Certified nurse midwives offer special deliveries for mothers.

Byline: YOUR HEALTH By Michele Peters-Carr For The Register-Guard

Prospective mothers in the Eugene-Springfield area are especially fortunate. The PeaceHealth Nurse Midwifery Birth Center, located at 12th Avenue and Ferry Street in Eugene, is the only birth center in Oregon certified by the American Association of Birth Centers.

This certification is the public's assurance that the PeaceHealth Nurse Midwifery Birth Center meets very strict standards. It also means that our services qualify for reimbursement by many private insurance plans and the Oregon Health Plan.

Located in a large, historic home, the birth center feels more like a bed-and-breakfast inn than a medical facility. It provides a warm, homey and inviting environment where nearly 200 Lane County women each year choose to give birth.

Five certified nurse midwives, or CNMs, collaborate at the PeaceHealth Nurse Midwifery Birth Center.

We are all registered nurses who have earned master's degrees in nursing with a specialty in nurse midwifery from major universities. We have all passed a rigorous national certification exam and are licensed to practice.

As CNMs, we provide primary health care to adult women, including gynecological exams; prenatal, labor and delivery care; newborn care; birth control and family planning services; menopause management; and wellness counseling. But we're probably best known for our role in helping mothers achieve birth experiences of their choosing.

CNMs attend more than 10 percent of the births in the United States, and that number is growing. We consider pregnancy to be a healthy condition, and we take a holistic approach, emphasizing education and nutrition.

We enjoy talking with expectant moms about the kind of birth experiences they envision. While some women prefer to have a completely natural delivery here at the birth center, others want to deliver with a CNM in a hospital setting where they have access to epidurals and other pain medications.

We emphasize prenatal education and have recently begun to offer a new type of pregnancy class. Known as Centering Pregnancy, these classes meet as groups with a CNM, rather than one on one.

Instead of learning through lectures, women share information and learn from one another's personal experiences, as well as from the certified nurse midwives who facilitate the classes. Traditional one-on-one appointments also are still available.

CNMs understand that an expectant mother likes to develop a relationship with the practitioner who will attend her delivery. That's why the CNMs at our birth center make sure that prospective mothers meet all five of us several times during their pregnancy. That way, when the time comes to deliver, the mother is familiar and comfortable with the certified nurse midwife who is on call at that time.

Deliveries at a birth center differ from hospital deliveries in many ways.

First, we don't administer pain medications. Instead, we use midwifery techniques to relieve pain, including water, showers, baths, massage, pressure and relaxation exercises.

We encourage women to attend natural childbirth classes so they're prepared for the birth experience. However, if natural pain relief techniques don't work to the mother's satisfaction, we can transfer her to the hospital where she can receive pain medication.

We don't cut routine episiotomies, instead using techniques to avoid tearing. We also don't use IVs or continuous electronic fetal monitoring that keep a mother tethered to a machine. The baby's heartbeat is intermittently monitored with a handheld device.

Because we're part of the PeaceHealth system, we enjoy collegial collaboration with the system's obstetricians and gynecologists. If complications arise during the pregnancy, we consult with the physicians in a seamless way.

As part of the PeaceHealth system, we are linked to the acute care level of Sacred Heart Medical Center. That ensures that if the mother or the baby develops a problem, we can quickly get them the level of care that they need.

If a mother is transferred to the hospital for a medical complication, we can collaborate with the physicians during the delivery. About 12 percent of the women in labor at the Peace Health Nurse Midwifery Birth center are transferred to the hospital, and a majority of these transfers aren't emergencies.

Whether a woman chooses to deliver at the birth center or the hospital with a CNM, we support the entire family during the process. The birth center includes bedroom-sized birthing rooms, and even a kitchen for family members.

The PeaceHealth Certified Nurse Midwifery Birthing Center offers free get-acquainted orientation sessions. If you're interested, please call 484-5796 to arrange a visit so you can ask questions and see firsthand what certified nurse midwifery is all about.

Michele Peters-Carr is a certified nurse midwife at the PeaceHealth Nurse Midwifery Birth Center in Eugene.