WHAT IS A MIDWIFE?

There is a lot of confusion about midwives. Many years ago, in the United States, and even today in many poor parts of the world, midwives were birth attendants -- a woman in the village who assisted women having babies at home. They were untrained but experienced. Although these caregivers offered wonderful love and assistance to other women, the outcomes were often poor. These traditional birth attendants were called midwives. Over time, there has been an effort to move these births out of the home and into hospitals and birth centers where babies are delivered by physicians and other well-trained providers in a safer and more protected settlings.

Now, registered nurses with an interest in obstetrical care may do several years of advanced training. They are qualified to care for low risk pregnant women by doing prenatal care, admitting patients to hospitals for normal deliveries and doing post partum care. These nurses are called "Advanced Nurse Practitioners" or Certified Nurse Midwives (CNMs)". Being called a "midwife" is very important to their profession because the word recalls the image of the caring, loving skills of a friend or neighbor sitting at the bedside helping the mother-to-be in her birthing passage. However, these "midwives" or CNMs are totally different because of their high level of training which, for normal births, may make them a better caregiver than a busy physician.

When CIMA offers the care of a midwife, we are offering mothers-to-be the best of obstetrical care available-- services provided by a team of physicians and certified nurse midwives. The physicians care for you if there are problems or if you are high risk. The certified nurse midwives offer close personalized attention to your normal needs.