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All About Women

A patient-centered practice for all stages of a woman's life

Gainesville, FL (352) 331-3332
6440 W Newberry Rd, Ste 111

Lake City, FL (386) 754-1744
4447 NW American Ln, Ste 102

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Blog / Pregnancy & Prenatal Care / Midwifery – An Invaluable Part of Your Pregnancy

Midwifery – An Invaluable Part of Your Pregnancy

October 7, 2011 By Site Admin

Midwifery – An Invaluable Part of Your Pregnancy

Nurse-midwives are indeed an integral part of your pregnancy. These dedicated professionals work with expecting mothers through the day-to-day aspects of pregnancy, serving as an important counsel in ensuring your baby is healthy.

Midwifery is the branch of medicine that provides this care to childbearing women all the way through labor, delivery and postpartum. A midwife will also help with the newborn and assist with breastfeeding.

In addition to this invaluable care during pregnancy, many midwives also deliver primary care, annual GYN exams, family planning and help during menopause.

Midwives mainly focus on low-risk pregnancy, birth and postpartum care and are mainly here to help you make sure you have a healthy pregnancy and natural birth experience. And while they are trained to notice if you’re pregnancy strays from the norm, they are not trained to treat illnesses or perform surgery…that job is left to the obstetrician.

While the two indeed overlap, midwives are much different than obstetricians in that during labor, midwives are not to intervene unless absolutely necessary while OB doctors “actively manage” the birth.

The concept of midwifery dates back thousands of years to ancient Egypt and the Greco-Roman era. Midwifery as we know it today though was introduced in 1925 by Mary Breckenridge, who started the Frontier Nursing Service to help pregnant women in remote areas of eastern Kentucky.

Breckenridge’s model combining nursing and midwifery was considered to be quite successful and gave rise to nurse-midwives. In 1939, she started the Frontier Nursing University, the first nurse-midwife program in the U.S.

There are actually two kinds of midwives in the U.S. – a nurse-midwife and direct-entry midwife. The big difference is that a nurse-midwife is educated and certified like a regular RN. They are educated in both nursing and midwifery with many earning Masters’ degrees.

Direct-midwives on the other hand learn through apprenticeships, self-study or a college program very distinct from nursing. They are trained to provide care to healthy mothers and newborns in a non-hospital setting.

Here at All About Women, we have two exceptional nurse-midwives on staff – Shelley Russell and Julie Rischar. Both graduated with a Master’s degree in Nursing from the University of Florida and have Certified Nurse-Midwife (CNM) and Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner (ARNP) designations.

To learn more about midwifery and total pregnancy care at All About Women in Gainesville, read more or contact us to schedule an appointment today.

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Filed Under: Pregnancy & Prenatal Care Tagged With: nurse-midwives, pregnancy care

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Contact Us With Any Questions

All About Women Obstetrics and Gynecology – Gainesville

Gainesville
6440 W Newberry Rd, Ste 111
Gainesville, FL 32605
(352) 331-3332


All About Women Obstetrics and Gynecology – Lake Cit

Lake City
4447 NW American Ln, Ste 102
Lake City, FL 32055
(386) 754-1744


 

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Gainesville and Lake City OB/GYN Care
OB/GYN doctors at All About Women, Obstetrics & Gynecology offer personalized, technologically advanced obstetrics and gynecology services from Board Certified OB/GYB physicians. Besides expert women's healthcare, permanent birth control and prenatal care, OB/GYN doctors also offers advanced hysterectomy surgery in and around the Gainesville area.


Women's Health Care in Alachua & Columbia Counties
With offices in Gainesville and Lake City, Florida, All About Women, M.D. provides expert OB/GYN services covering the entire range of women's healthcare needs. Our OB/GYN physicians and nurse midwives provide expert care during pregnancy as well as state of the art in-office treatments for gynecologic disorders including Novasure endometrial ablation to treat/stop heavy menstrual bleeding.


Personalized & Expert Prenatal Care
Gainesville obstetricians at All About Women, M.D. help ensure pregnancy goes as smoothly as possible by offering the best prenatal care available. And for those having difficulty getting pregnant, AAW obstetricians and gynecologists offer couples the best infertility help and treatment available.


Advanced Minimally Invasive Surgery: daVinci Surgical System
Clinic founder Dr. Anthony Agrios, Board Certified Obstetrician and Gynecologist also specializes in the daVinci Robotic surgery system, a minimally invasive option commonly used for a hysterectomy and other procedures. Instead of creating several small incisions like traditional surgical methods, OB/GYN surgeons simply open one incision with the daVinci system to complete the procedure. Not only do patients experience less pain and blood loss, they recover and get back to normal much faster.


Pregnancy & Prenatal Care: Creative Pregnancy Announcement : Fruits for Pregnant Women

OB/GYN Tips: Choosing an OB/GYN : Robotic Hysterectomy

Infertility & Reproduction Health: Infertility Treatment : Permanent Birth Control

Women's Health: Preventive Care : Well Women Care : Mammogram Screenings : Abnormal Periods

Gainesville Maternity Care

 

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