What is a Midwife?

Midwife means “with woman”. Throughout history and all over the world, women have given birth under their own power accompanied only by caring attendants. Physician-attended hospital birth is a relatively new trend, beginning in the last several decades. For those cultures that have moved away from the midwifery model, many are now coming back and encouraging homebirths and midwifery care as viable and safe options for women. Most recently, the UK Government’s Secretary of Health has moved to promote home birth and midwifery care in order to “demedicalize” the birth process. Also, in June of 2005, the British Medical Journal published a North American study citing the safety of homebirths attended by midwives.

Today, midwives are certified or licensed medical professionals. Your midwife will: • perform all the prenatal checkups and lab work • fill out a medical history intake form • take a urine sample to send to the lab for a urinalysis • draw blood to send out for a complete blood count • perform an initial physical exam • listen to heart tones of your baby • measure your fundal height • palpate your belly to estimate the position of the baby • take your blood pressure, pulse, and weight every visit • carry oxygen, pitocin injections, methergin, herbs, a suture kit along with other tools • may apply erythromycin, the PKU and vitamin K if you so choose • performs the newborn exam • assists with breastfeeding

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