What if I am over five months pregnant and have not yet been for prenatal care?

In some cases, we are able to accept women and their families later in pregnancy. We understand that the process for financial classification can take time, and that a family’s insurance or financial status may undergo unexpected changes during a pregnancy.  We will review your medical history and/or records and decide if you are a good candidate for midwifery care. We accept women with prior prenatal care who desire to transfer their care mid-pregnancy for personal, financial, or situational reasons.

What is the cesarean section rate of the UNT Nurse-Midwives?

Our current cesarean rate is approximately 12%. This figure includes a patient population that is higher risk than is typical for many midwife services, and includes women who desire vaginal birth after cesarean, women with pregnancy complications, the care of women with no prenatal care when we are on call, and for women who come to us requesting planned repeat cesarean delivery.

Can the UNT Nurse-Midwives do my yearly exam?

The UNT Nurse-Midwives offer women a lifetime of quality care. From puberty through menopause, nurse-midwives provide care for women through preconception counseling and exams, pregnancy, childbirth and post partum care, gynecological and contraceptive services, sexually transmitted disease diagnoses and treatment.  Women may see the UNT Nurse-Midwives through peri and post-menopausal care, and prescriptions for pharmaceutical, as well as bioidential hormone, management is available. Nurse-midwives diagnose, prescribe and treat medical needs within their scope of practice and refer more medically complicated cases when indicated.

Can I see the same nurse-midwife throughout my pregnancy?

The UNT Nurse-Midwives share a rotating call schedule and it will not be possible to predict which CNM will be on call when a woman goes into labor. For this reason, visits are scheduled with each of the six midwives during the course of prenatal care so we all have the opportunity to meet and get to know each other.

This works very well and facilitates a comfortable atmosphere for when women are in labor. Inevitably, some personalities “mesh” more readily than others and we all recognize and understand this as normal human interaction. Even so, we all trained and practice very similarly. It will be our goal both as a group and as the individual involved in your labor to create the most relaxing and comfortable setting for all concerned. Our goal is the best experience possible for each client. With this in mind, if your visit or situation is not going as you had hoped, communication is the key to facilitating a more satisfying climate for yourself. We all want to empower you in achieving your goals and to having the birth experience that you desire.

What if I develop complications during my pregnancy?

The vast majority of pregnancies, labor, delivery and post partum courses will proceed without complications. Certified Nurse-Midwives are educated and experienced in managing the minor complications that do occasionally happen. More significant complications will be managed in consultation with one of the obstetrician/gynecologists with whom we share our practice. Certain obstetric situations may require a visit or series of visits to an obstetrical specialist, called a perinatologist. At all times during the course of your pregnancy, labor, delivery and post partum course, these physicians are available for us to consult and to co-manage or manage your care as indicated by each individual situation.

We enjoy an appreciative respect both for and from the experts with whom we work. In addition, as part of the network of the University of North Texas Health Science Center, we have access to an array of medical experts in many fields to accommodate needs as usual as back pain in pregnancy and as unusual as a rare blood disorder.