Fact or Myth: Taking the mystery out of the Midwife

With Midwifery Week upon us, FOX 17 partnered with Corewell Health to dispel some myths and share facts about what these professionals do to help women during childbirth and beyond.

Let’s test your knowledge—

What is a midwife?

If you answered ‘a highly educated health professional who supports women from pregnancy through postpartum’, you’re almost right.

Corewell Health midwives hold certifications, bachelor’s degrees, master’s degrees or higher to support women’s health throughout their lifetime. They help women and babies during pre- and post-natal care, guide women through perimenopause and menopause, provide gynecological and primary care in certain settings, and are certified to place IUDs and other long-term contraceptives.

Here’s another one:

Are Midwives for home births…?

Yes—but only about 2% of births happen outside of hospitals in the US, meaning midwives are working in hospitals for the other 98%.

Midwives handle low-risk pregnancies only

No. Midwives are skilled in supporting the needs of every kind of pregnancy, from the easy-breezy kind that happens in the movies, to the high-risk kind.

They can identify complications and risk factors for women, helping them through all of it.

Alrighty—last one:

Midwives are for pregnant women only

No. It bears repeating – these are educated medical professionals who provide care for women throughout their lives. They will support you and your health, through changes like peri-menopause and menopause, long journeys like getting pregnant and having a healthy pregnancy, contraception and general wellbeing, and answering your burning gynecological questions.

Corewell Health’s Midwifery Program started in Ludington in January of this year and they’re expanding access across the healthcare system. If you’re looking to find out more about how a midwife can help you, visit their website or call 231-843-6767 for an appointment or talk about a referral.