Midwives deliver quality care

Women whose pregnancies are managed by certified nurse-midwives receive care equivalent to or better than those managed by a physician alone, according to a review published in the current issue of the health-care journal Nursing Economic$—just in time for National Midwifery Week Oct. 3-9.

Robin P. Newhouse, Ph.D., author of the review, found patients cared for by midwives are less likely to require a Caesarean delivery or an episiotomy, or experience severe perineal trauma. Newhouse’s study also showed women aided by midwives are less likely to choose pharmaceutical means of managing pain and have higher breastfeeding rates.

“I think [the study] particularly validates the quality of care midwives have been providing on a national level,” said Lisa Catterall, a midwife at Feather River Hospital and one of four midwives in the Chico/Paradise area. “It also shows we don’t just deliver at home, like many people believe. The majority of us deliver at hospitals and birth centers.”