1505 Eastland Drive, Suite 500
Bloomington, IL 61701
Phone: (309) 662-2273
Fax: (309) 662-2014
Bloomington, IL 61701
Phone: (309) 662-2273
Fax: (309) 662-2014
Certified nurse-midwives are registered nurses who have completed graduate-level training in midwifery and who have passed a national certification exam.
Nurse-midwives practice in homes, birth centers, clinics, and hospitals. Most work in private office settings and deliver babies only in hospitals (97%).
A certified nurse-midwife will have a Bachelor’s degree at a minimum, most have a Master’s degree and some have a Doctoral degree. They are typically educated at a traditional university with classroom and clinical experiences.
Midwives strive to become partners in care rather than simply providers of health care.
Midwives approach pregnancy, birth, puberty, and menopause as normal life events rather than potential medical emergencies. These are times when women need special education or support, but nobody needs to cure or fix them. Midwives believe that if women are given the correct information, they can make safe and satisfying choices.
Midwives are trained to recognize complications early and refer you for appropriate care when needed.
Today women seek midwives for prenatal care, birth, postpartum care, gynecologic exams, vaginal infections, and birth control, including injections, implants, IUDs, pills, and diaphragms. Midwives also provide primary health care to women from puberty through menopause and beyond.
Midwives generally spend a lot of time during pregnancy visits addressing a woman's individual concerns and needs and will stay with a woman as much as possible throughout labor. They encourage physical positioning during labor such as walking around, showering, rocking, using the birthing ball, or water therapy. Midwives also usually allow women to eat and drink during labor.
CNMs may use medical interventions, such as electronic fetal monitoring, labor-inducing medications, pain medications, epidurals, and episiotomies, if the need arises. Your care will always be discussed and explained before interventions are used, except in the case of an emergency.
Midwives cannot perform cesarean sections. If one were required, an obstetrician would be present to perform the surgery and the midwife can assist in the surgery.
An eighteen-year review of health outcomes published in 2011 concluded that care provided by CNMs is associated with comparable or better outcomes than care managed exclusively by physicians. Several other studies have shown that midwife attended births produce excellent outcomes with fewer medical interventions. Some researchers attribute the need for a minimum of medical intervention to midwives' view of birth as a natural life event. This philosophy is believed to reduce a woman's fear, anxiety and therefore pain during birth.
Midwifery care is not for all women. Some complications or risk factors are best cared for exclusively by physicians and some can be co-managed by the physician and the CNM. If you have any questions about what type of care is recommended for you, ask your provider.