Midwifery
A Midwife is recognized throughout the world as the most appropriate maternity care provider for most women
Laurel Sylvan Tiphareth, LM, CNM, is a graduate of the Seattle Midwifery School and the University of California San Francisco Nurse-Midwife Program. She has been a practicing midwife in rural Eastern Washington since 1995.
Please Note: Gentle Birth Care is now accepting new home-birth clients. If interested, please use the Contact Form to get in touch.
Licensed Midwives in Washington State
Licensed Midwives provide comprehensive care to childbearing women from early pregnancy through the postpartum period, attending births in either the woman’s home or a freestanding birth center. Midwives carefully monitor pregnancy and labor and are trained to recognize problems if and when they arise. They refer clients to physicians if complications necessitate transfer to hospital-based care. If transfer to a hospital becomes necessary, your midwife will accompany you there.
Scope of practice
Licensed Midwives provide care during the normal childbearing cycle. Midwives are licensed to perform all of the procedures that may be necessary during the course of normal pregnancy, birth and the postpartum/newborn period, including the administration of selected medications. In an emergency, a midwife is trained and equipped to carry out life-saving measures. Their scope of practice includes:
• Prenatal care
• Education and counseling regarding pregnancy, birth and infant care
• Continuous support during labor
• Delivery of the baby
• Care of the newborn
• Postpartum care of the mother
• Family planning services
Licensure requirements
• Graduate of 3 year school accredited by the state or equivalent
• Participate in a minimum of 100 births
• Provide primary care, under supervision, for a minimum of 50 women in the prenatal, intrapartum and postpartum periods
• Successfully pass national certification examination administered by the North American Registry of Midwives and an additional state-specific test.
Education and training
Direct-entry midwifery students must complete courses in anatomy and physiology, biology, biochemistry, gynecology, embryology, nutrition, midwifery care, pharmacology, alternative non-pharmacological treatments, and basic health care skills. Students also complete over 1500 hours of clinical training under the supervision of Licensed Midwives, Certified Nurse-Midwives and/or Physicians.
