This piece was featured in Newswise and it highlight some great birthing statistics while celebrating the 10th Anniversary of the Birthing Center at the University of San Diego.
I was so blessed to be able to deliver little diva and dude with the assistance of an CNM at UCLA (click here to read more). After hearing the birth stories of so many peers I know the personal attention you receive from a CNM is unparalleled.
A certified nurse-midwife (CNM) is an advanced nurse practitioner who provides primary care to women throughout their lifetime. Specializing in pregnancy, birth and postpartum care, all CNMs are registered nurses who have graduated from a master’s-level, specialized nurse-midwifery program. Accredited by the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM), midwives must pass a national certification exam and meet strict requirements set by state health agencies. According to the ACNM, the number of CNM/CM attended births has increased by 33 percent, reaching 317,168 in 2006.
UCSD Medical Center has the only dedicated in-hospital birth center in California—one of a few in the United States. Now celebrating its 10th anniversary, UCSD midwives have attended close to 9,000 births. One third of these births have occurred in the Birth Center. The midwife team reports a primary Cesarean section rate of 13 percent compared to the national average of 31 percent. In addition to a low C-section rate, the midwives have a 74 percent success rate for vaginal births after C-section. Their episiotomy rate is less than one percent.
“In the majority of circumstances, women can birth independently without intervention,” said Frederick’s midwife Karen Ruby Brown, CNM, MSN.
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