Six things you may be surprised to learn about your midwives

“Some might say that midwives at Hillel Yaffe and in general are the ‘life of the party,’ because we help bring life into the world. That’s our mission - for the woman to leave holding her baby in her arms,” says Tanya Levy, Head Nurse of the Delivery Rooms in the Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Science Division at Hillel Yaffe Medical Center. “But midwifery encompasses so much more than what everyone thinks. It frequently begins even before delivery, in preparing the birth plan with the pregnant woman or cognitive behavioral therapy to help the woman overcome anxiety prior to childbirth. Our work reaches its peak during the delivery, but even during and following childbirth there are additional challenges and tasks, things that in the past were not part of a midwife's job.”

Ultrasound by a midwife in the delivery room at Hillel Yaffe Medical Center

In honor of International Day of the Midwife, which is marked on May 5, the team of midwives in the delivery room at Hillel Yaffe Medical Center present six additional areas for which midwives at HYMC are responsible that may surprise you:

Help alleviating anxiety before childbirth - cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for women with tocophobia - a fear of childbirth. Midwives who are certified in CBT hold a series of one-on-one meetings with women leading up to childbirth in order to provide them with an opportunity to process their previous childbirth experience and gain practical tools and techniques for the upcoming birth through short-term and highly focused therapy.

Use of ultrasound to instruct the woman during delivery - the midwives at Hillel Yaffe Medical Center are trained to perform ultrasound during childbirth so they can more closely follow the progress of delivery. Using the ultrasound, they can better instruct the women during the pushing stage. Additionally, it is another way of monitoring the condition of the baby in the uterus.

Reflexology and shiatsu to alleviate pain during the delivery – the midwives in the delivery room are trained in complementary medicine which helps women by alleviating general pain and pain of contractions prior to childbirth.

Help breastfeeding right in the delivery room - most of the midwives in the delivery room are also certified lactation consultants. They help the new mother breastfeed her baby right after giving birth. Quite a few studies have shown that women who begin breastfeeding shortly after birth continue to breastfeed longer.

Guidance following a stillbirth - a very small percentage of deliveries end with the loss of the baby. When dealing with a stillbirth, beyond sensitivity, compassion and the personalized communication required to deal with this situation, the midwives in Hillel Yaffe's delivery rooms create a memory box for the parents, which includes a photo of the baby, handprints and footprints, and a knit blanket and cap. The memory box helps parents cope with the difficult loss. They are moved by the gesture, and some even share that the pictures helped them deal with the loss. Some even memorialize the baby's footprint on a bracelet or as a tattoo.

Academic research and authoring of articles – research is important to anyone engaged in medicine or nursing. Nurse midwives conduct research and write articles about their work in order to find ways to improve, become more effective and professional. Articles published this year by midwives Tanya Levy and Ira Linsky of Hillel Yaffe Medical Center examined the issue of post-trauma among midwives and the provision of knowledge and support online to pregnant women during the Swords of Iron War.

So next time you meet your midwife in the delivery room, know that she can help you with much more than actually giving birth.

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