Kara MacCormack
In December 2019, Kara MacCormack, RN, was almost six months pregnant with her third child and excited to start a new position as a labor and delivery nurse at LewisGale Medical Center (LGMC) in Salem. While her son and daughter were born at other local facilities, Kara was enthusiastic to learn that LGMC would begin offering in-hospital care with a midwife model starting in early April 2020, just in time for her due date. Then, on March 31, her water broke.
Kara arrived at the hospital, aware that the LewisGale Physicians Midwifery (LGPM) program was slated to start labor and delivery coverage the very next day. The hospital also was in the beginning stages of implementing strict COVID-19 protocols, which meant that Kara’s mother would not be able to attend the birth. As luck would have it, Kara discovered that Rebecca White, one of three founding midwives in the new midwifery service, was available and happy to support Kara throughout her labor and birth.
Midwives focus on family-centered, holistic care for the physical, psychological, spiritual, and social well-being of their patients. The midwife-led model at LGPM includes continuous labor support, whenever possible, and all approaches to pain management.
“Becca is so compassionate and made me feel empowered during my entire labor and delivery,” remembers Kara. “She provided exceptional emotional guidance and labor support and was fully in tune with my needs, knowing when to intervene and when to give me the space I needed. It was especially disappointing that my mom could not be in the labor and delivery room with me, but, under the circumstances, I relied on Becca for maternal support and she really came through for me both during labor and after my daughter, Maeve, was born.”
Since that day five years ago, Kara welcomed another daughter with the LewisGale midwives in attendance, and she and her family are now expecting a fifth child. Kara continues to see the certified nurse-midwives (CNM) at LewisGale Physicians Midwifery and will once again rely on them to advocate for and support her during her upcoming birth. The CNMs in the LewisGale Physicians Midwifery practice have offices in Salem and Blacksburg and attend births at LewisGale Medical Center. They provide customized labor and delivery support, as well as pregnancy and postpartum care, family planning/contraception visits, and comprehensive well-woman care from adolescence to menopause.
A CNM and women’s health nurse practitioner, Rebecca White is affiliated with both LewisGale Physicians Midwifery and LewisGale Physicians Women’s Health Specialists, in Blacksburg. She is part of a team of doctors and advanced practice nurses who specialize in providing gynecological and urogynecological care for women of all ages. In Becca’s words, “The LGPM team upholds a midwifery model that promotes health and healing through thoughtful collaboration with each individual, careful attention to details, and a willingness to merge evidence-based practices with woman-centered care.”
As they turn five this year, both Kara MacCormack’s daughter, Maeve, and LewisGale Physicians Midwifery have many reasons to celebrate!