Why should you choose a certified nurse-midwife (CNM)?
CNMs offer a variety of high quality healthcare services for women. Your CNM will take a complete family and personal medical history, and give you a thorough and gentle examination. Birth control counseling, prescriptions and follow-up examinations are available.
CNMs specialize in caring for women during pregnancy, labor and delivery, as well as after birth. Midwives can care for adolescents, women of childbearing age and women during menopausal years. You will be encouraged to ask questions and be given plenty of time for answers.
Midwives can prescribe medications including methods of contraception and treatment for common infections. Should you develop a medical condition that needs more specialized treatment, you will be referred to a gynecologist, or other specialist as needed. Years of experience and continued education enable CNMs to provide a compassionate approach to all aspects of women's healthcare. Even the U. S. government's top scientific organization, the Institute of Medicine, has recommended "more reliance be placed on certified nurse-midwives" in delivering primary healthcare.
Certified Nurse-Midwives Provide Quality Care
According to a 2008 Cochrane Systematic Review, all women should be offered midwife-led care. This review found that women who were cared for by a midwife during their pregnancies:
- had fewer hospitalizations during pregnancy
- had less use of anesthesia during labor and delivery
- had fewer episiotomies
- were less likely to have an instrumental delivery (i.e., vacuum or forceps)
- were more likely to report that they felt in control during childbirth
Hatem M, Sandall J, Devane D, Soltani H, Gates S. Midwife-led versus other models of care for childbearing women. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2008, Issue 4. Art. No.: CD004667. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD004667.pub2
Please see our "FAQ for the CNMs" page for more information!
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