Clinical Practice Guidelines for Midwifery and Women's Health

Overview

Clinical Practice Guidelines for Midwifery & Women's Health, Fourth Edition is a trusted quick reference guide to midwifery and well woman care. Completely updated and revised, this new edition reflects the rapidly changing clinical environment. It addresses documentation and risk management to aid in decision-making and appropriate document care. Convenient and easy-to-use, this new edition encompasses traditional, empiric, and evidenced-based practice to meet the needs of a broad range of new and experienced practitioners and patients.

• Meets the recommendations of the American College of Nurse–Midwives (ACNM) and the Midwives Alliance of North America (MANA) for written policies and/or practice guidelines
• Reflects current and emerging midwifery and women’s health practice
• Provides support and guidance for daily clinical decision making

Table of Contents

• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• A Short History of the Clinical Practice Guidelines for Midwifery & Women's Health
• Chapter 1 Essential Midwifery Practice
• Chapter 2 Care of the Woman During Pregnancy
• Chapter 3 Care of the Pregnant Woman with Prenatal Variations
• Chapter 4 Care of the Woman During Labor and Birth
• Chapter 5 Care of the Infant and Mother After Birth
• Chapter 6 Care of the Well Woman
• Chapter 7 Care of the Woman with Reproductive Health Problems
• Chapter 8 Primary Care in Women’s Health
• Appendix A An Herbal Primer
• Appendix B Food Sources of Selected Nutrients

About the Author(s)

Nell L. Tharpe, CNM, CRNFA, MS-Adjunct Faculty, The Midwifery Institute at Philadelphia University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Adjunct Faculty, Birthwise Midwifery School, Faculty and Program Coordinator, Midwifery at Green Landing

Nell Tharpe completed her AAS in nursing in 1981 and her certificate in Nurse-Midwifery at the State University of New York (Downstate) in 1986. Nell completed her BSN at the University of Southern Maine in 2001 followed by her MS in Midwifery through Philadelphia University in 2003. She began a full-scope private midwifery practice in coastal Maine in 1986 and practiced in her home community through 2003, when her focus turned to midwifery education.

Nell has been active in the creation of nationally recognized on-line and hands-on programs for midwives on surgical assisting for women undergoing cesarean section, suturing and perineal repair, and newborn resuscitation in the out of hospital setting. Nell’s primary focus in on ensuring that midwives of all backgrounds have access to the education and skill development necessary to be confident and competent practitioners and exemplary representatives of our profession. Nell teaches continuing education programs for midwives through Philadelphia University, Birthwise Midwifery School, and free-lance through Midwifery at Green Landing.

Nell is an active advocate for midwifery and women. She is past President of the Maine Association of Certified Nurse-Midwives, and currently serves on the Maine Board of Nursing Advanced Practice Advisory Group. Additionally credentialed as a Certified Registered Nurse First Assistant, Nell continues to provide service to her community through her clinical work as a surgical first assistant.

Cindy Farley, CNM, PhD, FACNM-Faculty, Midwifery Institute at Philadelphia University, Clinical Midwife, Greater Cincinnati Nurse-Midwives

Cindy L. Farley received her Bachelor's of Science in Nursing from The Ohio State University in 1978, her Master's in Nursing in the nurse-midwifery program from Emory University in 1981, and her Doctor of Philosophy from The Ohio State University in 1999. She has been active in clinical practice for over 27 years. She is currently working part-time in a large full scope midwifery practice at the University Hospital of Cincinnati, Ohio. Prior to this, she was director and clinical midwife of Greene Midwifery Care, a full-scope nurse-midwifery practice, providing labor and birth care to women and their families at Greene Memorial Hospital in Xenia, Ohio. She has worked in a variety of clinical settings, including a free standing birth center and hospitals in rural, urban and suburban areas.

Dr. Farley has been involved in midwifery education for over 18 years. She currently teaches the critical inquiry course series and an introduction to teaching methods at The Midwifery Institute of Philadelphia University. Prior to this, she taught the antepartum course series for the Frontier School of Midwifery and Family Nursing for 8 years. She incorporates service-learning class research projects into her courses to combine academic objectives with real world work products.

Her class 10 students contributed to the review and updating of the evidence base in selected clinical practice guidelines in this edition of the book and in doing so, met course objectives, polished their critical thinking and writing skills and have authentic experience in publication and developing evidence-based clinical practice guidelines.

Dr. Farley served as a guest “profesora de parteras” to the traditional midwives of the rural, mountainous area near Lake Yojoa in Honduras, Central America and to Antigua, Guatemala. Classes were developed and offered in affiliation with the NGO humanitarian organization, Program for Rural Reconstruction (PRR). PRR practices integrated development within four areas - education, organization, health, and economic improvement. The goal is to help improve the quality of the people’s lives in such a way that the villagers will acquire the ability to continue the process, allowing them to move from being recipients of aid to leaders in their own development process. It was with this goal in mind that Dr. Farley provided education to the rural traditional midwives and women of the area. Educational workshops were developed in response to a perceived need on the part of the Honduran and Guatemalan midwives themselves for formal training to improve their skills and knowledge.

Robin G. Jordan, PhD, CNM, FACNM-Course Coordinator Antepartum Care, Frontier Nursing University, Petoskey, Michigan

Robin Jordan has been CNM and educator for over 31 years. She received her Bachelor's of Science in Nursing from the University of Delaware in 1997, Master's degree in Maternal Child Health Nursing from Case Western Reserve University in 1981. She received her nurse midwifery education from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in 1982, and a PhD in Health Science Research from Touro University in 2005. Her clinical experience includes homebirth, birth center and hospital practices. She was founder and service director of the first nurse midwifery practice in Northern Michigan in 1983. Dr. Jordan’s has authored articles in the Journal of Midwifery and Women’s Health on clinical and midwifery education topics. She serves as a peer reviewer for the Journal of Midwifery and Women’s health, and is active in member of the American College of Nurse Midwives (ACNM), serving on several standing committees. Dr. Jordan also serves as a consultant to the ACNM on writing public and professional documents. She has taught student nurse-midwives for 17 years and is currently the Course Coordinator of the Antepartum Care courses at Frontier Nursing University. Dr. Jordan’s fundamental belief that every pregnant woman deserves the rich benefits afforded by midwifery care motivates her to continue working towards expanding midwifery services to women in the US.