Lindsay Breinholt, a certified nurse midwife and women's health nurse practitioner with Mount Olympus Obstetrics & Gynecology, breaks down the myths of midwifery and explains why it might be right for you.

Myth #1- A Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM) is not a recognized healthcare provider

- Medical practitioner who specializes in women's   health care and childbirth.
- Receive an undergraduate degree in nursing and a   graduate degree in midwifery from an accredited   university.
- Function as respected, autonomous care providers   to all women during their reproductive cycles.
- Provide care to women from puberty through   menopause.
- Perceive labor and birth as a natural process   versus a medical condition.

Myth #2- I can only see a midwife if I am   pregnant

- Provide prenatal care, deliver the baby and   postpartum care
- CNMs provide medical care to women of all ages.
- ALL gynecological care including: annual exams,   minor infection treatment, birth control, IUD   insertions, pre-marital exams, pre-pregnancy   counseling and menopausal/hormonal management.

Myth #3- Women are treated in an unregulated   facility

- Women's healthcare treatment is performed in a   regulated medical office, hospitals, medical clinics   and private offices.

Myth #4- Women seeing a nurse midwife have to deliver at home

- Hospitals, birth centers or at home.
- Most CNMs in Utah deliver at standard hospitals.

Myth #5- There is no benefit to seeing a midwife

- Spend more time answering questions and   educating patients in the office, at the bedside,   throughout labor and birth.
- Team rapport begins with annual visits.
- Longer visits and personal relationships.
- Increased time spent with the midwife equals cost   effective patient care.
- Low rates of infant and maternal mortality,   premature births, low-birth weight rates, cesarean   birth, episiotomy and use of epidural anesthesia.
- Half the national average C-section rate.
- Less induced or augmented labor.

Myth #6- Women have to deliver without medication if they see a midwife

- The patient's choice of birth is respected   regardless if the patient delivers un-medicated,   with an epidural or by cesarean   section.
- Because midwifery patients deliver in a hospital,   anesthesiologists are readily available to place an   epidural or participate in a   c-section.
- Pain medication is administered at the patient's   request.

Myth #7- There is no physician involvement

- Nurse-midwives are trained to recognize deviations   from normal before a problem becomes serious.
- CNMs follow protocols and consults with designated   physicians if a problem is anticipated or   occurs.
- If a situation is beyond a midwife's scope of care, a   patient may be referred to an OB/GYN physician   who is a specialist in gynecological surgery and   illness related to pregnancy and reproductive   health.
- Often, women with high-risk pregnancies may   receive the benefits of midwifery care from a   nurse-midwife in collaboration with a   physician.
- Midwives and physicians each play an important   role in women's health care.
- The two professions can be used together to   support women in the most effective way and are   complementary to each other.

Myth #8- Midwifery care is not regulated

- CNM take a national examination after completing   their education.
- Follow hospital guidelines and state standards for   safe practice.
- Hospital privileges.
- 24 hour back up OB/GYN physician for emergencies.
- Licensed by the state as advanced practice nurses,   midwives or nurse-midwives.
- Midwives serve a pertinent role to women in the   community, providing safe, effective and   educational care.

Myth #9- Nurse midwives cannot prescribe medication

- CNM's prescribe in all 50 states, including both   conventional forms of medication and herbal   management.

Myth #10- Midwives are not covered by insurance

- In fact, almost all insurances cover midwifery care   including Medicaid.

For more information visit Mount Olympus Obstetrics and Gynecology at www.mtolympusobgyn.com