Ottumwa Regional has added a Midwife program to increase availability of OB-GYN care
November 4, 2024
By
OTTUMWA, Iowa (KYOU) -
Ottumwa Regional Hospital has recently incorporated a mid-wife program in the hospital.
Mid-Wife Abi Storto was meeting with Kristin Davis who is expecting her third child.
In Davis’s first two pregnancies she noticed a lack of OB-GYN’s which are doctors who specialize in women’s reproductive care.
Davis proclaimed, “I don’t think it is just a lack of OBs in the area, it is a lack of OBs in the state."
Davis is a pharmacist and says from her perspective, it’s important to handle health issues as naturally as you can. That’s what these mid-wives say they aim to do.
Storto says having those pharmaceutical aids at the hospital can give mothers more safety when it’s needed most. “So, minimizing those interventions unless they’re necessary is a big part of that shared decision making that were always making with our patients."
The Midwife program has been at Ottumwa Regional since July.
The first Midwife to join the program, Scotlan Peterson, says having the holistic approach, combined with established methods of care, helps patients customize how they want they’re pregnancy to go.
Peterson explained, “The traditional OB-GYN model, interventions were always used. So, we really just make sure that the natural way - if that’s what you desire - we let the body do its thing."
A common dilemma women in labor face is getting an epidural to reduce pain in labor or not. Petersen says, either way is safe, and the midwives will be there for them.
She warmly stated, “Just making sure I’m really hands on I’m at their bed side giving them the care that they need to support them with going all natural. Then the women that do want an epidural that’s perfectly fine and safe for your baby."
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