Happy International Day of the Midwife! At CCCN we strive to promote awareness of many aspects of care surrounding pregnancy, birth and parenting. Midwifery is an avenue of care we are all extremely passionate about. Midwives provide crucial, life-changing and life-saving care to mothers and babies. They support women through pregnancy and birth, providing prenatal and postpartum care, family planning service, as well as breast cancer and cervical cancer screenings. They also perform basic emergency obstetric care.
Traditionally, midwives participated in all elements of women’s health- from menarche, to menopause and even through death. Today, there are midwives that specialize in homebirth, birth center or hospital birth, fertility, well woman care, birth control and cycle awareness, reiki and other energy work, education of other midwives, and the list goes on. Midwives have been around forever! Did you know that in countries like Britain, the Netherlands and France, midwives outnumber OB/GYNs 3 to 1? Their maternal and neonatal outcomes are largely superior to ours. Research (and some may say, common sense) suggest that “integration of midwives into regional health systems is a key determinant of optimal maternal-newborn outcomes…” Compared with obstetricians, midwifery patients had significantly lower intervention rates, an approximately 30-40% lower risk of cesarean delivery.
More often than not, to know a midwife is to love her. Midwives, by nature, exude love, compassion and patience, for women, babies, families, and most of all, for birth. Informed consent and individual centered care is of utmost importance in midwifery care. Our hope at CCCN is for more women to seek the care of a midwife. If you’re reading this it’s likely that you or someone you know would benefit from the care of a midwife.
Today, we want to recognize the midwives who provide care to families on the Central Coast in community and hospital birth. Below are current #CCCNMembers who support CCCN's Mission and Vision and provide midwifery services to parents and families on the Central Coast. Thank you for all you do! We see you! We support you! We know there is much work to be done to increase access to midwifery care locally.
Below are additional resources about midwifery care and midwives on the Central Coast.
CCCN Member Directory- Current list of CCCN Members who provide services on the Central Coast.
Great Podcast and information at Evidence Based Birth. Click here for podcast Episode 175: Evidence on Midwives
Currently three local hospitals employ Certified Nurse Midwives in San Luis Obispo County & North Santa Barbara County: French Hospital, Sierra Vista Hospital, and Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital . Currently, there are no midwifery services at Marian Regional Medical Center, Twin Cites Community Hospital, or Lompoc Valley Medical Center as of May 5th, 2021 (Personal communication, May 5th, 2021).
Free-Standing Birth Centers: Santa Lucia Birth Center (SLO County), Intimate Journey Birth and Wellness in Arroyo Grande, CA Santa Barbara Midwifery and Birth Center (Santa Barbara County)
Certified Nurse Midwifery practices in San Luis Obispo County:Creating Harmony Women's Healthcare,Tenet Health Women’s Center andAdvanced OB/GYN and SLO City Midwives
Come meet the midwives in our community next weekend! Many of the CCCN midwives plus many other professionals will all be together at the 2023 CCCN EXPO May 12 & 13. See you there! https://www.centralcoastchildbirthnetwork.com/cccnexpo2023
Authored in collaboration with Justine Waldram, CPM, LM
*Use of this blog is for informational purposes only. CCCN does not offer medical advice. Please seek a professional healthcare provider for healthcare assessment, diagnosis and treatment.
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