What is collaborative practice?

Collaborative practice uses the education attributes of diverse groups to deliver comprehensive health care to women of all ages. The sum of this collaboration delivers more care more efficiently. Physicians are trained to recognize and manage disease. Midwives by training are focused on health and education.

How can collaborative practice serve me better?

More prenatal teaching. More support during labor. Less cesarean section. Less episiotomy.

What if my labor is abnormal?

Because the midwife is involved in most normal cases, the obstetrician has more time to focus on you in the event problems arise. It is really a very efficient use of your resources. Our hospital birthing suite allows maximum flexibility to create a nonthreatening atmosphere while maintaining the highest standards of safety.

Who will be with me in labor?

Both the midwife and obstetrician. One of the staff midwives will receive your labor calls and if all is well manage your early labor. Both midwife and obstetrician will be at the hospital when you are in active labor. While the midwife spends a lot of time giving you support and monitoring your labor the obstetrician is always at the ready if needed.

Where did you get the idea?

We were searching for ways to decrease unneeded cesarean section and episiotomy, ways to keep safety foremost, and ways to give our patients maximum flexibility in their birthing choices. This lead us to study several European systems, particularly the British. These countries have much lower cesarean section rates yet better prenatal loss records than the United States. Common to each of these was the extensive use of midwifery, and what we call high touch not high tech care.

What do you mean high touch not high tech?

Using the supportive nature and noninterventional training of the midwife, we tend to focus first on the health, education, and motivation of the patient toward the goal of an uncomplicated delivery. We find that a well informed patient can fully participate in her own care. Make no mistake about it, technology well conceived and applied is marvelous. The challenge is to keep the focus on the patient, not on the sonogram or fetal monitor.