From welcoming a child to well woman’s exams and health education, women have a partner and advocate in Wellstar’s certified nurse midwives.
Midwives are registered nurses who have received additional education and training in comprehensive care for women. While they may be associated with childbirth — and do support patients through every aspect of labor and delivery — they also offer personalized care for women through every phase of life.
“Midwives do everything spanning from well women’s health, like annual exams, birth control, IUDs and Nexplanon insertions, to all of the prenatal care, so taking care of women from the time of conception throughout delivery and postpartum,” said Emily Goolsby, a certified nurse midwife at Wellstar.
Midwives collaborate with other members of a patient’s care team, including nurses and OB/GYNs, to provide comprehensive care during birth. Whether the patient has a natural childbirth or a medically-assisted birth, midwives provide personalized, expert care and advocate for the patient.
“We support all aspects of birth. We are there for the patients who are laboring naturally and want to be on the birthing ball or moving around, but sometimes the patient says their goal is to feel as little pain as possible,” Goolsby said. “Then, my goal is to advocate for those interventions as soon as possible. It’s all about making the birth experience what our patients want and supporting our patients in that environment.”
Numerous studies have shown the highest quality comprehensive birth experiences come from a multidisciplinary treatment team of midwives and OB/GYNs supporting and caring for a mom together.
“We’re championing for patients’ best outcomes and their babies, and it tends to decrease interventions overall that are unnecessary,” Goolsby said.
After the patient gives birth, midwives support patients through education on parenting topics such as breastfeeding and newborn care.
Midwives care for patients at these Wellstar locations — Wellstar Cobb, Douglas, Kennestone, North Fulton, West Georgia and Spalding medical centers. If you already have a Wellstar OB/GYN, ask your provider about working with a midwife. If you need a new provider, find a Wellstar OB/GYN location near you.
