By ,
Published November 20, 2014
This week, we're celebrating certified midwives and all they do for women's health and the profession of obstetrics and gynecology.
As a young ob/gyn, I was trained by Certified Nurse-Midwives who taught me a lot about natural childbirth, about compassion, and who nurtured that intimate connection I feel when I deliver a baby and place him or her in the arms of their mother for the first time.
Today, there are more than 7,000 Certified Nurse-Midwives in the United States who attend approximately 200,000 births a year. These men and women play a growing role in providing women's health services to women of all ages - not just pregnant women. Midwives are also advocates of vaginal birth - a valuable service considering more than 30 percent of babies born in the U.S. are delivered via C-section.
Certified Midwives offer a variety of services like:
--Prenatal Care;
--Labor and delivery;
--Postpartum care;
--Breastfeeding support;
--Annual exam;
--Breast exam;
--Pap Smear;
--HPV testing and vaccination;
--Family planning;
--STD screening and treatment;
--Infertility treatment;
--Perimenopausal and postmenopausal care.
American women can always benefit from having a Certified Nurse-Midwife around, and in this week of recognition, I would like to congratulate them for all they do to improve health care for women in this country.
https://www.foxnews.com/health/have-you-hugged-your-midwife-today