With the expertise of our certified nurse midwives (CNM), the University of Chicago Medicine Family Birth Center offers a broader range of birthing options in the safety of a hospital setting. Nurse midwives play a unique role in optimizing the childbirth experience for women whose pregnancies are low-risk.
What is a midwife?
Our midwives are advanced practice nurses who specialize in pregnancy, labor and childbirth as well as postpartum, infant and well-woman care. Nurse midwives' expertise is rooted in a philosophy of care that prioritizes evidence-based practices and customizes the birth experience to each woman's unique health needs and preferences. Numerous studies associate midwifery with highly favorable outcomes for mothers and babies.
Personalized, Woman-Centered Care
At the Family Birth Center, there is no standard childbirth experience. Each experience is unique. And, that's a good thing because each woman, baby and family is unique.
Our nurse midwives commit to supporting a gratifying customized childbirth experience for every woman and family — even if it deviates from initial expectations. After all, there is no one perfect way to have a baby. By listening first, midwives learn how to help you optimize your way.
In addition to offering an intricate understanding of how a woman's body gives birth and heals, midwives provide a combination of medical guidance and interpersonal support.
Nurse midwives can help you to:
- Understand and articulate your preferences for how you experience your child's birth
- Set — and if necessary, adjust or reset — realistic personal expectations for childbirth
- Understand traditional and alternative birthing options, offering recommendations to accommodate your personal needs and preferences
- Learn about evidence-based natural and low-intervention pain management and labor support options, if you choose
- Understand and decide when it may be time to consider alternative pain management or birthing options
Midwives specialize in supporting the body's intuitive progression of labor with natural and low-intervention birthing practices. When necessary or preferred, nurse midwives believe in judicious use of intervention — meaning an appropriate level of intervention at an appropriate time. Whether your experience is higher or lower on the spectrum of intervention, nurse midwives offer expertise in evidence-based practices to optimize the outcome for you and your baby.
