Shared Principles of Care

The Pennsylvania Midwives Alliance supports evidence-based clinical practice, grounded in current medical research presented by the midwife to the client, combined with the midwife's experience and clinical expertise. This, alongside the client's cultural beliefs, convictions, and desires, is used to develop personalized care that honors the time-tested midwifery model of care. The goal is to ensure the safest and healthiest possible pregnancy, birth, and postpartum for low-risk women.

A midwife is a clinical health care provider with a low-tech, high-touch approach. Midwives view pregnancy and birth as normal life events and their approach centers on physiologic birth, holistic care, and informed consent.

The Midwives Model of Care includes:

• monitoring the physical, psychological and social well-being of the mother throughout the childbearing cycle

• providing the mother with individualized education, counseling, and prenatal care, continuous hands-on assistance during labor and delivery, and postpartum support

• minimizing technological interventions and

• identifying and referring women who require obstetrical attention.

The application of this model has been proven to reduce to incidence of birth injury, trauma, and cesarean section.
(Midwives Model of Care definition is Copyrighted © by the Midwifery Task Force, all rights reserved)