By Laurel Johnson Reviewed by Abbie Jacobs, RN, BSN From the eradication of traditional healing traditions to the infamous Tuskegee study to the stunning contribution of Henrietta Lacks, the medical community has a long, oppressive and exploitative history toward people …
Having the Certified Nurse-Midwife (CNM) credential from the American Midwifery Certification Board (AMCB) distinguishes advanced practice nurses with advanced medical training from other professionals who attend childbirth, such as doulas, birth companions, or birth supporters. The importance of this distinction …
Doctors commonly used nitrous oxide (laughing gas) in labor before the 1950s. The trend then switched to drugs that completely knocked a woman out and then morphed to epidurals. While epidurals do stop the pain of childbirth, they can make …
The midwife movement is slowly gaining momentum around the United States and Brandy Brey believes that this is a step in the right direction. Brey is the founder of Wholesome Birth Services in Salem, Wisconsin and services Milwaukee, Racine, Kenosha …
Cynthia Jaffe has been helping mothers bring their children into the world for 25 years. Jaffe is a midwife and founder of Greenbank Women’s Clinic and Birth Center in Greenbank, Washington. She estimates having served some 1,200 families during those …
A final ruling in the battle between the California Board of Registered Nursing and Ruth Cummings, a midwife in Sacramento has been postposted for a month. Cummings has been accused of gross negligence and unprofessional conduct in the stillbirth of …
For years C-section rates in the United States continued to escalate, rising 60 percent between 1996 and 2009. In 2011 the procedure topped the list as the most common operation in the country. The North Bay area of California is …
Certified professional midwives’ groups, including The North American Registry of Midwives (NARM), have continued to rally for more defined state licensing requirements. Currently, the laws in states regarding where a midwife can practice vary widely, some with no laws at …
In late February, Pawtucket-based Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island announced that it would be forced to close its birthing center and lay off staff nurses due to financial troubles. The pending shutdown has created concern among Rhode Island’s Certified Nurse …
The word midwife typically brings up one of three mental images: 1. An old, wise woman that handles childbirth in a ritualistic manner 2. An under qualified “specialist” for yuppies who are enticed by hip advertising or 3. Something about …