Adventist Health Portland Expands to Include Midwifery Program

Adventist Health Portland recently celebrated its first birth supervised by the new certified nurse-midwifery team. The birth took place in one of the hospital’s four new midwifery birth suites.

“Having safe, personalized birthing options is vital to families on the Portland metro area’s east side,” says Julie Hannah, RN, Adventist Health Portland’s Family Birth Place director. “Adding midwifery births helps us continue to enhance our Family Birth Place to make sure families have satisfying experiences when welcoming their babies.”

In addition to its four midwifery suites, Family Birth Place has 20 additional suites that allow patients to labor, deliver, recover and bond with their babies in the same room. Its Level 1 nursery is backed by OHSU’s teleNICU program for neonatal stabilization before transport in emergencies.

With the addition of seven certified nurse-midwives to the many OB/GYNs who deliver at Adventist Health Portland, the program expects a significant rise in the 400–500 deliveries typical each year.