Midwifery Care

Midwifery Care

The Midwifery Model of Care places patients at the center of the birth experience and is markedly different from the obstetric model of care in that birth is viewed as a normal physiological event (until or unless it necessitates medical attention) rather than an innately medical event.  The Midwives Alliance of North America (MANA) describes it this way:

“Midwifery care is uniquely nurturing, hands-on care before, during, and after birth. Midwives are health care professionals specializing in pregnancy and childbirth who develop a trusting relationship with their clients, which results in confident, supported labor and birth. While there are different types of midwives practicing in various settings, all midwives are trained to provide comprehensive prenatal care and education, guide labor and birth, address complications, and care for newborns. The Midwives Model of Care™ is based on the fact that pregnancy and birth are normal life events. The Midwives Model of Care includes:

• monitoring the physical, psychological and social well-being of the mother throughout the childbearing cycle
• providing the mother with individualized education, counseling, and prenatal care, continuous hands-on assistance during labor and delivery, and postpartum support
• minimizing technological interventions and
• identifying and referring women who require obstetrical attention.

The application of this model has been proven to reduce to incidence of birth injury, trauma, and cesarean section.”

There are many qualified and caring nurse midwives (CNMs) working in Northeast Ohio’s hospitals.  You can find a list of them on the local birth resources page.  Please contact me if you would like suggestions or doula/monitrice support for your hospital birth.

Another option is to interview one of our region’s homebirth midwives (a list can also be found on the resources page). A homebirth midwife may either be trained by apprenticeship or by apprenticeship in conjunction with the pursuit of the Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) credential, as governed by the North American Registry of Midwives (NARM) .  A Certified Professional Midwife has attended at least 50 births, demonstrated a set of standard skills and knowledge, and has also passed a comprehensive examination.  They are specifically trained in attending out-of-hospital births.

After becoming increasingly passionate about providing choices for women to choose where and with whom they give birth, Christine began pursuing her CPM in 2019.  She currently apprentices with Katie Jones-Stadler, CNM at Mt. Eaton Midwifery, an out-of-hospital birth center serving Amish and Mennonite women.  At the birth center, she leads prenatal and postpartum appointments under Katie’s supervision, and witnesses births if they occur in the Mt. Eaton Care Center on a clinical day.

Christine also serves as a midwifery assistant/apprentice to Colleen Kennedy-Schroeder when her clients are on the east side.  Colleen’s midwifery practice can be found at The Village Midwifery.  Christine has also served as an assistant for Staci Dasher, CPM.

If you are a parent looking to talk more about midwifery options, please feel free to contact me.

If you are a homebirth midwife that would like an additional apprentice/assistant, I would also love to chat!