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About Nurse Midwives
Links Of Interest
Introduction
Welcome to the Certified Nurse Midwife section of the Indian Health Services' Maternal Child Health Web page. Below you will find links that may be of interest to CNMs and other clinicians administering healthcare to women and children. Upcoming development of this web page will include service areas providing midwifery care to Alaska Native and American Indian women. Further projected development will include a web community for CNMs who serve Alaska Native and Native American Women.
Advanced Nurse Practitioners, Chief Clinical Consultant
Ursula Knoki-Wilson, CNM, is the Advanced Nurse Practitioners Chief Clinical
Consultant. See more info on this site's Chief
Clinical Consultants 
page.
Frequently asked questions
Q. Do you know of any good links to simple patient education?
A. Kat Franklin CNM compiled these Simple
Patient Education Handouts
Q. What does midwife mean?
A. The word midwife means "with woman" and this is what midwives
do: They are with women through all kinds of life experiences, especially the
amazing experience of pregnancy and birth.
Q. What is a nurse midwife?
A. A nurse midwife is a health care provider who has been through nursing
school and completed graduate-school education in midwifery to become a C.N.M.,
or certified nurse midwife.
Q. What does a nurse midwife do?
A. C.N.M.s provide women's health care to women of all ages. Their care
includes:
Well-Woman Care: family planning counseling and prescribing of birth control methods, annual examinations with Pap smears, help with irregular periods and bleeding, counseling and treatment of sexually transmitted infections, diagnosis and treatment of minor gynecological problems, education and treatment for menopause.
Maternity Care: The midwife joins forces with you, the patient and family, to ensure a healthy pregnancy. Midwives are experts in normal pregnancy. They know how to enhance the natural processes of pregnancy and birth and how to prevent problems. As experts in normal pregnancy, midwives are also well trained to recognize when problems do occur. When this happens, the C.N.M.s in I.H.S. work closely with the obstetricians (doctors trained in the problems that can happen in pregnancy) in what is called collaborative care. If a pregnant woman becomes high risk, her care may be completely transferred to the obstetrician. However, in many I.H.S. , birth may still be attended by a midwife. Midwives also care for women and babies after the birth, making sure that all is well, breastfeeding is going well, and that the woman's and baby's needs are met.
Q. Who certifies nurse midwives?
A. The American College of Nurse Midwives. For more information check
the A.C.N.M. Web site.
Links of interest
The American College of Nurse Midwives (A.C.N.M.)
Certified nurse-midwives believe that every individual has a right to safe, satisfying health care with respect for human dignity and cultural variations. A.C.N.M. further supports each person's right to self-determination, to complete information. and to active participation in all aspects of care. ACNM members believe the normal process of pregnancy and birth can be enhanced through education, health care, and supportive intervention.
The National Institutes of Health
Founded in 1887, the National Institutes of Health today is one of the world's foremost medical research centers, and the federal focal point for medical research in the U.S. The N.I.H., comprised of 27 separate institutes and centers, is one of eight health agencies of the Public Health Service, which in turn is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The Centers for Disease Control (C.D.C.)
C.D.C. serves as the national focus for developing and applying disease prevention and control, environmental health, and health promotion and education activities designed to improve the health of the people of the United States.
The World Health Organization - On-line
Health Care Without Harm
The mission of Health Care Without Harm is to transform the health care industry so it is no longer a source of environmental harm by eliminating pollution in health care practices without compromising safety or care by: promoting comprehensive pollution prevention practices; supporting the development and use of environmentally safe materials, technology, and products; and educating and informing health care institutions, providers, workers, consumers, and all affected constituencies about the environmental and public health impacts of the health care industry and solutions to its problems.
The Centering Pregnancy Program
The Centering Pregnancy Program alters routine prenatal care by bringing women out of exam rooms and into groups for their care. Women have their initial intake into their obstetric care in the usual manner with history and physical examination occurring within the office/clinic space. Then they are invited to join with 8-12 other women/couples/teens with similar due dates in meeting together regularly during their pregnancy.
A.C.T. - Adults and Children Together - Against Violence
A.C.T. is a violence-prevention campaign composed of a national multimedia campaign and community-based training programs. The campaign focuses on adults who raise, care for, and teach children ages 0 to 8 years. It is designed to prevent violence by providing young children with positive role models and environments that teach nonviolent problem solving.
International Childbirth Education Association (I.C.E.A.)
I.C.E.A. is an organization of over 7,000 members from 42 countries that unites those who believe in freedom of choice based on knowledge of alternatives in family-centered maternity and newborn care.
International Lactation Consultant Association (I.L.C.A.)
I.L.C.A. promotes the professional development, advancement, and recognition of lactation consultants worldwide for the benefit of breastfeeding women, infants, and children
La Leche League
Founded in 1956 by seven women who had learned about successful breastfeeding while nursing their own babies, La Leche League is the only organization with the sole purpose of helping breastfeeding mothers. Telephone counseling is available 24-hours a day, along with access to an extensive library of breastfeeding literature. When a woman joins La Leche League, she participates in a mother-to-mother helping network, a priceless resource for breastfeeding and parenting help, support, knowledge, and inspiration.
Birthing From Within
Birthing from Within teachers believe that childbirth is a profound rite of passage, not a medical event. We create a safe, nurturing class environment, which will invite parents to discover their personal strength and wisdom. We balance practical, useful information with introspective, multi-sensory experiences. We teach about birth from four perspectives: mother, father, baby, and culture.
Waterbirth
The Waterbirth Web site provides in-depth information on the use of water for labor, childbirth, and early childhood development. It includes fascinating information from the world's leading waterbirth pioneers.
Medela
Medela has championed the cause of breastfeeding for many years. This ongoing commitment will continue to focus on producing the finest quality products, providing supportive programs for nursing mothers, and helping to educate people throughout the world on the benefits of breastfeeding babies.
Contemporary Forums
Continuing education programs - On-line
The National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women's Health (N.P.W.H.)
The N.P.W.H., formerly the National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Reproductive Health, was founded in 1980. N.P.W.H.'s mission is to assure the provision of quality health care to women of all ages by nurse practitioners. N.P.W.H. defines quality health care to be inclusive of an individual's physical, emotional, and spiritual needs.
Association of Women's Health, Obstetric, and Neonatal Nursing (A.W.H.O.N.N.)
A leader among the nation's nursing associations, the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric, and Neonatal Nurses (A.W.H.O.N.N.) serves and represents more than 22,000 health care professionals in the U.S., Canada, and abroad. A.W.H.O.N.N. members are committed to delivering superior health care to women and newborns in hospitals and in home health and ambulatory care settings.
Sigma Theta Tau International
Sigma Theta Tau International is dedicated to improving the health of people worldwide by increasing the scientific base of nursing practice. Members are nursing scholars committed to the pursuit of excellence in clinical practice, education, research, and leadership.
Midwives Association of North America (M.A.N.A.)
M.A.N.A. is an organization of North American midwives and their advocates. M.A.N.A.'s central mission is to promote midwifery as a quality health care option for North American families.
Doulas of North America (D.O.N.A.)
D.O.N.A. is an international association of doulas who are trained to provide the highest quality labor support to birthing women and their families.
Birthcells
Through Birthcells, thousands of parents are now storing their baby's cord blood stem cells as a potential safeguard against many diseases as their child grows, guaranteeing an exact cell match for your child and a one-in-four match for other family members. New stem cell developments are opening-up numerous, exciting possibilities in the future. Simple, painless - your baby isn't even touched.
Feedback: Content coordinator Jennifer Young-Cott, CNM
