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| 9/22/2008 2:15:00 PM |
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Scott Depot woman blazes new ground as midwife
Carolyn Harmon
SCOTT DEPOT - For centuries, the term midwife has described a woman "with woman" at birth.
Today, it indicates a philosophy of care that focuses on the specific needs of women, offering a variety of options, and minimizes unnecessary intervention, according to Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM) Angelita Nixon. The individuals who hold the title of midwife are highly educated professionals who work collaboratively with physicians.
About 96 percent of CNMs practice in hospital settings. Since 2003, Nixon, of Scott Depot, has practiced in peoples' homes. She is the only nurse midwife in the state that does home births.
"I saw it as the pinnacle of my profession to do home births," she said.
Prior to making the switch to do home births, Nixon was in a more traditional hospital-based practice. But she discovered in working in that clinical setting she wanted more.
"I was getting disillusioned by the hospital practices, which is the industrial model applied to birth," Nixon said. "It was hard to be connected with the more meaningful side of birth."
Now, Nixon said her clients, with uncomplicated births, are less likely to undergo interventions that are unnecessary and unwanted. For example, Nixon's Cesarean birth rate is 3 percent, which is much lower than the general population.
As a CNM, Nixon begins seeing the patient at the beginning of their pregnancy and does the standard prenatal care, lab work, ultrasounds, and just about anything they would get done by any other prenatal care provider. The difference is most of the services are done in the patient's homes.
The route to midwifery recognized in West Virginia is the CNM pathway.
Upon the completion of a two-year master's degree program, which most are, the candidate is eligible for certification and can take the certification exam to become a CNM. The next step is licensing in the state of practice.
Ashley Varian is specializing in midwifery as a Certified Professional Midwife (CPM), on top of her physician's assistant degree. This is a portfolio process with Nixon as her teacher.
One reason she chose midwifery was the closeness during the birthing process that comes without the hospital setting.
"We are interacting," Varian said. "Were not just coming into the room for the first time when the baby is coming."
While some women have embraced natural home birth, others are still afraid that complications cannot be handled at home. According to Nixon, most complications that arise are low-risk. A common fear is that the umbilical chord can get wrapped around the baby's neck.
"It's a minor complication and very common," Nixon said.
But for those complications that are not minor, Nixon transfers the patients to the hospital. One of her main reasons for transferring is a slow labor. Another reason is if the water breaks and labor does not begin in an adequate amount of time, which can lead to infection.
Nixon works with an assistant with every birth, to have another skilled set of hands to take care of the mother and the baby.
She said there is a need for more midwives.
"I feel one of the things that is most rewarding about this work is becoming a big part of the family. By the time the birth happens we've had meals together, I probably slept on their couch - it's a pretty close relationship. Sometimes it's hard to let them go," Nixon said.
To contact Nixon, call 304-757-9006 or log onto www.ANmidwife.com
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Reader Comments
Posted: Monday, September 22, 2008
Article comment by:
NC Midhusband
West Virginia is very fortunate to have Angy. She is working really hard to make sure the women and families of WV have options. There needs to be more midwives. Planned home birth with a trained midwife that is integrated into the healthcare system is an important option that some women will want. West Virginia will hopefully soon pass legislation to license Certified Professional Midwives.
Russ
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