Midwives’ natural approach to care was the most prevalent method to childbirth until the 18th century, when clinical institutions began challenging their approach. They regained their strength in the 1960s, during the consumer childbirth revolution, and continue to fulfill an important role in women’s healthcare. Research shows that outcomes improve for parents and their babies when they have access to midwifery care, including reduced rates of preterm birth, low birth weight, cesarean birth, and neonatal death.
To address growing demand, the division of midwifery services is rapidly ramping up throughout NYU Langone Health’s Brooklyn and Manhattan campuses. Here, Eugenia Montesinos, CNM, discusses her new role as director of midwifery services at NYU Langone’s Tisch Hospital. She also highlights the importance of having the midwifery option for pregnant patients and the impact on maternal outcomes.
Offering Pregnant Patients Another Option
Physician Focus: You are NYU Langone’s first director of midwifery services. What is your new role, and why has this position been created?
Montesinos: I will be overseeing the hospital-based midwifery program at NYU Langone’s Tisch Hospital, leading a team of seven board-certified midwives (both certified nurse midwives, CNMs, and certified midwives, CMs). We will cover labor and delivery in the hospital 24/7, seven days per week.
As midwives, which means “with woman,” we advocate for physiological birth whenever possible and the judicious use of intervention only when medically necessary. We offer holistic support, empowering women to make informed choices while ensuring their physical, emotional, and social needs are met through every step of this transformative journey.
As in-house care providers, we care for low-risk pregnant patients with a completely holistic approach. For high-risk patients seeking care from a midwife, we provide co-managed, collaborative care in partnership with our physician team, including general obstetricians and maternal–fetal medicine physicians.
Andrew F. Rubenstein, MD, director of the Division of General Obstetrics and Gynecology, saw the necessity to provide hospital-based midwifery care. More women are starting to know what midwifery is, and they’re asking for it. My role was created because we wanted to offer the option to low-risk pregnant patients.
“More women are starting to know what midwifery is, and they’re asking for it. We wanted to offer that option to low-risk pregnant patients.”
Eugenia Montesinos, CNM
Patients Seek a Trusted Confidant
Physician Focus: What do patients tell you they want and need from midwifery care?
Montesinos: Midwifery care emphasizes pregnancy as a natural physiologic process, and women are driving the demand of this kind of care.
What truly defines midwifery care is the individualized approach. Midwives are more than providers. We are supporters, confidants, and advocates for the women we serve. Women tell us they want the personalized labor and delivery approach we provide, but they also like knowing an obstetrician team is available in the hospital in case they need medical intervention.
Support Through Pregnancy and Beyond
Physician Focus: How will these services fit in with the broader OB/GYN healthcare structure?
Montesinos: In addition to managing labor and deliveries at Tisch Hospital in collaboration with the OB/GYN team, we provide routine obstetric and gynecologic care to women at the NYU Langone Ambulatory Care Center East 53rd Street. Midwives can provide prenatal care and conduct wellness visits and pelvic exams, diagnose and treat gynecologic conditions, and provide contraception and preventive care and screenings through all phases of life, from adolescence to the postreproductive years.
Expanding Exemplary Maternal Care
Physician Focus: What are your top priorities for your role and the department?
Montesinos: I aspire to set new standards of excellence in care. I envision NYU Langone as a beacon of exemplary maternal care, where each woman receives compassionate, evidence-based, and culturally sensitive care tailored to her unique journey.
“I envision NYU Langone as a beacon of exemplary maternal care, where each woman receives compassionate, evidence-based, and culturally sensitive care tailored to her unique journey.”
As midwives, we strive to empower and nurture women through one of life’s most significant experiences, ensuring they feel supported, informed, and cherished every step of the way. My top priority is to provide the midwifery care model to every woman seeking this form of care and to introduce this model to those seeking alternative options, such as first-time mothers and mothers seeking care after a cesarean birth.
