CLEVELAND — MetroHealth announced this week it has launched a midwifery program, aimed to better help patients seeking care during pregnancy.

What You Need To Know

  • MetroHealth said a team of Certified Nurse Midwives (CNMs) will start seeing patients for outpatient appointments at Cleveland Heights Medical Center and Brooklyn Health Center

  • Additionally, the team will provide inpatient care and attend births at the new Birth Center on MetroHealth's Main Campus in Cleveland

  • CNMs help build trusting relationships with patients and their families, attend births, monitor the condition of the babies and mothers, and deliver babies in a hospital setting

MetroHealth said a team of Certified Nurse Midwives (CNMs) will start seeing patients for outpatient appointments at Cleveland Heights Medical Center and Brooklyn Health Center. 

“Research has shown that including midwives as collaborators in maternity care improves overall outcomes for mothers and their infants,” President and CEO Dr. Airica Steed said. “In national surveys, Black women are among those who express the most interest in delivering their babies with the help of midwives, yet they are the least represented among midwifery patients. This initiative embodies our unwavering focus on equity and ensuring that every individual we serve is seen and heard.”

Additionally, the team will provide inpatient care and attend births at the new Birth Center on MetroHealth's Main Campus in Cleveland. 

CNMs help build trusting relationships with patients and their families, attend births, monitor the condition of the babies and mothers, and deliver babies in a hospital setting.

Amy Lowell is the director of the new midwifery program, and holds 29 years of experience in the field. 

“We build trust and break through misconceptions and communication barriers, so we can understand the anxieties and concerns that often lead to patients missing appointments and generally avoiding health care experiences,” said Lowell in a release. “Our goal is to provide options for patients and, in the process, forge relationships that will change perceptions and improve the health of women during pregnancy and at every other point in their lives.”

MetroHealth's full team of five midwives is expected to be in place by early this fall, and the system plans to expand as demand grows. 

“Midwives take a holistic, patient-centered approach to care that makes patients active participants in their health care decision making,” said Kimberly Green, vice president of Women and Children's Services at MetroHealth in a release. “There is a misconception that midwives are only involved in delivering babies, but that is just one part of what they do. They provide the full scope of women’s OB-GYN care. They play a key role in women’s health care.”