The UF Health Midwifery Group provides exceptional, individualized, compassionate and evidence-based midwifery care and education to our community.

About our program

Certified nurse midwives at UF Health provide expert care through all stages of life. The midwives partner with patients and their families to promote optimal health and empower informed, shared decision-making regarding their health-care choices. Our certified nurse-midwives care for women before, during and after pregnancy. In addition to providing routine obstetrical care, they also provide gynecologic care.

Services include but are not limited to:

• Family planning and birth control
• Preconception (before pregnancy) counseling
• Prenatal care and education
• Pap smears and pelvic exams
• Diagnosis and treatment of common gynecological conditions
• Breast exams
• Well-woman/preventive care
• Breastfeeding support
• Trial of labor after a cesarean section (TOLAC)
• Labor and Delivery support

OUR VISION: To deliver exceptional expertise, compassionate care and personalized services to our community at every stage of their health and birthing journeys.

Frequently asked questions

Q: What is a certified nurse-midwife?

A: Certified nurse-midwives have advanced education and specialized training to handle most issues that arise during normal pregnancies and births and are skilled in recognizing when conditions require collaboration with an obstetrician. Midwives do not perform surgery and they do not manage high-risk pregnancies.

Q: What are the benefits of having a midwife?

Midwives support pregnancy and birth as a normal, healthy life-event. They provide support and education in addition to routine care. Midwives support physiologic birth and limit unnecessary interventions while working in partnership with the physician team if interventions are needed.

Q: What services do midwives provide?

A: Our certified nurse-midwives provide pre-conception, pregnancy, birth, and postpartum care. Beyond pregnancy, they offer primary women's healthcare and family planning.

They can prescribe medications, interpret laboratory and diagnostic tests and order medical devices. Certified nurse-midwives can also repair most vaginal tears, insert contraceptive devices, and perform screening for breast and gynecologic cancers.

Q: What type of certification does the midwife have?

A: Certified nurse-midwives have a college degree in nursing and a masters or doctoral degree in nurse-midwifery. Certified-nurse midwives are registered nurses (RNs) who have graduated from an accredited nurse-midwifery education program and passed a national certification exam. They must have a license to practice midwifery as advanced practice nurses in the state where they work. They work in all health care settings including hospitals, birth centers, offices and clinics providing general women’s health care throughout a woman’s lifetime and can prescribe most medicines.

Q: What if I have a high-risk pregnancy or complications in labor?

A: Certified nurse midwives can prescribe medicines, order tests, and provide treatments for common illnesses. They also work with physicians who specialize in complications of pregnancy. If you have a medical problem during pregnancy or complication during labor, your midwife will work with a physician to make sure that you get the best and safest care for you and your baby. If you need a cesarean birth, the surgery will be done by the physicians that work with your midwife. Your midwife will also work with other health care providers: nurses, social workers, nutritionists, doulas, childbirth educators, physical therapists, and other specialists to provide the care you need.