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The Best of Both Worlds
By Louise Bastarache, CNM, NP, MS
Picture a laboring woman in a warm Jacuzzi tub, breathing rhythmically with her contractions, sipping on her favorite drink, music playing in the background and her attentive coach sitting by her side. Maybe some other family members, even children, and friends are present for support. This Birthing Room provides the setting for the normal birth process and supports the couples’ right for a “natural birth.”
The nurse-midwife imparts an atmosphere of confidence in the process. She stays with the laboring mother throughout her active labor, the pushing stage and the delivery. This labor and birth support provides physical, emotional, and professional guidance for a positive birth outcome. At the delivery, she places the baby on the woman’s abdomen, skin to skin, allowing for that very important bonding to begin starting moments after the birth. This is childbirth at Tobey Hospital with the nurse midwife.
Nurse midwives are the specialists of normal childbirth. The approach to birth is family oriented, as if you were at home, using medical intervention only if necessary. The safety net of the hospital provides optimal care for those occasional events that require emergency services. Thus, for those women who want to maximize their opportunity for natural childbirth, the best of both worlds does exist in a hospital. It begins with prenatal care at Wareham Nurse Midwives PC and culminates at Tobey Hospital.
Wareham Nurse Midwives maintains a strong commitment to women and their families. We offer professional, personal, and family oriented care in the office and in the hospital. Teaching begins prenatally. The importance of good nutrition, fluids, exercise, and rest are emphasized at the prenatal visits.
Childbirth and breastfeeding classes are encouraged. Epidural anesthesia is not an option in labor. Epidurals are not necessary for birth; they are for pain management. Our approach is low intervention to maximize the goal for a healthy, vaginal birth. The laboring women are supported through the birth process by the nursing staff, as well as, the midwife.
Alternatives for pain management include the tub, rocking chair, birthing ball, walking, and using relaxation/breathing techniques. The practice is more like a Birth Center practice than a hospital practice in our country today. The approach is family centered, allowing for individual requests and encouraging bonding with the newborn. Midwives have been practicing at Tobey Hospital for 20 years and have maintained a C-section rate between 6-8%.
Louise Bastarache, CNM, NP, MS
Wareham Nurse Midwives…
Empowering Women to Birth NATURALLY
Wareham Nurse Midwives, PC
332 Main Street
Wareham, MA
If you would like to make an appointment or for more information, please call (508)295-3088.
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