Jessica Day, CNM is a certified nurse midwife who has been in practice since 2012. She practices at Inova Midwives – Willow Oaks.
When you hear the term “midwife,” you might think of a bygone era featuring horses and carriages – or you might think of home births taking place without medical intervention. But the care certified nurse midwives (CNM) deliver is something quite different – and it’s appealing to a growing number of women. Health systems like Inova are increasingly employing CNMs to practice alongside OB/GYNs to ensure expecting mothers have access to options that support quality care and outcomes.
According to national data, midwifery care is associated with a broad range of positive outcomes for mothers and babies including:
- Reduced C-section rates
- Lower preterm labor rates
- Less chance of a labor induction
- Higher breastfeeding rates
- Less chance of a severe tear during delivery
- Reduced postpartum depression rates
- Decreased maternal mortality
- Higher patient satisfaction
What Is a Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM)?
Although midwives have been present with women for as long as women have been giving birth, modern midwifery is a highly trained specialty. A CNM’s expertise extends well beyond childbirth. CNMs are women’s health experts who are equipped to care for women across the lifespan, from adolescence through menopause, with particular expertise in pregnancy, labor and delivery, and the postpartum period. CNMs deliver babies in the hospital setting, with the full scope of hospital services available to them and the mother.
A CNM is an advanced practice provider who has completed nursing school, earned a registered nurse credential, and has extensive graduate-level training focused on women’s health from a nurse midwifery program. After training, providers must be certified by the American Midwifery Certification Board to be a CNM and must maintain that certification through continuing education, to stay up to date.
Which Patients Might Be a Good Fit for CNM Care?
Midwifery care is appropriate for generally healthy women who have low-risk pregnancies or gynecologic needs. Patients with high-risk pregnancies or other medical conditions that increase the risk of complications should be seen by an OB/GYN. In addition, while midwives can perform in-office procedures like IUD insertion and removal or Nexplanon implantation, they do not perform surgery.
At Inova, the CNMs have strong, collaborative relationships with the OB/GYNs and maternal-fetal medicine (MFM) specialists. This means that if a patient’s care needs change over the course of a pregnancy from low risk to higher risk, or if a patient has a complicated gynecologic concern that needs evaluation, the midwifery practice can seamlessly refer a patient to an Inova OB/GYN or MFM specialist.
What Are the Advantages of Choosing a CNM as Your Main Women’s Health Provider?
Midwives are trained holistically, caring for the patient as a whole person. Because midwives are trained as nurses, CNMs approach care from a nursing perspective. CNMs specialize in family-centered care, getting to know patients and their families and building these relationships throughout a woman’s lifetime.
CNM care is for much more than pregnancy and labor. It starts at adolescence and extends through menopause. A young woman can come to a CNM to talk through birth control options, have her well woman exam, and get counseling on sexually transmitted infections (STI) and other risks. If and when that woman becomes pregnant, her CNM can provide high-quality, holistic prenatal care through the labor and postpartum period. After childbearing, a CNM can continue that woman’s care with annual well woman exams, Pap smears, and perimenopause and menopause care.
Midwives and Birth Options
CNMs are committed to listening to patients’ birth preferences and trying to help patients achieve them as much, and as safely, as possible. CNMs support the mother’s birth desires, whether it’s an unmedicated birth or one supported by pain control.
CNMs take time to help patients learn about pregnancy and birth, so they can make informed decisions without feeling pressured. CNMs are respectful of cultural beliefs and preferences. If a patient wants an epidural, they can certainly have one. And if patients choose to go unmedicated, they can. CNMs support patients through the birth process, while also keeping a watchful eye out for any potential complications. All of this work is in service of shared goals – a safe delivery, a healthy baby, achieved as smoothly as possible, while respecting the preferences of the mother to the greatest extent possible.
Overall, modern-day midwives provide holistic, evidence-based, family centered care for women at all stages of life.
Find a midwife near you.
Feature image, stock.adobe.com
