KINGSTON – Midwives and their supporters came out Tuesday to the Children’s Medical Group in Kingston, for a ribbon cutting to mark the grand opening of Capital Region Midwifery’s new Hudson Valley office. They were joined by officials of the Ulster County executive’s office and county health department.
Officials cut the ribbon
Unlike traditional midwives, practitioners at Capital Region Midwifery have hospital privileges and accept most insurance plans. They provide care throughout the reproductive cycle, offering natural child births with minimal intervention.
Midwives stay with the expectant mother throughout labor, during birth, and also postpartum.
“We don’t just show up at the last minute and catch your baby,” explained Liz Pickett, one of the leaders of the new Kingston office.
Pickett noted that Health Alliance hospitals in town currently have a low rate of deliveries, around 320 babies per year, due to limited local obstetrician choices.
County Health Commissioner Dr. Carol Smith called the move a tremendous valuable resource for women in the community.
“Maternal child healthcare is a major priority for the department of health, not only on the local level, but on the state level,” Smith said. “We have a tremendous, valuable resource for the women of Ulster County to help us to achieve positive birth outcomes, both with good pre-natal and post-natal care and certainly during the course of delivery.”
Deputy County Executive Kenneth Crannell said he had “the most wonderful, nurturing experience with my wife during birth, and it was all because of this wonderful midwife who joined us in the delivery.”
