Midwifery

A certified nurse-midwife (CNM) is a specialist in normal pregnancy and childbirth, family planning and preventive healthcare for women and pregnant people. Nurse-midwives are advanced practice nurses certified by the American Midwifery Certification board with privileges to prescribe medications and admit pregnant people to the hospital.

Worldwide, developed nations with midwife-led maternity care have the safest and healthiest maternal child outcomes. El Rio nurse midwives lead the maternity care team, which may include nurses, obstetricians, maternal fetal-medicine specialists, nutritionists, lactation consultants, pharmacists and more.

Our Philosophy of Care

Midwifery is an ancient profession, assisting and guiding the childbirth process. Modern certified nurse midwives are highly skilled professionals who treat pregnancy as a natural event in the life of a family. Our model of care is holistic, focusing on wellness, education and prevention. Every family we care for is unique, and we take the time to listen, discuss choices and answer questions in order to provide quality and compassionate care. We take pride in creating positive, empowering experiences for our patients and their families.

Birth Care:

We attend births at Tucson Medical Center either in Labor & Delivery or at The Midwifery Center, supporting patients in experiencing childbirth as they wish, with the pain relief they choose. The Midwifery Center offers an intimate and supportive environment for natural childbirth with comfortable, homelike birthing rooms.

Our midwifery care includes: Well-Woman care, waterbirth, childbirth classes, CenteringPregnancy, BabyLove Group, as well as STD testing and family planning.

To learn more about The Midwifery Center click here. To take a virtual tour of the Midwifery Center, click here.

Questions about Medications and Vaccines while Pregnant?

Visit these helpful resources for answers to frequently asked questions and/or speak with an expert:

Mother to Baby Arizona https://azpoison.com/pregnancy-riskline
Mother to Baby https://mothertobaby.org/

Coffee For the Soul – Virtual Group

Open to both new and expecting parents. Every Friday: Spanish 9:00am-10:30 am, English 11:30am-1:00pm. Email: MomWellness@elrio.org or call (520) 370-3686 to register.

Baby Love Group

Every Tuesday in-person from 12:00-2:00pm and is offered in English at no cost. Open to all parents with babies 0 – 6 months (up to crawling). No registration is required. Come by between 12 – 2PM. El Rio Congress Clinic – 839 W Congress Street – Robert Gomez Building, first floor – Centering Classroom near the Midwifery Suite