Marshall University midwifery

Marshall University's nurse midwifery master's program is off to a slow start.

The School of Nursing opened the 44 credit hour certified midwife program to students last year, but has yet to have anyone sign up.

The first five years of any new track are usually slow, said Madonna Combs, professor emeritus and former director of Marshall's graduate nursing program.

The master's program is the only one in the state. It operates through a collaboration with Shenandoah University in Winchester, Va.

Students are supposed to complete about 25 credit hours at Marshall's Huntington campus. They would also travel to Shenandoah University for one week at the beginning of the each semester to take all midwifery classes, in conjunction with online courses.

"The interest is there, but for a person starting out, it is a big commitment," Combs said. "It's expensive, it's hard, and there are many hoops to get through. I think that is why we do not have a lot, or any, students at this point."

Nurse-midwives are trained to provide care to women during pregnancy, labor and delivery, and the postpartum period.

The midwife practice focuses on preventive care and casio watch compass the overall health, diet, exercise practices, and emotional state of the mother, said Angy Nixon, a certified nurse-midwife who practices out of Putnam County. They track the health of the mother and child, and families usually get more face time than with a physician.

Many nurse-midwives work in conjunction with OB/GYNs.

"The practice of midwifery is strong in West Virginia," Combs said, "but the numbers have gotten smaller over the years, particularly because of the OB/GYN shortage."

From 2007 to 2009, about 64 midwives were registered with the state Board of Registered Professional Nurses.

About seven practice in Berkeley County; eight in Kanawha County; nine in Monongalia County; and five in Putnam County, according to an annual report from the board. Twelve to 15 practice in other states.

About 162 OB/GYNs are licensed in West Virginia and list their primary offices in the state, according to data from the state Board of Medicine.

"It's hard to recruit midwives or any health care professional to West Virginia, so having a local program for students to go and train as a nurse-midwife benefits the state because [those students] will most likely return to their community and stay in that community," Nixon said.

State and federal funding is available students interested in the Marshall program, which could help keep healthcare professionals wholesale handbags for sale in West Virginia, Combs said.

More than 90 percent of certified midwives work out of hospitals, community health centers and physician offices, Nixon said. She is unique in that she works independently and focuses more on home birth and care.

"Over the last 75 years, home birth has become less and less common and it's at about half a percent in West Virginia," Nixon said.

Natural births have also fallen out of popularity, and about 35 percent of West Virginian mothers deliver their baby by Caesarian section. That's the fifth highest rate in the nation.

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