Denver Health Nurse-Midwives offer compassionate and personalized care for you as you prepare to welcome your baby. The Nurse-Midwives at Denver Health offer prenatal care and delivery services.

Choose a midwife to enjoy the personalized care you deserve!

What is a Nurse Midwife?

A Nurse Midwife is a health care professional that is a specialist in normal pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum care. The word “midwife” describes a person who is “with women” at birth. Nurse Midwives also provide general women’s health to women of any age including annual exams, birth control counseling, disease prevention, and health promotion.

Certified Nurse Midwives are highly educated professionals in the two disciplines of nursing and midwifery. They graduate from an accredited education program and pass a rigorous certification exam from the American College of Nurse-Midwives. 

Nurse midwives provide care based on the philosophy that for most women, pregnancy and childbirth are normal and healthy life events. A midwife strives to support the natural process of normal pregnancy and delivery with as little intervention as possible.

At Denver Health, Nurse Midwives provide labor, delivery and postpartum care at the state of the art Women’s and Children’s Pavilion. The program started in 2005 to provide quality family-centered, personalized and holistic care for women. Today our midwives deliver more than 1,000 babies a year.

What can I expect from a Nurse Midwife?

   Respectful Treatment and Personal Attention

• Gentle, nurturing care that respects you, your family, and your beliefs

• Respect for your informed decisions about medical tests, recommendations and interventions

• Respect for the birth process as it unfolds uniquely each time. Although amazing and miraculous, being pregnant and giving birth are normal life processes for which a woman’s body is well-designed.

• Meaningful discussions to explore and help resolve fears and concerns you or your family may have.

   Confidence in Your Body

• Truly individualized care, privacy and natural childbirth

• Support for doing the work of giving birth. Rather than someone else “delivering” the baby, you are empowered to give birth to your own baby, your way!

   Natural Techniques for Comfort

• Midwives provide support, encouragement, massage, relaxation techniques, laboring in water, changing positions, and other approaches that are effective in coping with the discomfort of labor.
   

   A Care Provider Who Stays With You

• Attentive, sensitive care and emotional support in tune with your needs throughout labor. Research has shown that having a “sympathetic female companion” with you all through labor and delivery reduces the change of complications and the likelihood of an unnecessary cesarean section. 

• Post-partum care and help with breastfeeding. After your baby is born, the midwife will stay with you until breastfeeding is established and both you and your baby are resting comfortably. 

What if my pregnancy or birth becomes complicated?

• Sometimes pregnancy and birth becomes complicated and additional support is needed. Nurse midwives are trained to recognize and manage complications early and to work together with Denver Health physicians to ensure the best care for mothers and babies. Our nurse midwives collaborate with highly skilled obstetricians and gynecologists who are available 24 hours a day.

• In the event that certain conditions arise, your care may have to be transferred to such a specialist.

How can I request a Nurse Midwife at Denver Health?

Once you know that you are pregnant, you can start your prenatal care with a Denver Health Midwife at either the Gipson Eastside Family Health Center, the Sandos Westside Family Health Center, or the Women’s Care Clinic at Denver Health.

And when the big day arrives, you can also request a midwife when you arrive at the Denver Health Women and Children’s Pavilion to give birth.