Certified Nurse Midwives and OB-GYNs at Intermountain Health Work Together to Provide Best Care

Certified nurse midwives work together with OB-GYN physicians and other caregivers at Intermountain Health to deliver babies and provide care in hospitals. Together the Intermountain teams help women receive care for women’s health checkups, gynecology concerns, endometriosis, prenatal visits, labor and delivery services, postpartum and menopause-related care.

The Intermountain Health Orem OB-GYN clinic has recently added certified nurse midwives to practice alongside OB-GYNs. There are now 17 Intermountain hospital locations in Utah where midwives can attend births.

“Midwives see patients for women’s health and gynecologic concerns as well as pregnancy-related care and are typically able to spend additional face time with patients, said Leslie DiVall, a certified nurse midwife at Intermountain Orem OB-GYN and Nurse Midwives Clinic. “We’re also able to offer continuous bedside support during labor. And when women have a regular, uncomplicated, vaginal birth, we’re there to catch their babies.”

“It’s a team approach. If moms want to try an unmedicated or low-intervention birth, they may lean toward seeing a midwife,” said Matthew Wells, MD, medical director for women’s services for Intermountain Health in Utah County. “But OB-GYNs are also able to see moms who want an unmedicated or low-intervention birth. And if mom or baby has complications during pregnancy or is carrying twins or needs a Cesarean section, an OB-GYN can provide that too.”

“If complications arise during pregnancy or during labor and delivery, we work hand-in-hand with OB-GYN physicians to provide patient-centered care. It’s the best of both worlds. We’re good at advocating for patients and their childbirth goals, and OB-GYNs are the experts at science, medicine and surgery,” said DiVall.

Both certified nurse midwives and OB-GYNs are focused on providing patient-centered care and can assist moms who prefer a homelike birth environment in the hospital. Intermountain Orem Community Hospital offers labor, delivery, recover and postpartum care in the same room.

“As OB-GYNs we’re always available as backup to our midwives. We consult with midwives about any patients who are outside of a normal, routine care or delivery and help follow those patients. In highly complicated cases we consult with maternal fetal medicine specialists,” said Dr. Wells. “We’re like silent partners. It’s important for moms to know we have a whole team behind them supporting any medical aspects of their care. If you need an operative delivery, we already know about you, it’s seamless care.”

If moms need a Cesarean section, Orem Community Hospital offers family centered C-sections where the goal is to give mom and baby skin-to-skin time right after birth and have her partner present in the operating room.

To find a women’s health provider connected to Intermountain Orem Community Hospital visit the Orem OB-GYN and Nurse Midwives Clinic webpage on intermountainhealth.org.

About Intermountain Health

Headquartered in Utah with locations in six states and additional operations across the western U.S., Intermountain Health is a not-for-profit system of 34 hospitals, approximately 400 clinics, medical groups with some 4,600 employed physicians and advanced care providers, a health plans division called Select Health with more than one million members, and other health services. Helping people live the healthiest lives possible, Intermountain is committed to improving community health and is widely recognized as a leader in transforming healthcare by using evidence-based best practices to consistently deliver high-quality outcomes at sustainable costs. For up-to-date information and announcements, please see the Intermountain Health newsroom at https://intermountainhealthcare.org/news.