Nurse Midwives

Why choose UCLA Health nurse midwives?

Nurse midwives at UCLA Santa Monica Medical Center provide comprehensive pregnancy, birth and postpartum care. We also offer well-woman checkups and routine women’s health services.

When you choose UCLA Health Santa Monica for midwifery services, you can expect:

Holistic, patient-centered care: We spend time getting to know you and your family and emphasize healthy practices during pregnancy. Nurse midwives use watchful waiting and holistic, natural birth options. 

Recognized excellence: Our midwives have received the Spectrum Award for Excellence in Customer Service from City Beat news. This award spotlights companies who provide exceptional service and patient experiences. Only a fraction of companies who earn the highest ratings achieve this honor.

Access to specialized experts: Many women who choose midwifery services desire to have as little technological intervention as possible during labor and delivery. However, if complications do arise, we have specialized anesthesiologists and OB/GYNs in the BirthPlace Santa Monica location, 24/7.

Our services

Certified nurse midwives are advanced practice providers who specialize in women’s health. Our areas of care include many of the services you would find at your OB/GYN’s office. Midwives do not perform surgery or care for women with high-risk or medically complicated pregnancies.

Our major areas of care include:

Prenatal care: We specialize in caring for medically low- to average-risk pregnant women. We provide routine prenatal care, assist with writing your birth plan and help you prepare for childbirth. 

Labor and delivery: Many women who choose midwife services want to have a natural labor experience. We assist you with a variety of holistic pain management techniques, such as changing positions, showering or using aromatherapy. If you want more pain relief, we work closely with anesthesiologists to provide epidurals and other pain management options. Nurse midwives deliver babies or work closely with OB/GYNs in the case of an emergency cesarean birth.  

Postpartum care: After birth, you can visit your nurse midwife in person or via a video visit for postpartum care. We provide breastfeeding consultations, check-ups and screenings for postpartum depression. Our goal is to arm you with all the tools and information you need to transition smoothly into the fourth trimester.

Well-woman care: Nurse midwives also provide routine gynecological care. Women can visit their nurse midwife for annual exams, Pap smears, vaccines or birth control prescriptions.

Conditions we treat

Nurse midwives provide care for women with low-to-average risk of medical complications. We provide care for a variety of conditions, including:

• Pregnancy
• Diet-controlled gestational diabetes 
• Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)
• Urinary tract infection (UTIs)
• Vaginal yeast infection
• Sexually transmitted infections (STIs)

Meet our team

Our nurse midwives have graduate training in nursing and board certification through the American College of Nurse-Midwives. Midwives work closely with OB/GYNs to provide full-spectrum women’s health care. When you visit a nurse midwife, you can expect the same level of quality and safety as you would from a physician.

Contact us

Call 310-794-7274 to request an appointment with a nurse midwife at UCLA Health.