Members of the U.S. Army Medical Department Activity staff, in conjunction with Fort Drum OB/GYN Clinic staff members, are celebrating the crucial role midwives play in women's health care during National Midwifery Week, Oct. 4-10.
Midwifery practice encompasses a full range of health care services for women from youth to beyond menopause, according to the American College of Nurse-Midwives, or ACNM.
"These services include primary care, gynecologic and family planning services, precon-
ception care, care during pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period, care of the normal newborn during the first 28 days of life, and treatment of male partners for sexually transmitted infections," as defined by ACNM.
The Fort Drum OB/GYN Clinic currently has two active-duty certified nurse-midwives, or CNMs, and one civilian CNM. They are Lt. Col. Brittany R. Speers, Maj. Deborah Kaiser and Stephanie Jones.
"Our CNMs see routine obstetrics patients, facilitate CenteringPregnancy groups, perform Well Women exams and do birth control counseling," Speers said. "Our CNMs also work on the Labor and Delivery unit at Samaritan Medical Center (in Watertown), assessing outpatients, delivering babies and assisting with cesarean sections when needed."
Each Fort Drum OB/GYN CNM has a four-year undergraduate degree in nursing and a master's degree in midwifery, according to Speers.
Like obstetricians, CNMs deliver babies according to current guidelines; however, CNMs use a more holistic and personalized approach towards labor and delivery -- usually offering a variety of options and seeking to eliminate or minimize unnecessary interventions.
According to the American Pregnancy Organization, the Midwives' Model of Care is based on the belief that pregnancy and birth are a normal life process. That model of care includes monitoring the well-being of the mother throughout the childbearing cycle; providing the mother with education, hands-on assistance during labor and delivery and postpartum support; reducing technological interventions; and identifying women who require elevated attention.
"National Midwifery Week is an excellent time to recognize the contributions midwives make to women's health care within our community," Speers said. "All of our midwives here at the Fort Drum OB/GYN Clinic are dedicated to providing the best care possible not only to expectant mothers, but women of every age."
For women who may have just found out they are pregnant and who are looking for a more hands-on approach to their pregnancy, the Fort Drum OB/GYN Clinic offers CenteringPregnancy. This program incorporates health assessment, education and support for expectant mothers in a group setting -- perfect for military Families far from home or with a deployed spouse. The program is spearheaded by the clinic's CNMs.
For additional information about the Fort Drum OB/GYN CNMs or CenteringPregnancy, call the Fort Drum OB/GYN Clinic at 785-4624 or visit the Fort Drum MEDDAC website, www.drum.amedd.army.mil.
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