Licensed Midwife

This means recognizing each woman’s social, emotional, physical, spiritual and cultural needs. It also acknowledge that a woman and her newborn baby does not exist independently of the woman’s social and emotional environment. This includes incorporating an understanding in assessment and provision of health care (Yanti et al., 2015). The fundamental principles of women-centred care ensures a focus on pregnancy and childbirth as the start of family life, not just as isolated clinical episodes. These motherhood phases take into complete account the meaning and the values of each woman. Providing women centred care helps women make an informed choices, being involved in and having control over their own care, this also includes their relationship with their midwives (Johnson et al., 2003). This demonstrates that midwives are able to attend for women during pregnancy, childbirth and in early parenting years. In addition to this, midwives also provide education for women in order to have a healthy lifestyle (Woods et al.,

The ANMC states that midwives should promote safe and effective practice. This competency standard involves: Applying knowledge, skills and attitudes to enable woman centred care, provide or support midwifery continuity of care and manage the midwifery care of women and their babies. Midwives providing continuity of care are able to provide safe and effective practice. They know there patients well from the woman’s blood test results to the woman’s birth plan. The midwife can provide safe and effective practice because she knows the woman best. Midwifery Continuity of care is associated with a reduction in the rate of a number of interventions, without compromising safety of care (Spiby &

Being a midwife refers to a profession where the midwife would work in partnership with the women throughout her pregnancy, labour and the postpartum period. Not only is being a midwife women-centred, however, their role also includes ensuring the partner and family members are prepared and aware of the process. Within a women’s health, the midwife should focus on health, family planning, nutrition, domestic and other health issues as the main priority is the

This essay demonstrates significant factors, a midwife and the women may face within Australian public hospitals. As a midwife the key skills are understanding of what supports and impacts the normal physiological process of labour and birth. This essay will discuss two influencing factors that have a negative effect on the normal progress of labour and birth. This will be seen, firstly by discussing the cultural and environmental impacts of labour and birth. Then, examining how the midwife may best support and facilitate the adverse effects of normal physiological process. This essay also discusses a positive labour and birth environment within the Australian standard model of care.

Midwives identify high risked pregnancies and they make referrals to doctors and other medical specialists.

The downfall of this policy is that essentially, it takes away the right of a woman to choose where to deliver her baby. It leaves her with a hard decision, home births are legal in Alabama but they absolutely are considered illegal if a midwife is present. A woman must choose between having experienced care in a hospital environment where she may not be comfortable, and having no care or illegal care at her home if she wanted to have it there.

In America, midwives attend less than 8% of all births and less than 1% of those occur outside a hospital. At the same time, the US

Women’s health is an important and rewarding field of study. Certified Nurse-Midwives or CNMs are Advanced Practice Registered Nurses provide education and care prior to conception, during pregnancy, childbirth and after delivery of a baby. CNMs work in settings that may include doctors’ offices, hospitals, birth centers, health clinics and attending patients’ homes for birth services or routine pre and post-natal care. CNMs also provide health care to women throughout their reproductive lives that may call for reproduction education, health visits, annual exams, and post-menopausal

The author is a nurse in a level two trauma facility in a community of approximately fifty thousand people in Oregon. The community is a college-town surrounded by a large agricultural area. There is a minimal ethnic diversity within the community. The diversity present occurs mainly from internationally students and faculty from the college. There is a growing population of women who desire low interventional births in the community. The author has worked on the labor and delivery unit of the hospital for the last 14 years. The hospital is the only one in the area to offer trial of labor services to women who have previously undergone a cesarean section. The unit on average experiences around 1000 deliveries annually.

As well as being notated as ‘eligible’, to work as a eligible midwife in private practice an eligible midwife must work in collaboration with a medical practitioner (Queensland Nurses Union, 2010). The Queensland Nurses Union (2010) explains that legislation specifies that eligible midwives working in private practice must operate under one of four collaborate models of care. These four collaborative models are as follows: Eligible midwives may be employed by an obstetric practitioner or an entity that employs an obstetric practitioner; eligible midwives may accept a written referral from a specified medical practitioner; eligible midwives may obtain a written agreement with a specified medical practitioner; or eligible midwives may have an arrangement with a specified medical practitioner (Queensland Nurses Union, 2010). The Queensland Nurses Union (2010) is concerned that this legislation will limit the ability for eligible midwives to work in private practice as unless eligible midwives are employed by medical practitioners, have women referred to them by a medical practitioner, or have an agreement with a medical practitioner, they will unable to work in private practice. Newnham (2010, p. 245) describes this as ‘creating a maternity service that is entirely within medical parameters, while seeming to advance midwifery models of care’

According to “Human Sexuality: Diversity in Contemporary America,” women and couples planning the birth of a child have decisions to make in variety of areas: place of birth, birth attendant(s), medication, preparedness classes, circumcision, breast feeding, etc. The “childbirth market” has responded to consumer concerns, so its’ important for prospective consumers to fully understand their options. With that being said, a woman has the choice to birth her child either at a hospital or at home. There are several differences when it comes to hospital births and non-hospital births.

The definition of a Labor and Delivery Nurse is, “in the labor and delivery rooms, and birthing centers, L&D Nurses are on the front line of pending motherhood. They help calm fears and put family members at ease while preparing the mother for a birth. They assist in the delivery and care for the baby immediately after the birth, and eventually take the baby to the nursery. In cases of premature babies or babies with health problems, the L&D Nurse will consult with the doctor and others to determine what happens next in terms of medication, isolation, or possible surgical procedures” (Who are these, 2003, p. 3).

This is the beginning of the mother’s involvement with the midwife. This is an opportunity for both parties to establish a personal relationship, partnership. This is where education exchange can occur, recognition of responsibilities, options and choices are determined which are supported and discussed with the mother and her supporters. (Pairman, 2010, pg. 431-432)

According to the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNMb) (2015), home births account for 1.4% of all births in the U.S. In eight years the number of home births in the US increased by 41% (ACNM, 2015b). Providing home births falls within the scope of practice of midwives and is supported by the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM, 2015b). A mother can have the option of a home birth as long as the home birth follows regulations set in place by the state and can provide a favorable safe environment for both mother and newborn (ACNM, 2015b). Both the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) state that the ultimate decision of having a home birth is a patient’s right, especially if she is medically well informed (Declercq, & Stotland, 2016).

MD Marden Wagner said, “In every country where I have seen real progress in maternity care, it was woman’s groups working together with midwives that made the difference.” The Marriam Webster dictionary defines midwifery as “The art or act of assisting at childbirth”. The definition is a spot-on explanation. Midwifery is not very broad; it’s pinpointed as a specific job with detailed instructions that only deal with pregnancies. Many will argue to say that midwives only work with women who are having “normal-pregnancies”.(Goer, 2002). Normal pregnancies include a healthy mother and fetus, with no complications. “Approximately 10% - 30% of pregnant women will experience Bacterial Vaginosis (BV) during their pregnancy. An ectopic pregnancy happens in 1 out of 60 pregnancies. About 1% of all pregnant women will experience placental abruption, and most can be successfully treated depending on what type of separation occurs.” (Pregnancy Complications). Everyone is different, they handle pain in different ways, they have diverse fingerprints, they all have their own unique genetic material; evidently all pregnant women will experience each pregnancy they have differently from themselves and from other women. Many people will argue about the authenticity of a Certified Nurse Midwife’s education however, in reality “Certified Nurse-Midwives (CNM) are registered nurses, with a minimum of a