Certified Nurse Midwives

What is a Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM)?

Certified Nurse-Midwives (CNM’s) are licensed health care practitioners educated in the two disciplines of nursing and midwifery. They provide family-centered care to women of all ages.  Midwives listen to women.  They always provide the information you need to make informed and educated decisions about your healthcare.

Certified nurse-midwives (CNM’s) must graduate from an accredited education program and pass a rigorous certification exam. They are experts, held to the standards of practice set by the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM) and by state licensing organizations.

Midwives specialize in women's health.  They are trained in primary care, gynecologic care, pregnancy, labor, birth, and newborns.  Midwives specialize in normal pregnancy, labor, and birth. They focus on creating healthy women and families to prevent complications.  They are, however, trained to recognize and manage emergencies, should they arise. All midwives work with a collaborating Ob/Gyn to discuss complications and transfer high-risk clients. 

CNM’s attend over 9% of the births in the United States. Data supports the quality care CNM’s provide. According to a 1998 study comparing outcomes for births attended by CNM’s and physicians, births attended by CNM’s had:

• a 31% lower risk of delivering a low birth weight infant
• a 33% lower risk of neonatal mortality
• a 19% lower risk of infant mortality

*Source: MacDorman MF, Singh GK. Midwifery care, social and medical risk factors, and birth outcomes in the USA. J. Epidemiol Community Health, 1998: 52:310-317.

Your relationship with The Birth Center’s CNM’s begins at your first visit. You will know us and we you. By the time your labor comes around The Birth Center should feel like home. The guarantee to have someone who believes that women know how to give birth and is familiar with you, your pregnancy, your family, and your baby is a tremendous benefit to the families who come here.

For more information, visit the following websites:

http://www.mymidwife.org