I have been practicing midwifery for 15 years. I guess after practicing that long, some would say I have experience. Experience, I think, may just be enough time doing something that you are able to recognize patterns.
The patterns I recognize have to do with people and health, primarily, although not exclusively, women. Some patterns cross genders. I love to write. I love to share information that helps people improve their lives. I love to create venues through which people can ask question, so I am excited to share my experience, through this column, with you.
I thought I’d begin by defining two terms: Certified Nurse Midwife and functional medicine. I am a CNM.
What this means is I am a Registered Nurse with graduate training in Midwifery, so I also have a master’s degree. The laws governing midwifery vary by state. In the state of Maine, I fall into the category of Advanced Practice Registered Nurse, or APRN. I am licensed by the Board of Nursing, just like Nurse Anesthetists, Pediatric Nurse Practitioners, Family Nurse Practitioners, and other nurse practitioner specialists.
I am required to maintain my license by earning continuing education credits. I can write prescriptions for many medications. My services are reimbursable by most insurance companies. I can practice autonomously. I maintain many relationships with physicians because I refer people as needed.
For example, if a woman needed surgery, I would refer her to an Obstetrician/Gynecologist because I am not a surgeon. Also, because I am a Women’s Health Specialist, I always recommend people have a Primary Care Practitioner.
Certified Nurse Midwives are trained to care for women across the lifespan including the childbearing years, as well as to care for newborns through the first year. Each CNMs practice is unique depending on her training and her experience, as is the case with any health care practitioner. My scope of practice broadened greatly about eight years ago when I began practicing Functional Medicine. This brings me to the second term I’d like to define.
Functional medicine treats the underlying causes of disease, not the effect. Functional medicine practitioners ask the question: Why? Or, what happened? For example, people aren’t born with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Something happened at some point that changed an individual’s biochemistry, which caused fatigue to present and persist.
Functional medicine practitioners use a systems-oriented model to investigate the inter-connectedness of an individual and their symptoms. Genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors are considered when promoting long-term health and treating chronic disease.
The patient’s participation is required because treatment often includes lifestyle modifications. For further information, check out the Institute for Functional Medicine website at www.functionalmedicine.org/.
If you have a health-related question, please submit it for consideration for the column. E-mail it to: wholewomanhealthcare.com and use Everyday Health in the subject heading.
(Carrie E. Levine, CNM is founder of Whole Woman Health in Newcastle where she provides comprehensive gynecological services, hormone balancing, digestive health and nutritional counseling, and First Line Therapy. Her practice focus is on integrating the physical, emotional, and spiritual aspects of health care for women. For more information call 563-7000, email, or visit online on Facebook.)
