South Shore Hospital Introduces Hospital-Based Midwifery Program

South Shore Hospital introduced a team of hospital-based midwives, called OB midwife hospitalists, to enhance its advanced maternal/newborn program at the end of last month.

According to the hospital,  the primary role of the OB midwife hospitalist is to take primary care of women in labor who request midwifery care and support.

"The midwifery program complements our obstetrics service 24 hours a day, seven days a week," said Sarah Darcy, the hospital's media relations manager. "The midwives will also see patients at affiliated OB/GYN practices. Crown OB/GYN and Atrius/South Shore Medical Center are the first practices to participate in the program."

The current duties and primary responsibilities of our OB midwife hospitalists are to:

• Follow any patient in labor who requests midwifery care and delivery. During this  process, the OB midwife hospitalist on-call will contact the attending physician for further discussion about having them assume care for the labor and delivery.

• Triage all patients regardless of whether their OB provider is on South Shore Hospital’s staff.

• Admit women presenting for an induction, which includes entering admission orders, reviewing prenatal record and consents, and completing a medical history and physical exam.

• Evaluate any patient in labor, including cases in which the midwife is not taking “primary care” of a woman during labor.

• Assist in postpartum discharge to home.

• Evaluate postpartum patients and antepartum (before birth) patients with medical problems if the OB physician on-call is not available immediately to see patients.