Is a Midwife Right for You?

Navigating the ins and outs of pregnancy can be challenging, leading to additional questions about your health, your growing baby, and your upcoming labor and delivery. If you want a healthcare partner who offers knowledge, guidance, and support, you might want to consider working with a midwife. 

At Southern Crescent Women’s HealthCare in Fayetteville, Newnan, and Stockbridge, Georgia, our team of OB/GYN professionals includes certified nurse-midwives (CNM). Certified nurse-midwives specialize in providing comprehensive patient-centered and family-focused care. 

Keep reading to learn more about our midwifery services and if working with a CNM is right for you. 

Understanding midwifery services

The word midwife comes from Middle English and means “with woman.” It’s a profession that’s existed for centuries, with midwives helping women safely get through pregnancy and childbirth.

Midwives of the twenty-first century go through extensive advanced medical training, offering expert gynecological, prenatal, and labor and delivery care.

When you partner with a midwife through Southern Crescent Women’s HealthCare, you receive support and guidance from conception through postpartum care, including:

• Exercise and physical activity planning
• Nutritional counseling
• Vital prenatal screenings and tests
• Labor and delivery planning
• Post-delivery care
• Emotional support
• Mental health assessments

Your midwife handles your prenatal check-ins to make sure your baby is growing and developing as expected throughout your pregnancy. As your due date approaches, your midwife helps you prepare your body for labor and delivery and make your birth plan. 

As with all of our providers, your CNM personalizes your pregnancy care to meet your individual healthcare needs, preferences, and goals. When needed, our midwives work with our team of physicians to ensure you and your baby are as safe and healthy as possible.

And because the midwifery model of care is based on the belief that pregnancy and childbirth are life processes to be celebrated, not medical conditions to be treated, your CNM ensures you remain the primary decision maker. 

Why working with a midwife might be right for you

There are many reasons you might prefer to work with a certified nurse midwife. There’s no “right” or “wrong” decision: It’s a matter of what makes you most comfortable. To help you think it over, here’s a look at some of the top reasons women opt for a CNM:

You have a low-risk pregnancy

A certified nurse-midwife can be an excellent choice for women with low-risk pregnancies. If you’ve been told you have a high-risk pregnancy, are worried about pre-existing health conditions, or want or need to have a C-section, an OB/GYN physician is probably a better choice. 

You prefer a low-intervention labor and delivery experience

Certified nurse-midwives specialize in natural labor and delivery, so if you’re hoping to have a childbirth experience without unnecessary medical interventions, like episiotomies, medically induced labor, and epidurals, working with a CNM could be the right choice. 

Keep in mind, however, that having a midwife doesn’t mean you lose access to pain relief options, like intravenous medicines or epidurals. If you change your mind or the safety of your baby requires additional care, you can still get the medical support you need.   

You want active help during labor

You should consider a midwife if you’re seeking a partner who actively supports and guides you through labor and delivery. Physicians check in on you while you labor, but most of their time with you occurs during active delivery, not labor. 

 Southern Crescent Women’s HealthCare CNMs are with you during labor, offering help with natural pain relief techniques like positional changes, focused breathing, and walking. This partnership helps you stay more relaxed during labor, lowering your risk of a medically assisted delivery or cesarean section. 

The best way to make this important decision is to talk with the trusted providers at Southern Crescent Women’s HealthCare. Get started by scheduling a consultation at one of our Georgia locations today.