During this special time, she wants personal, thoughtful care from someone she knows and trusts. Nurse-midwives provide this special type of care. They listen to women, addressing their unique needs and goals for birth. They support women throughout labor, encouraging them to tune in to their bodies, offering options such as showers, massage, aromatherapy, candles, music, dim lights, and most importantly, privacy in which to labor. When she is free to assume any position she desires and is surrounded by supportive, caring people she knows and trusts, she is much more likely to be able to give birth to her baby without drugs or other medical interventions.
Birth can become a empowering, rewarding experience to be savored, remembered, and treasured.
Midwives encourage you to take the lead role in your care because only you know what personally feels best. They seek to work in partnership with the expectant woman and her family, developing a close, personal relationship during prenatal care, which emphasizes education, nutrition, exercise preparation for birth, and focusing on spiritual and emotional aspects of each woman s life and her unique situation. By treating the whole person, a CNM helps promote the healthiest pregnancy and birth possible. CNMs are nurse practitioners who specialize in the care of women throughout their life cycle, before, during, and after pregnancy. CNMs are registered nurses, educated and well trained in the two disciplines of nursing and midwifery the care of pregnant women and newborns.