CNMs deliver around 1,000 babies each year, working with our OB/GYN's to help patients like you achieve the best birthing experiences.

During this time, your physician will continue to provide you with routine prenatal care; however, your midwife will become your primary caregiver. They are here to offer education and support, while also providing you with opportunities for both individual and group meetings.

When you are in labor, you will contact your midwife so that they may guide you through the labor process. If necessary, they are able to provide induction or augmentation of labor. We understand that each labor and woman is unique and want you to know that your midwife and OB/GYN collaborate with our hospital physicians to provide the best possible care to you and your baby. If you experience a rare or unexpected complication, this team will work together to ensure a safe delivery, with your midwife by your side even if the need for intervention arises.

Our midwifes also care for you afterward during your postpartum stay. After you are discharged, you will return to your doctor or CNM for your postpartum follow-up visits.

If you are interested in a low-intervention birth experience, we are available to provide high-touch, low-tech labor and delivery care. Your midwife will provide guidance on laboring at home, when to come to the hospital and how to work with your body and contractions. They will help facilitate your low-intervention birth through:

• Alternative labor and birthing positions
• Aromatherapy
• Delayed cord clamping
• Hydrotherapy
• Personalized support
• Skin-to-skin contact after birth
• Wireless monitoring

You can learn more about the birthing process by attending one of our low-intervention birth classes. The class provides more information on what a low-intervention birth entails and includes a tour of our labor and delivery unit as well as the opportunity to meet some of our midwives. You do not have to currently be a patient at our hospital to attend. We also offer birthing classes for births that are not low-intervention.