Midwives As Primary Care Providers

Abstract

Historically, primary health care services for women have been vastly inadequate. It was not until 1990, when the National Institutes of Health established the Office of Research on Women's Health, that the United States began to acknowledge the importance of providing primary care services to women. Even today, women continue to be a greatly underserved population when it comes to primary health care services. Midwives are ideal providers of health promotion services for women because their entire philosophy of care centers on the promotion of women's health throughout the lifecycle.

Socio-Demographic Predictors of Midwives’ Knowledge and Practice Regarding Preconception Care

“…Midwives work is based on a comprehensive program in the field of maternal and child care in order to improve health care, so their training should be proportionate to the health programs at the international level (17,18).…”

Bringing birth-related paternal depression to the fore

“…Midwives have been considered as ideal primary health care providers due to their philosophy of care centered on the promotion of women's health. 12 There is some evidence that men also experience depression after the birth of a child, and that paternal depression is linked to maternal depression. [13][14][15] When a mother is depressed, there is a reasonable likelihood that the father may also present depressive symptoms.…”

Midwives as Primary Care Providers for Women

“…Articles discussing the history of nurse‐midwifery and midwifery were also reviewed, with attention to sources discussing the educational preparation of midwives or the scope of midwifery practice . Other documents describing the research of nurse‐midwifery practice were included as applicable .…”