The University of Michigan Health Von Voigtlander Women’s Hospital Certified Nurse Midwife Service offers care for essentially healthy women throughout their lives. Certified Nurse Midwives (CNMs) are Registered Nurses (RNs) who have advanced education in both midwifery and nursing. CNMs are certified by the American College of Nurse Midwives and are licensed by the State of Michigan as both nurses and nurse midwives.
Midwifery model care is both holistic and specific in scope, focusing on the entirety of a woman’s life experience as well as her individual needs and goals, and including those who are important to her. CNMs believe that pregnancy, childbearing, sexuality and menopause are among the many significant normal events in a woman’s life. CNMs emphasize individualized, consent-driven care and health promotion. Research shows that CNMs provide cost-effective care that is safe, sensitive, and characterized by excellent individual, maternal and fetal outcomes.
U-M Health CNMs also work with our physician colleagues who are readily available for consultation, collaborative management and referral, as needed.
Our Certified Nurse Midwife Service provides the following:
- Preconception counseling
- Prenatal care
- Labor and birth support and management
- Postpartum care
- Care during teenage years
- Gynecologic care including health maintenance exams, routine screenings (including pap tests) and contraception
Pregnancy and Birth with Certified Nurse Midwives
U-M Health CNMs provide care at many area health centers, with all births occurring at the Von Voigtlander Women’s Hospital Birth Center. Your midwife will partner with you during prenatal care to understand your particular goals for the birth process and the best paths to achieve them.
While many seek midwife care because of their expertise in unmedicated birth and water birth, you will have access to the same range of pain management approaches to comfort as any other person in the Birth Center. These include nitrous oxide, IV medications such as morphine, and epidurals. We also regularly care for women desiring VBAC. Optimal care, in the context of your medical history, will be discussed at your first visit.
CNMs at Von Voigtlander Women’s Hospital
CNMs also provide care at Von Voigtlander Women’s Hospital, both in OB Triage and in the Birth Center for many families that see obstetricians for their prenatal care. You will interact with CNMs as part of the health care team during triage visits, labor and/or during your postpartum stay.
For more information on Certified Nurse Midwives generally, please visit the American College of Nurse-Midwives website.