The Fort Drum Medical Department Activity OB/GYN Clinic is celebrating the crucial role midwives play in women's health care during the National Midwifery Week, Oct. 2-8.
According to the American College of Nurse-Midwives, midwifery practice encompasses a full range of health care services for women of all ages. These services include primary care, gynecologic and family planning, preconception 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.
The Fort Drum MEDDAC OB/GYN Clinic currently has two active-duty personnel -- Lt. Col. Brittany R. Speers and Maj. Kelli Wilson -- and two civilian certified nurse midwives -- Deborah Kaiser and Stephanie Jones.
"Our certified nurse midwives see routine obstetrics patients, facilitate CenteringPregnancy groups, perform Well Women exams and provide birth control counseling," said Speers, certified nurse midwife, Fort Drum MEDDAC OB/GYN. "Our CNMs also work in the Labor and Delivery unit at Samaritan Medical Center -- assessing outpatients, delivering babies and assisting with Caesarean sections when needed."
According to Speers, Fort Drum MEDDAC OB/GYN certified nurse midwives are required to have a bachelor's degree in nursing and a master's degree in midwifery.
Like obstetricians, certified nurse midwives deliver babies according to current guidelines; however, CNMs use a more holistic and personalized approach towards labor and delivery, offering a variety of options and seeking to eliminate or minimize unnecessary interventions.
The Midwives' Model of Care is based on the belief that pregnancy and birth are normal life processes.
That model of care centers on monitoring the well-being of the mother throughout the child-bearing cycle, providing the mother with educational materials, offering hands-on assistance during labor, delivery and postpartum support, reducing technological interventions and identifying women who require elevated attention.
Speers explained that midwives pay special attention to numerous measures following a birth.
"Skin-to-skin infant transition is encouraged, as well as delayed cord clamping and early breastfeeding -- ideally within the first hour of life," she added.
"National Midwifery Week is an excellent time to recognize the contributions midwives make to women's health care within our community," Speers continued. "All of our midwives here at the Fort Drum MEDDAC 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 are looking for a more hands-on approach to their pregnancy, the Fort Drum MEDDAC OB/GYN Clinic also offers CenteringPregnancy, a program spearheaded by the CNMs that 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.
Midwifery Week is a chance for midwives and the women they serve to reflect on their experiences and midwifery's contributions to women's health care, including attending births and providing well-woman care.
For more information, call the Fort Drum MEDDAC OB/GYN Clinic at (315) 785-4624 or visit the Fort Drum MEDDAC website, www.drum.amedd.army.mil.
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