April 7th is World Health Day and they are focusing on Nurses and Midwives and the role they play in keeping us all healthy and strong. Since I believe we all know what a nurse is and what they do I decided to research what a midwife is and what they can do for us.
Globally 70% of the health and social workforce are women. Nurses and midwives are a large portion of this statistic. Midwives and nurses play a key role in caring for people everywhere. Having educated and well trained nurses and midwives allows for every country to achieve health, especially when it comes to becoming a midwife.
Investing in midwives creates critical care for mothers who are pregnant and with young infants which in turn can avert 80% of deaths from still-borns and neonatal deaths.
Midwives take care of women from adolescence to menopause. The services they provide include:
- Primary care
- Gynecologic
- Family planning
- Preconception care
- Care during pregnancy
- Childbirth
- Postpartum period
- Care of the newborn for the first 28 days of life
- Treatment of male partners for sexual diseases
Midwives can also:
- Conduct a physical exam
- Prescribe medications
- Order and read labs
- Order and read other medical tests
- Order medical devices
Midwives also provide:
- Counseling for health goals
- Promote health goals
- Disease prevention
- Wellness education
There are 3 levels of midwives:
- Certified Nurse Midwives: These are registered nurses who have graduated from an accredited nurse-midwifery education program and passed the test to become a midwife. They can practice in the fifty states
- Certified Midwives: are a non-nurse midwife who has a bachelor degree or higher in a health field. They have completed an accredited midwifery education program and passed the exam. They can only practice in a few selected states that allow this.
- Certified Professional Midwives: a non-nurse and non-medical education midwife who has training in childbirth and clinical experience. They have passed an examination. There are only a few states that allow them to practice.
There are 20,000 midwives in the United States and they do 20% of the care-taking of women and babies.
If you are looking for a personal trainer who will work with your midwife, please consider Karen Clemenson from Wellness Works NW. She can help you live well and work with any other medical professional.
Here are some links I would like to share with you:
- Become a Midwife by American College of Nurse-Midwives Staff
- Become a Midwife by Midwives Alliance North American Staff
- The History of Midwifery by Judith P. Rooks, CNM, MPH, MS for Our Bodies Ourselves
- Nursing Midwife + Salary Careers & Jobs Outlook by Nurse Journal Social Community for Nurses Worldwide Staff
- What is a Midwife? by Grow by WebMD Staff
- What Is a Nurse Midwife? by Every Nurse Staff
- World Health Day 2020 Support nurses and midwives by World Health Organization Staff
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Jamie Holloway is co-owner of Wellness Works NW and she is also our Research Manager and writes our Chasing Wellness with Jamie Holloway and Dear Jamie columns. Jamie is also an Independent Wellness Advocate at dōTERRA. She lives in the Portland, Oregon area. Since October 2011 she has been sharing her Journey Toward Health and Wellness with Vasculitis through her blog at JamieChasesButterflies.com. We hope you are as inspired as we are with the raw candor Jamie uses in her writing. If you would like to help support Jamie’s writing efforts please Donate now.
