What do midwives do?
Midwives are healthcare providers who provide comprehensive services during the childbearing year. Many midwives also offer well woman care.
What kinds of midwives are there?
CPM- A Certified Professional Midwife has completed the requirements to sit for the NARM (North American Registry of Midwives) and has passed the written and skills exams. CPMs provide out of hospital birth at homes and in freestanding birth centers.
CNM- A Certified Nurse Midwife has completed nursing school followed by a midwifery program. Most nurse midwives practice in hospitals or clinics. Some nurse-midwives do attend out of hospital births. Regulations concerning nurse-midwives attending home and birth center births vary by region.
DEM- A Direct-Entry Midwife is someone who has completed clinical training and either a formal academic midwifery education program or self-study. DEMs attend mostly homebirths, with some birth center births.
LM- A Licensed Midwife is a midwife who is licensed in the state where she practices. Some states require licensing to legally practice as a midwife. Oregon is currently a voluntary licensure state, where there are both licensed and unlicensed midwives for families to choose from.
In my opinion, each mother and family are capable of choosing the midwife that they feel is the best fit for their situation. For some moms, that will be a CNM or CPM. For some moms, it is a midwife from their community. It is important to use a midwife who you feel comfortable with as your birth attendant.
When do I call my midwife?
I prefer that you give me a call when you begin experiencing signs of early labor. This gives me time to get ready to attend you. Many mothers prefer to keep in touch via phone during early labor and have me come to their home at the start of active labor, when contractions are lasting about a minute long and are difficult to talk through. When I arrive depends on the needs and preferences of the family.
Where do you attend births?
I attend births all over Oregon's Mid-Valley, specifically Corvallis, Albany, Lebanon, Sweet Home, Scio, Salem, Monroe, Monmouth...