As a hopeful, expectant, or postpartum mother, there are so many decisions to be made and things to research. Your journey as a mother is incredibly important and personal. You may ask yourself about how a midwife could play a role in your women’s healthcare experience.
The first step in answering this question is to understand what a midwife does. A midwife offers pregnancy, birthing, newborn, and postpartum care, and some offer other women’s health services. A midwife also has experience with a more holistic and natural approach to maternal care, including support and success with nonmedicated births.
There are many more details about midwives that can help you understand their unique role in your pregnancy experience and beyond. Henry Community Health is here to offer some insight into this healthcare profession and how it can impact your women’s health experience with us.
What Qualifies a Midwife and What Do They Offer?
Midwives are not all the same. The best way to discern between the different types of midwives is by their credentials. They represent the level of certification they have received. Henry Community Health is intent on providing exceptional care, so we have welcomed a midwife with the highest degree of certification possible, a certified nurse midwife.
Certified Nurse Midwives (CNMs)
A CNM has completed both nursing school and a graduate degree in midwifery. They are certified by the American Midwifery Certification Board and can practice in all 50 states.
The CNM at Henry Community Health works in tandem with our OB/GYN team. When you work with our CNM, you can expect
- Personalized care at every stage
- A partnership that develops during prenatal appointments, birth plan development, or labor and delivery
- A low-intervention approach to labor and delivery
- Diverse labor, postpartum, and breastfeeding support skills
But there’s even more. Since HCH is home to a CNM, our midwife can play a role in ongoing women’s health services that extend beyond pregnancy and birth. Our CNM will work alongside our OB/GYN providers to offer:
- Adolescent gynecological care
- Adult gynecological care
- General women’s health services
What Sets a Midwife Apart?
A midwife can be an added source of support during your pregnancy, birth, and beyond. At HCH, our OB/GYN providers and midwife share a mutual goal of providing the best experience possible from the comfort of our fully-equipped birthing center. A midwife offers a skill set that complements our comprehensive women’s healthcare services.
Our certified nurse midwife…
- Has received formal training that involves certification, including a degree in nursing
- Offers prenatal care, birthing services, postpartum care, and ongoing reproductive care
- Will be more likely to spend individual time with a patient during a birthing experience
- Will work alongside one of our OB/GYN providers for prenatal and birthing care
- Handles low-risk pregnancies and births
- Can provide both unmedicated and medicated birthing experiences
- Practices at our hospital-based birthing center
- Is trained to recognize any complications that require the intervention of a surgical team or OB/GYN (such as a C-section)
Midwife Services at HCH
Henry Community Health is proud to welcome a new midwife, Chrissy Honig, CNM! She operates from our hospital-based birthing center, so you’ll have immediate access to other caring and compassionate providers in the event of an emergency or complication. You’ll also see her at our OB/GYN practice for other women’s health appointments. She has a distinct devotion to women and new mothers and a firm commitment to offering comfort and support when women need it most.
Get to know our full OB/GYN team, including our certified nurse midwife! Call Henry Community Health OB/GYN to learn more: 765-521-1217
