Certified Nurse Midwives

Healthcare for a Lifetime

Women every day are choosing Certified Nurse Midwives (CNMs) for their maternity and gynecological healthcare. The CNMs at Sanford Clinic Women's Health provide care to women from adolescence through menopause.

A Rich History of Care

The term "midwife" means "with woman" and midwives have served women during childbirth throughout the world for thousands of years. The modern Certified Nurse Midwife combines a strong history of care with extensive education and offers patients access to more services than ever before. Certified Nurse Midwives have a Masters of Science degree in nursing as well as clinical training in midwifery. CNMs are nationally certified and licensed in the state of South Dakota by the Board of Medicine and the board of Nursing.

Expecting a Baby? Consider a Certified Nurse Midwife.

The midwifery model of care views pregnancy as a normal, healthy process. Your CNM will provide prenatal visits as well as hands on care throughout labor, birth and immediately after your baby is born. All Nurse Midwife births occur at the Birth Place located at the Sanford USD Medical Center. Certified Nurse Midwives provide both a "high touch, low technology" approach to patient care as well as the components of the latest high tech medical care (i.e. ultrasound and epidurals). Strong lifelong relationships are built by spending more time answering their patients health and medical questions.

What to Expect From Your CNM During Pregnancy and Birth.

Respectful Treatment

• Respect for the birth process, recognizing it is as unique as each woman
• A trusting and nurturing relationship with you and your family

Personal Attention

• Prenatal visits that allow plenty of time for questions and answers – 60 minutes for the initial new obstetric visit and 15 minutes for subsequent visits
• Complete information about recommended tests, procedures or treatments so you can make informed choices about your care
• Encouragement and practical suggestions for good nutrition and making healthy lifesyle choices
• Open, meaningful discussions to explore and help resolve fears and concerns Information about pregnancy, birth, the newborn, breastfeeding

Appropriate Monitoring

• Regular and thorough check-ups for you and your baby to make sure both of you are healthy and doing well
• Help prepare for the unexpected and rare emergency
• Referrals to other health care professionals as needed
• Sanford Clinic Women's Health obstetricians are available for consultation in the clinic or the hospital 24/7

Confidence in Your Body

• Helping discover your body's ability to give birth, in its own way and in its own time
• Support for doing the work of giving birth
• Rather than someone else "delivering" the baby, you are empowered to birth your baby

Post Partum Care

Post-partum care and help with breastfeeding. After your baby is born, the CNM will stay with you to help with breastfeeding. She will arrange visits after the birth for your checkups and to answer any questions.

Certified Nurse Midwives Do More than Deliver Babies

CNMs are qualified to provide a full compliment of healthcare services for women of all ages including well-women gynecological care. Common CNM health care services include:

• Complete physical exams for all ages from adolescents through menopause
• Preventative health education including lifestyle changes, diet, exercise, and immunizations
• Health issues during peri-menopause
• Gynecological screening and treatment including pap smears and breast exams
• Contraception counseling and prescribing of medications
• Menopause issues including counseling and hormone therapy if necessary
• Prescribing of medications and ordering diagnostic tests and labs
• Management of common health problems
• Evaluation and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases

Sanford Clinic Women's Health has highly experienced Physicians and Certified Nurse Midwives who are widely known for providing quality obstetric, gynecologic, and perinatal services. Please call us for your individual healthcare needs. We are here to provide you prompt, courteous, and professional care.

For more information on our Certified Nurse Midwives, please call (605) 328-7700.