Monday, September 10, 2012
General Instructions
First of all, thank you for taking the time to participate in this survey. The information you provide is confidential, and will be used to help me better serve the families in our community.
Please use the links provided to either take the consumer survey, RN survey, MD survey or administrator survey.
If you are a consumer, please read the What you really need to know about Nurse-Midwifery post at
http://ginthestudentnursemidwife.blogspot.com/2012/0/v-behaviorurldefaultvmlo.html?zx=44f81cf643c3a593
first.
If you are a healthcare professional, please take your survey first and then feel free to read the above post.
Again, thank you for your time and please pass this survey on to anyone else that may be willing to participate.
Ginny McAlister
Student Nurse Midwife
Frontier Nursing University
Choices in Childbirth - Consumer Survey
This survey is open to any woman or man living in Wisconsin. Please use the link below to participate.
Important: Before doing survey please read What you really need to know about Midwifery post. http://ginthestudentnursemidwife.blogspot.com/2012/09/v-behaviorurldefaultvmlo.html
(Exceptions: Please do NOT take this survey if you are a RN, MD, CNM, PA, or Healthcare administrator. Please find the appropriate survey for your educational background on the main blog page).
http://freeonlinesurveys.com/s.asp?sid=vxz5paegdv8h000108969
Important: Before doing survey please read What you really need to know about Midwifery post. http://ginthestudentnursemidwife.blogspot.com/2012/09/v-behaviorurldefaultvmlo.html
(Exceptions: Please do NOT take this survey if you are a RN, MD, CNM, PA, or Healthcare administrator. Please find the appropriate survey for your educational background on the main blog page).
http://freeonlinesurveys.com/s.asp?sid=vxz5paegdv8h000108969
Healthcare Professional Survey Form: Nurses
If you are a registered nurse in Wisconsin, particularly if you have maternity experience, please participate in the nurse survey below.
http://freeonlinesurveys.com/app/rendersurvey.asp?sid=kaf1e6uwvvvshji108981&refer=freeonlinesurveys.com
Once you have completed the survey feel free to read my What you really need to know about nurse-midwifery post http://ginthestudentnursemidwife.blogspot.com/2012/09/v-behaviorurldefaultvmlo.html
http://freeonlinesurveys.com/app/rendersurvey.asp?sid=kaf1e6uwvvvshji108981&refer=freeonlinesurveys.com
Once you have completed the survey feel free to read my What you really need to know about nurse-midwifery post http://ginthestudentnursemidwife.blogspot.com/2012/09/v-behaviorurldefaultvmlo.html
Healthcare Professional Survey Form: Physicians
If you are an obstetrician or family physician doing obstetrics in Wisconsin please participate by taking the physician survey below.
http://freeonlinesurveys.com/s.asp?sid=f6oufs2yf3juabs108990
Once you have completed the survey feel free to read my What you really need to know about nurse-midwifery post http://ginthestudentnursemidwife.blogspot.com/2012/09/v-behaviorurldefaultvmlo.html
http://freeonlinesurveys.com/s.asp?sid=f6oufs2yf3juabs108990
Once you have completed the survey feel free to read my What you really need to know about nurse-midwifery post http://ginthestudentnursemidwife.blogspot.com/2012/09/v-behaviorurldefaultvmlo.html
Healthcare Professional Survey Form: Administrator
If you are a health service administrator with knowledge of maternity services (i.e. manager of a labor and delivery unit, hospital CEO, health department maternal child health director) in Wisconsin please participate by taking the administrator survey below.
http://freeonlinesurveys.com/s.asp?sid=sj242cxu87qq3c7109017
Once you have completed the survey feel free to read my What you really need to know about nurse-midwifery post http://ginthestudentnursemidwife.blogspot.com/2012/09/v-behaviorurldefaultvmlo.html
Sunday, September 9, 2012
What you really need to know about Nurse-Midwifery
A Brief History of Midwifery in the United States
From the beginning, when a woman was ready to give birth, she would surround herself with women from her family and community to assist her. While midwives were respected members of the community, they were often trained only through apprenticeships and did not share or regulate their knowledge. Because of this, some midwives practiced unsafely. In the 1800s, more doctors began attending births. They would give pain medicine to women who were overwhelmed and knew how to use tools such as forceps which can save babies and mothers lives. However soon these practices were used by doctors for all women, instead of only the ones who needed them. This also was unsafe and put mothers and babies at risk for unnecessary complications.
In the 1920’s a American nurse named Mary Breckinridge discovered the wonderful care given to women by Nurse- Midwives in England. These midwives had gone through extensive training in both nursing and midwifery. Mrs. Breckinridge decided to bring this model of care to the United States. She formed the Frontier Nursing Service to provide care for the people of Appalachian Kentucky. These midwives we able to save many lives and made birth much safer for the women in the area. Eventually others took notice of the improved outcomes with the Frontier Midwives and slowly schools were created to train Nurse Midwives in America. In the 1960’s the natural childbirth movement created some recognition for midwives and research such as the National Birth Center Study has shown that midwives provide excellent and safe care to women. However midwifery still has to fight the idea of the uneducated and unsafe midwives of older times. See this video for more information about Frontier Nursing Service and University- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ghpkLV-myg )
In other areas of the world, such as the Netherlands, midwives provide the care for most women, and many more women give birth at home. The Netherlands enjoy some of the lowest rates of death and injury for mothers and babies. Australia and New Zealand are both working to increase midwifery care for their women and Japan, which has some of the best infant mortality rates, has many midwives that attend most births in the country.
LACE: Licensure, Accreditation, Certification and Education of Midwives
There are actually several different types of midwives in the United States: Certified Nurse Midwives (CNM’s), Certified Midwives (CM’s) and Certified Professional Midwives (CPM’s).
The most well known group of midwives are Certified Nurse Midwives (CNM’s). These midwives are registered nurses who have completed a nationally accredited graduate level program of study approved by the Accreditation Commission of Midwifery Education to become midwives (ACNM-b,, 2012).
Another type of midwives are Certified Midwives (CM’s) who are not nurses but have background in an area of health before studying to become midwives. They also reach the graduate level of study in midwifery and have the scientific studies background shared by the CNM. Both CNM’s and CM’s take the same national exam from the American Midwifery Certification Board to become certified in midwifery and therefore are responsible for the same body of midwifery knowledge (ACNM-b, 2012).
The third type of recognized midwives are Certified Professional Midwives (CPM’s). These midwives are not required to have health backgrounds before studying midwifery. Their education is usually a year or so in length after which they study as apprentices under other CPM’s or CNM's for experience. They achieve certification in midwifery through a different national exam, given by the North American Registry of Midwives. CPM’s tend to practice in out-of-hospital births, while CNM’s and CM’s often practice in hospitals but also attend birth center and home births. 95% of births by CNM’s occur in hospital (ACNM-b, 2012).
Certification of Certified Nurse Midwives and Certified Midwives must be renewed every 5 years after completing specific independent study courses provided by the American Midwifery Certification Board.
Licensing of all types of midwives occurs on the state level and involves initial licensure through applying for license once education and certification are complete. Licensure also requires periodic renewal of license which in some states requires that midwives show proof of continuing education in that time period.
All 50 states in the United States require licensure of Certified Nurse Midwives which is often done by the state’s Board of Nursing in many places. Certified Nurse Midwives are considered advanced practice nurses along with nurse practitioners and registered nurse anesthetists. Licensure of Certified Midwives is a new consideration as this is a newer type of midwife, so most states have not begun licensing Certified Midwives as of yet. In fact, licensing of these midwives currently occurs only in the state of New York. Certified Professional Midwives are licensed in 24 states but are recognized to practice in 26 states, granted by specific Midwifery Boards of Licensure.
In states where licensing is required for different types of midwives, they are only allowed to practice once they’ve been licensed.
There are actually several different types of midwives in the United States: Certified Nurse Midwives (CNM’s), Certified Midwives (CM’s) and Certified Professional Midwives (CPM’s).
The most well known group of midwives are Certified Nurse Midwives (CNM’s). These midwives are registered nurses who have completed a nationally accredited graduate level program of study approved by the Accreditation Commission of Midwifery Education to become midwives (ACNM-b,, 2012).
Another type of midwives are Certified Midwives (CM’s) who are not nurses but have background in an area of health before studying to become midwives. They also reach the graduate level of study in midwifery and have the scientific studies background shared by the CNM. Both CNM’s and CM’s take the same national exam from the American Midwifery Certification Board to become certified in midwifery and therefore are responsible for the same body of midwifery knowledge (ACNM-b, 2012).
The third type of recognized midwives are Certified Professional Midwives (CPM’s). These midwives are not required to have health backgrounds before studying midwifery. Their education is usually a year or so in length after which they study as apprentices under other CPM’s or CNM's for experience. They achieve certification in midwifery through a different national exam, given by the North American Registry of Midwives. CPM’s tend to practice in out-of-hospital births, while CNM’s and CM’s often practice in hospitals but also attend birth center and home births. 95% of births by CNM’s occur in hospital (ACNM-b, 2012).
Certification of Certified Nurse Midwives and Certified Midwives must be renewed every 5 years after completing specific independent study courses provided by the American Midwifery Certification Board.
Licensing of all types of midwives occurs on the state level and involves initial licensure through applying for license once education and certification are complete. Licensure also requires periodic renewal of license which in some states requires that midwives show proof of continuing education in that time period.
All 50 states in the United States require licensure of Certified Nurse Midwives which is often done by the state’s Board of Nursing in many places. Certified Nurse Midwives are considered advanced practice nurses along with nurse practitioners and registered nurse anesthetists. Licensure of Certified Midwives is a new consideration as this is a newer type of midwife, so most states have not begun licensing Certified Midwives as of yet. In fact, licensing of these midwives currently occurs only in the state of New York. Certified Professional Midwives are licensed in 24 states but are recognized to practice in 26 states, granted by specific Midwifery Boards of Licensure.
In states where licensing is required for different types of midwives, they are only allowed to practice once they’ve been licensed.
Scope of Practice of a Certified Nurse Midwife
Certified Nurse Midwives (CNM’s) are specialists in birth, as well as in the health of women throughout life. The type of care provided by a CNM includes wellness exams, pap smears and other gynecologic care including pelvic and breast exams, sexually transmitted disease counseling and treatment for both partners , and family planning including prescribing contraception, and prenatal/birth/postpartum care. A CNM will often care for the infant for the first 28 days after birth after which care will be turned over to a pediatrician or pediatric nurse practitioner. To put it simply, a CNM provides primary care for women from adolescence through menopause (ACNM, 2012).
Midwifery care emphasizes education of women so they can be involved in their care and the care of their families. Midwives provide teaching about healthy practices, disease prevention, and counseling for each woman about her wellness and according to her needs and situation (ACNM, 2012).
Certified Nurse Midwives provide care for women not only in the office but from admission through discharge in the hospital as well as many other public and private settings where health is addressed, including major medical centers, the United States Military and rural locations. CNM’s prescribe medications including controlled substances as well as ordering, interpreting and treating based on lab tests when appropriate (ACNM, 2012).
Certified Nurse Midwives are skilled in providing complete care for healthy through low to moderate complexity needs and are also skilled in identifying when to refer women and infants to physicians and other health professionals when certain needs are specialized in by other clinicians.
Certified Nurse Midwives are involved in so many aspects of women’s lives, valuing the relationship with the women they care for and supporting and guiding women toward becoming experts in their own care. CNM’s believe that a woman who is familiar with her body and her needs can do more to keep herself and her family healthy.
The philosophy behind midwifery is summarized at the end of this brochure in the Hallmarks of Midwifery. The Hallmarks of Midwifery is what drives midwifery care and what sets us apart from physician-provided care. For more information about what a Certified Nurse Midwife does, the American College of Nurse Midwives’ website is a great place to start:
http://www.midwife.org
How Midwifery is Different than Obstetrics...Why Do We Need Midwifery?
Over the history of midwifery the safety and efficacy of
midwifery care has been questioned and doubted by many. However, in reality,
midwives are very skilled at caring for women. Studies have shown that compared
to care provided by physicians, midwifery care resulted in fewer epidurals
placed, episiotomies performed, and labors induced or augmented. Studies have
also shown that there were no differences between the two types of providers
when looking at NICU admissions, low birth weights and low APGAR scores (a method of assessing the well-being of a newborn). There were differences noted in rates of breastfeeding and perineal
lacerations. More lacerations were seen with care provided by a physician and
higher rates of breastfeeding were seen with midwifery care.
Midwives are less likely to employ labor and birth interventions. Research shows that midwife-attended births are less likely to have outcomes requiring cesarean section or operative vaginal deliveries, and the women they care for use less analgesia than those cared for by physicians. These studies show that midwife-provided care can have the same, if not better outcomes, than physician-provided care when a woman, her fetus and the pregnancy course lie within the criteria for normal through low-complexity health. Therefore, midwives are also more cost effective than physicians due to this decreased rate of interventions and complications.
Midwives are less likely to employ labor and birth interventions. Research shows that midwife-attended births are less likely to have outcomes requiring cesarean section or operative vaginal deliveries, and the women they care for use less analgesia than those cared for by physicians. These studies show that midwife-provided care can have the same, if not better outcomes, than physician-provided care when a woman, her fetus and the pregnancy course lie within the criteria for normal through low-complexity health. Therefore, midwives are also more cost effective than physicians due to this decreased rate of interventions and complications.
The midwifery model of care views pregnancy and childbirth as a normal and natural process that a woman goes through. However, the medical model of care that obstetricians follow view pregnancy as a disease process that requires management and intervention: it must be “cured”.
While the obstetrician is a surgeon who specializes in complicated pregnancies and anomalies, the midwife specializes in the care of a woman from puberty through menopause including normal pregnancy and childbirth. A midwife is also trained to determine if there are any complications and to collaborate, consult, and possibly refer the woman to a specialist if she should need one. This is when the obstetrician would step in to partner in the woman’s care. The midwife views the woman as a whole person who has not only physical needs but emotional, psychological, and spiritual needs as well. Midwives take the time to really get to know the women they care for, to develop a bond with each, and give them the personal care that they are entitled to. The midwife also takes into account the needs of the family that surrounds the woman. Without this comprehensive view of caring, women would not truly receive the care that they deserve.
Women need midwifery because it focuses on the relationship between the midwife and the woman and her family. The bond between a midwife and a woman is one that encompasses trust, confidence, support and empowerment. The midwife is there to educate the woman on her choices regarding her care and acknowledges her freedom to make the choices that she feels are best for herself and for her family. The midwife then respects and supports any decisions that the woman makes and works to empower and encourage the woman in her journey toward her goals. Midwives enable each woman to realize her power and inner strength.
Birth Centers: Definition, Services, Safety
What is a birth center?
Birth centers are facilities that offer a home-like environment for pregnancy, birth support, and family-centered wellness. They are places of health, that strive to support principles such as safety, cost-effectiveness, and consumer satisfaction while celebrating normal birth. Birth centers follow the midwifery model of care. Individualized provider-client partnerships for healthy women are achieved by providing discussion and education to women and their families and empowering them to make meaningful and informed decisions about their care. All of this is achieved by providing time intensive care for one-on-one visits, labor management, and post birth mom and baby wellness.
For more information on birth centers or to find an accredited birth center in your area go to http://www.birthcenters.org/for-parents
What services do birth centers offer?
In addition to individualized and time-intensive care, birth centers and midwifery care provide education and discussion that begins with the first prenatal appointment. This empowers women to thoroughly explore all the options available to them. Most birth centers have book and DVD libraries available. Many birth centers provide outsourced maternal education classes so women and their support person can explore all childbirth options with minimal provider bias. Birth centers offer modern maternity care with a balance of technology and personalized holistic care. Another key component of birth centers are the options available for birth positioning and non-pharmaceutical pain relief. Hydrotherapy and waterbirth are available at most birth centers. Seminars, support groups, mom/baby groups, and customized lactation support are often available through most birth centers. Many birth centers offer a home mom and baby visit in the first 1-2 weeks after baby is born (AABC, 2011)
Are birth centers safe?
Birth centers provide access to a complete network of women’s health services and are covered by most major health insurance plans. To ensure the safest and highest quality of care, ask about your provider about the individual and facility licensing and accreditation. Birth centers should have basic emergency equipment on hand for both mothers and babies and a plan for hospital transfers. All births should be attended by at least two people and birth staff should be trained and licensed in CPR and newborn resuscitation. (AABC, 2011)
What do midwives stand for?
The Hallmarks of Midwifery:
1. Recognition of pregnancy, birth and menopause as normal physical and developmental processes.
2. Advocacy of not intervening if there are no complications.
3. Incorporating scientific evidence into clinical practice.
4. Promoting family-centered care.
5. Empowerment of women as partners in health care.
6. Facilitation of healthy family and interpersonal relationships.
7. Promotion of continuity of care.
8. Health promotion, disease prevention, and health education.
9. Promoting a public health care perspective.
10. Care to vulnerable populations.
11. Advocacy for informed choice, shared decision-making, and the right to self-determination.
12. Cultural competence.
13. Familiarity with common complementary and alternative therapies.
14. Skillful communication, guidance and counseling.
15. Therapeutic value of human presence.
16. Collaboration with other members of the health care team.
Helpful Links to More Midwifery and Pregnancy/Childbirth Information
Belly Tales: The Diary of a Midwife Blog:
http://www.bellytales.com
A blog that targets anyone interested in midwifery with multiple topics.
Childbirth Connection:
http://www.childbirthconnection.org/article.asp?ck=10163
This website has great information about midwives and a lot of helpful information about pregnancy, childbirth as well as many more links to other helpful sites.
The Rosebud Midwifery Blog:
http://www.therosebudmidwiferyblog.com/
A blog with more information on the benefits of a midwife and a variety of other topics.
“Why Choose A Midwife”: Youtube Presentation by the American College of Nurse Midwives
http://youtu.be/cHX76msrnvw
Why midwife-provided care can be beneficial for pregnancy, birth, and supporting the transformation into familyhood.
Please
see below for references to source information used in this brochure
References
American
Association of Birth Centers. (2011). How to start a birth center: exploring
innovation in maternity
care. Perkiomenville, PA.
American College of Nurse Midwives (ACNM)
(2012-a). Definition of midwifery and
scope of practice of certified nurse
midwives and certified midwives.
Retrieved from
http://www.midwife.org/ACNM/files/ACNMLibraryData/UPLOADFILENAME/000000000266/Definition%20of%20Midwifery%20and%20Scope%20of%20Practice%20of%20CNMs%20and%20CMs%20Dec%202011.pdf
American College
of Nurse Midwives (2012-b). Our
credentials. Retrieved from
American College of
Nurse Midwives. (n.d.). Up close and personal: Midwives offer personalized
care. Retrieved from
http://www.mymidwife.org/Up-Close-and-Personal-Midwives-Offer-Personalized-Care
Dama, B., Reynolds, T., & Kilmer-Sterling, E. (2012). Midwifery Blogs Evaluation Worksheet. Unpublished manuscript.
Holderread, M., McAlister, V., Asturrizage, V., & Smith, R. (2012). Midwives: embracing and supporting women and their families. Unpublished manuscript.
Dama, B., Reynolds, T., & Kilmer-Sterling, E. (2012). Midwifery Blogs Evaluation Worksheet. Unpublished manuscript.
Holderread, M., McAlister, V., Asturrizage, V., & Smith, R. (2012). Midwives: embracing and supporting women and their families. Unpublished manuscript.
Rooks, J. P. (1997). Midwifery &
childbirth in America. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.
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