PHILOSOPHY OF CARE - A PILOT-STUDY COMPARING CERTIFIED NURSE-MIDWIVESAND PHYSICIANS

Certified nurse-midwives (CNMs) and physicians (MDs) are thought to di ffer in philosophy of pregnancy care and childbirth. However, these di fferences have not been documented quantitatively. This article descri bes and compares the beliefs and care philosophies of CNMs and MDs tow ard aspects of antepartum and intrapartum care of low-risk women. The sample included seven CNMs and 10 obstetricians at a large tertiary-ca re hospital. Using stringent statistical criteria for testing differen ces between the two groups, significantly more teaching was done by th e CNMs than by the MDs. Other differences were all in expected directi ons.