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32 Fredericksburg Parent and Family • February 2020 New moms-to-be are turning to midwives in greater numbers in recent years. And midwives are making headlines. The United Nations has declared 2020 the "Year of the Nurse and Midwife." The Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton, recently spent time watching midwives at work and praised them in a public letter. "You are there for women at their most vulnerable; you witness strength, pain and unimaginable joy on a daily basis," she wrote. If you are expecting a baby in 2020, knowing your range of options for prenatal care and labor and delivery is important. At Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center (SRMC), midwives are a wel- come part of the care team in our labor and delivery department. HOW DO MIDWIVES HELP MOMS MANAGE PAIN DURING LABOR? Midwives are known for their "high-touch, low-tech" approach, meaning they will work with laboring mothers to find ways to man- age pain such as moving around or trying different labor positions, or sitting on a birthing ball. All of these options are open to laboring moms at SRMC in our private labor and delivery rooms. "We will encourage them move around the room or get in the tub or shower, have wireless monitoring and offer family members ways to help and be involved," Jordan said. "We pretty much let a woman give birth in whatever position she is comfortable with." At Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center, mothers also have the opportunity to eat during labor. "Labor is exhausting," Lauren Jordan explains. "If a mother doesn't have any nutrition, she is not going to push well. They need that energy, and it's fantastic that SRMC recognizes and supports women during this process by hav- ing snacks available." Midwives can also perform fetal monitoring, and at SRMC, moms can take advantage of wireless fetal monitoring to continue to have freedom of move- ment. Midwives can also prescribe medication and perform other tasks in the healthcare setting. Final Trim - 8.75Wx11.00D Tab-A-Zine - 12-00B C M Y K 8.75Wx11.00D Tab-A-Zine - 12-00B C M Y K www.FredericksburgParent.NET 27 Could a Midwife be the for Your RIGHT CAREGIVER BIRTHING EXPERIENCE? The term "midwife" literally means "with woman," and that's a great way to describe the approach midwives take to caring for women during labor and delivery. A Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM) is a caregiver who has a nursing degree and has completed graduate work in midwifery. Midwives care for women during pregnancy, labor and delivery, in addition to providing a full range of clinical women's health care. CNMs are licensed to see patients in a doctor's office as well as in the hospital where they can deliver your baby. Certified Nurse Midwife Lauren Jordan said the midwifery care model puts women in charge of their birth experience. "We see labor as a normal, natural process," Jordan said. That can make a big difference in a mother's comfort level once the birthing process starts. WHAT IS A MIDWIFE? INTERVIEWED BY EMILY FREEHLING Moms who give birth at Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center have the power to choose the birthing experience they want.