The return of midwifery services at Forsyth Medical Center couldn’t have come at a better time for Heather Rothrock and her infant son.
Rothrock, 28, gave birth to Aaron Levi Rothrock on March 27, a 9-pound, 4.5-ounce and 22½-inch cooing attention stealer.
Rothrock and her firstborn were the first to benefit from the restoration of the hospital’s midwifery program in February after nearly nine years. The second child delivered by a midwife arrived April 3.
Midwives assist in allowing women to experience natural childbirth, with limited medical intervention, no epidural painkillers and no caesarian sections – along with saving thousands to tens of thousands of dollars on medical expenses. The midwife stays with the mother throughout the birthing experience.
“It was very personal assistance for a very personal experience,” Rothrock said. “I wanted more than an OB serving as a baby catcher at the end.”
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Rothrock learned of midwifery from her sister-in-law, who gave birth the same way in Colorado.
Rothrock was assisted during her six-hour labor by Nona Smith, a certified nurse midwife with Novant Health Midwifery Associates of Winston-Salem.
Smith guided and encouraged Rothrock through her labor pains, enabling her to achieve her goal of not having Levi experience any medication beyond a short-term medicine dose.
“I didn’t want any medicinal impact on Levi, even though I was getting pretty desperate for some pain relief toward the final hour,” Rothrock said. “The medicine drip allowed me to regroup myself for the final push.”
As she was interviewed last week in Levi’s birth room, Rothrock said that neither she nor Levi has had any issues. “I have to remind myself to slow down, I just had a baby,” she said.
By patient demand
Midwives don’t just provide assistance during labor. They can be contacted early enough to be able to provide individualized education, counseling, prenatal care and postpartum support.
Smith said when the Forsyth hospital offered midwifery in 2002 to 2005, her practice assisted in about 35 to 40 births a month – between 7 percent and 8 percent of the hospital’s average of 500 monthly births.
"It was not a focus for us at the time, however patient demand now supports reinstating the program and we are thrilled to provide full midwife services the community,” said Kirsten Royster, vice president of Novant’s Angelou Women's Health and Wellness Center.
When the service ended at Forsyth, most Triad women seeking a midwife’s assistance went to Women’s Hospital in Greensboro.
“Renewed demand for midwifery convinced Forsyth officials to look for ways to bring the service back, and our practice was selected about a year ago,” Smith said. The practice is a full-service OB/GYN provider.
“There are 28 women participating now in the program, some very early in the process and some ready to go,” Smith said. She said the hospital and her practice would like to assist in close to 1,000 births a year.
Smith said midwifery is covered by private insurance and Medicaid. Although Smith said most women can benefit from midwifery services, those who have pregnancy complications are geared toward traditional birth services.
Even though the historical reputation of midwifery is services provided in an out-of-hospital experience, Smith said 97 percent of midwife-assisted births occur in a hospital.
Accredited process
Certified nurse-midwives have been practicing in North Carolina since 1976 with about 300 certified nursing midwives statewide, according to Midwives of N.C. They work in hospitals, university medical centers, private practices, birth centers, military hospitals, family planning clinics, health departments and home birth practices.
There is an accredited midwifery education program at East Carolina University that offers bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Midwives are required to demonstrate continued competence and recertified on a recurring basis.
The limited number of midwives in North Carolina spurred the reintroduction of two bills in the current legislative session.
Senate Bill 542, co-sponsored by Sen. Joyce Krawiec, R-Forsyth, would allow certified professional midwives to provide certain services – prenatal, during birth, postpartum and newborn care – without being subject to criminal penalty.
Senate Bill 543, titled “Home Birth Freedom Act,” also co-sponsored by Krawiec, clarifies the licensures required to provide midwifery services, as well as responsibilities they can legally perform.
The bill would create the N.C. Council of Certified Professional Midwives, whose seven members – including four midwives – would be appointed by the state health secretary. The council would have oversight over midwives, including the ability to suspend or revoke a license.
The bill also would alleviate a health-care provider of liability for injury to a woman or her child arising during childbirth, or resulting from an act or omission by a licensed midwife.
“Midwives are capable professionals who can fulfill a critical need, especially in the 31 North Carolina counties without an OB/GYN,” Krawiec said.
“Women across the state need to have access to a safe environment for child birth without the need to travel.”
Rothrock joked – understandably – that it’s too soon for her to contemplate having another child.
However, she said that if her and her husband, Matt, make that decision, she would get involved in the midwifery process as soon as necessary.
“I believe my recovery has been better because of the midwife process, and so far – and I’m afraid to jinx myself – it seems to have helped to have a calm child,” Rothrock said.
“I’ll take that for as long as it lasts.”
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