Below is a list of just some of the many services nurse-midwives provide.
1. The Heart of Midwifery
The heart of midwifery care for women and newborns lies more in the nature of that care than in its specific components. Midwifery practice has a firm foundation in the critical thought process and is focused on the prevention of disease and the promotion of health, taking the best from the disciplines of midwifery, nursing, public health and medicine to provide safe, holistic care.
Midwives are partners with women in the provision of health care, engaging in a dynamic re-evaluation of each woman's unique health needs.
Midwives would rather nurture a woman's progress with hands-on care than diagnose her problems from afar,
...rather listen than lecture,
...rather teach a health principle than treat an illness,
...rather empower women to join in decision-making than decide for her,
...rather urge her to speak for herself than to be her advocate,
...rather support natural processes than employ technological interventions,
...rather instill a woman with trust in her body than demonstrate the midwife's technical proficiency...although midwives will do these things when necessary.
Midwifery is a profession born of a woman's vision, nurtured in an understanding of women's developmental phases, and committed to assuring women in all populations that it is their birthright to be part of this unique care.
2. Primary Health Care Providers
Nurse-Midwifery practice is the independent management of women's health care, focusing on pregnancy, childbirth, the postpartum period, care of the newborn, and the family planning and gynecological needs of well women. The Certified Nurse-Midwife (CNM) and Certified Midwife (CM) practices within a health care system that provides for consultation, collaborative management or referral as indicated by the health status of the client.
Federal policymakers such as the National Health Service Corps and the Office of Rural Health recognize CNMs as primary health care providers.
Certified Midwives are relatively new professionals to the health care field but their education closely mirrors the education for CNMs. The mechanisms to educate and credential CMs were approved in 1994. CMs are not registered nurses (RNs), but may hold other professional designations as health care providers such as a physician assistant or physical therapist. Individuals choosing this career path will likely be pioneers in the profession, much like the early nurse-midwives who practiced in the U.S.
3. Certified Nurse-Midwives and Certified Midwives Provide Quality Care
"The quality of CNM care is equivalent to physicians' care within their area of competence," according to a 1986 study by the Office of Technology Assessment. Further, "They are better than physicians at providing services which depend on communication with patients and preventive action."
The Medical University of South Carolina Twin Clinic study demonstrated a lower rate of very early pre-term births, very low birth weight infants, neonatal intensive care admissions, and perinatal mortality in a CNM directed clinic where CNM care is given when compared to a MD directed team where MD care is given. This demonstrated that the contribution of CNMs to high-risk prenatal care can be considerable.
4. Certified Nurse-Midwives Are Cost-Effective
A recent study at two Kaiser Permanente Medical Centers in California showed a 13% or $292,000 reduction in payroll costs at one center and a 7% or $2 million reduction at another center when CNMs were added to the obstetric team.
If 50% of 4,060,000 births in the United States each year were attended in free standing birth centers, not only would access to care be greatly improved, but savings would be almost $4 billion annually.
5. Midwives are "With women, for a lifetimeTM"
The phrase, "With women, for a lifetimeTM", is truly indicative of the unique elements of midwifery care. The logo of the American College of Nurse-Midwives is true to those elements and captures that spirit visually. The three figures are women with their heads thrown back in celebration of their vitality and sisterhood. They are symbolic of both the three stages of a woman's life -- youth, womanhood, and maturity, and represent three generations of women within a family. The freely flowing ribbon represents many things, among them: the continuity of care a midwife provides; the connection to the core elements of womanhood and women's health present at each stage; and the extention of the ribbon beyond the figures is indicative of the longevity of the profession, from the past, in the present, and beyond.
