Nurse-midwifery in New York City.

Abstract

The nurse-midwifery program in New York is described, and an overview of the past decade is presented. The possible contribution of the nursemidwife to the personnel needs in obstetrics is discussed. Incentives are needed to stimulate use of nurse-midwives.

Historical Reflection on Health Promotion Within Midwifery Care in the United States

“…This provided the organizational structure to support the development of the Maternal Infant Care (MIC) program (1968) under the direction of Dorothea Lang, CNM. The mission of the MIC program was to “stimulate the use of nurse‐midwives in patient care, a goal long encouraged by health planners.” By 1970, 10 nurse‐midwifery service affiliation programs were established, 5 of which were in hospitals that had not previously employed nurse‐midwives.…”

Relationships between professions: From the Viewpoint of the Physician and Nurse-Midwife in a Tertiary Center

“…The sample consisted of three groups: (1) physician faculty in the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Emory University School of Medicine, (2) residents at all four levels of the residency training program in the Emory University Affiliated Hospitals (internship is first level), and (3) nurse‐midwives employed in the Nurse‐Midwifery Service of Grady Memorial Hospital. Faculty were included because it was assumed that their attitudes influence the residents'attitudes and policy decisions related to the Nurse‐Midwifery Service.…”

“…Based on this theoretical framework, descriptive data were obtained in four areas: (1) role expectations of the nurse‐midwife, (2) expected and perceived behavior, (3) opinions regarding practitioners in reciprocal roles, and (4) physicians'opinions regarding utilization of nurse‐midwives. Role strain was not directly elicited but indirectly considered in terms of attitudes and opinions resulting from role strain.…”

“…In the meantime nurse‐midwifery grew relatively slowly until the late 1960s when federal support for Maternal and Infant Care Projects included funds for nurse‐midwifery positions 2 . Then in the early 1970s nurse‐midwives were invited to join obstetricians in private practice 3,4 .…”

The American College of Nurse‐Midwives and Its Antecedents: A Historic Time Line

“…It provided many more employment opportunities for nurse‐midwives than were previously in existence. For the first time, a significant number of nurse‐midwives not associated with an education program could practice clinical midwifery in the United States 11,12,31 …”