The Role of a Midwife

What is a Midwife?

Midwives are trained professionals for mothers and infants with special skills in supporting women to maintain a positive pregnancy and healthy birth experience including postpartum support. They are there to offer expert personalized care, counseling and education for each expecting family. A midwife can help identify any unique social, physical, spiritual, cultural or emotional needs a woman may have and provide them with a safe and individualized childbirth plan such as natural, water ormedicated/epidural.

Certified Nurse-Midwife (CNM)

A CNM is an independent health care provider that is educated, trained and licensed in nursing and midwifery. They meet the certification requirements of the American College of Nurse-Midwives and primarily attend births in hospitals and birth centers.

What if outside care is required?

Midwives work collaboratively with physicians, nurses, doulas and other members of a woman’s health care team. Should a woman ever need care that is required outside of the midwife’s scale of practice, a referral is provided to address any additional care. Essentially, a midwife can work hand in hand with other providers to ensure the most positive, safe and comfortable birth experience.

Midwives care for women across the lifespan:

Additional woman-centered services include:

• Comprehensive gynecology for adolescents and adults
• Family planning and contraception
• Peri/postmenopausal care
• Preconception counseling
• Prenatal, birth and postpartum care
• Sexually transmitted infection testing and counseling

Looking for a Midwife at Touro?

If you would like to work with a midwife for your care and delivery, Touro is here to support your choice. We work closely with our physicians to make your birth experience as safe and comforting as possible. Whether becoming a mother for the first time or expanding your growing family, we will collaborate with our trusted OB/GYNs to give moms more birthing choices.

To learn more or make an appointment, call 504-897-7880.

Tisha Seghers, APRN-CNM, is a Certified Nursre Midwife at Touro Infirmary. Tisha worked as a Labor and Delivery nurse for 14 years before attending graduate school to study nurse-midwifery. She graduated from Frontier Nursing University (Hyden, Kentucky) in September, 2014 with a Master of Science degree in nursing. Tisha is a New Orleans native, married to her high-school sweetheart and mother of two young children.