Midwives focus on woman-centered care.
Nurse midwives combine nursing with midwifery.
They care for the needs of the individual and family by providing physical care, emotional and social support. Nurse midwifery is based on the philosophy that health care should be safe and satisfying. They provide primary care to women of childbearing age, including prenatal care, labor and delivery care, care after birth, gynecological exams, newborn care, assistance with family planning decisions, preconception care, menopausal management, and counseling in health maintenance and disease prevention. Of those, approximately 5,700 are in clinical practice. The rest are students, faculty, retired or outside of clinical practice for a variety of reasons.