Can a Midwife Prescribe Birth Control?
If you’re opting for reproductive care in a non-hospital setting, your primary healthcare provider will most likely be a midwife.
Midwives are certified individuals who can provide care for sexual and reproductive health, pregnancy, and postpartum. According to ACNM, midwifery care encompasses the independent provision of care during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period; sexual and reproductive health; gynecologic health; and family planning services, including preconception care.
Can a Midwife Prescribe Birth Control?
Midwives can generally prescribe common medications such as antibiotics, painkillers, and birth control. This applies to all Certified Midwives and Certified Nurse Midwives. However, prescription laws are governed by the state and may vary.
At Austin Area Birthing Center, our Certified Nurse Midwives are able to prescribe birth control, among other necessary medications.
How can a midwife help me understand birth control?
To understand birth control, we often start by explaining the menstrual cycle. We describe the different stages of your cycle and how it influences your chances of getting pregnant. We then educate clients about different options like hormonal birth control (i.e. hormonal pills or implants) or physical birth control (i.e. copper implant).
The choice of birth control depends on personal health factors, preferences, and the duration for which birth control is needed. We discuss each option and decide what might work best for you.
Types of Birth Control a Midwife May Prescribe
The different birth control options a midwife can prescribe include:
- Hormonal Methods: these include the different Birth control pills (the COCP and mini pill), hormone patches, and injections.
- IUDs and implants: Midwives can help with IUD and implant insertion as well.
- Non-Hormonal Methods: these include copper IUDs, diaphragms, and cervical caps.
- Barrier Methods: Condoms and other physical barriers. Midwives can help assist with education on proper usage for maximum effectiveness.
- Natural Family Planning and Fertility Awareness: For natural family planning, we help our clients understand their cycle and educate them on how they can track it. Avoiding intercourse during certain periods of their cycle can help them successfully avoid pregnancy if done right.
Benefits of Consulting a Midwife for Birth Control
While birth control is a personal choice, midwives can offer more for our clients:
- Personalized Care: midwives are trained to provide patient-centered care that allows clients to have a lot of say in their health-related decisions
- Understanding individual health needs and preferences: midwives have knowledge regarding both, holistic and science-backed care, which helps us cater to a wider range of preferences with ease.
- Convenience and Accessibility: Midwives are an accessible alternative to seeing an OB/GYN for birth control prescriptions. We have shorter wait times and more flexible scheduling.