TEXARKANA MAGAZINE
Candace Stine is supported by midwives Brittany and Pamela as she labors and prepares to welcome her newborn.
outcomes and experiences for mothers across the region. Her leadership was recently recognized with the first-ever OBHG CNM Leadership Award, an honor that reflects both her expertise and her unwavering dedication. That impact has not gone unnoticed by the physicians she works alongside. Dr. D’Andra Bingham, who has worked closely with midwives throughout her career, recalls the program’s early days with excitement. “I worked closely with CNMs during my training at Parkland Hospital, so I was very excited when CHRISTUS St. Michael Hospital decided to start the midwifery program,” she said. “However, for a lot of the staff, it was a brand-new idea. There could not have been anyone better than Pam Wyatt to be our first midwife. She quickly proved herself to be an extremely competent, knowledgeable, and caring team member. She was able to expand the program to have a midwife covering labor and delivery 24/7. I have worked closely with every one of our midwives, and they have become such a valuable asset to the moms and babies in our community. We are lucky to have Pam and her team.” That collaborative success is echoed by Dr. Ann Marie Ledley, Maternal Medical Director and OBHG Site Director, who has seen firsthand how integrating midwives has strengthened care across the board. “The addition of midwives to our OB Hospitalist Program at St. Michael has enhanced the care we provide to women in Texarkana and the surrounding communities,” she explains. “Their presence brings a more holistic, patient-centered approach to childbirth while supporting safe, high-quality obstetrical care.” Beyond experience and atmosphere, the results are measurable. “This collaborative model has also contributed to improved outcomes, including a reduction in the primary cesarean section rate among first-time mothers. Our cesarean section rate dropped by approximately 10%,” Ledley adds. A CNM is far more than many people realize. As advanced practice registered nurses, CNMs provide comprehensive care for
women at every stage of life, including pregnancy, labor and delivery, postpartum care, and beyond. They perform gynecological exams, provide family planning guidance, address reproductive health needs, and collaborate with physicians when complications arise. Beyond the clinical responsibility lies something a bit harder to define and perhaps more important. Midwives care for the emotional and spiritual well-being of their patients. They listen, reassure, and create space for women to voice their fears and hopes, and to ask questions. They empower mothers to trust their bodies and take an active role in the birth experience. “The woman leads her own body and birthing experience,” Wyatt explains, “while the midwife serves as a supportive guide.” That philosophy is echoed in the words of fellow midwife, Hollie Sharrock, FNP-C, CNM, who describes her work not just as a profession but as a privilege. “It is pure joy to walk alongside a woman who is pregnant,” she said. “To be chosen as a trusted individual, someone they trust with a very intimate part of life, is humbling.” Sharrock is quick to acknowledge that while labor and delivery rooms are often joyful spaces, they are also places where heartbreak can live. “Yes, generally it is happy, and we celebrate new life, but there are other moments we come face-to-face with as well. It is in those moments when I want to speak directly to that mother’s heart and tell her that this loss or poor diagnosis is not her fault.” In those moments, midwives become more than medical providers. They become anchors. “I find a way to start giving her hope on possibly the worst day of her life as a parent.” And then there are the moments that require strength of a different kind, the moments when a mother feels she cannot go on. “Sometimes a woman needs simple reassurance from another woman,” Sharrock says, “someone who will stand next to her and say, ‘I believe in you. I am right here. You were created for this moment. Come on now, let’s have a baby.’ Pure joy is on the other
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LIFE & STYLE
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