T-R file photo UnityPoint - Marshalltown announced the implementation of midwife services which will serve as a replacement for the OB/GYN and Women’s Care clinic which closed in late 2019.

UnityPoint – Marshalltown will implement a solution to the absence of women’s health at the facility.

On Jan. 13 the Women’s Health Outreach Clinic will begin operation inside the Multi-Specialty Clinic on Main Street. To start, the new service will be available from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. every Monday.

Through a partnership with UnityPoint Health facilities in Des Moines and Waterloo, nine midwives will be rotated at the Marshalltown location. Among the midwives will be Autumn Schmoker and Melissa Koch, both ARNP’s who provided women’s care previously in Marshalltown.

Some of the care that will be provided will be:

• Initial obstetric visits

• Routine prenatal care

• Gynecological exams

• Screenings and vaccinations

• Fertility counseling

• Family planning

• Menopausal care.

“We are pleased to bring midwives to the Marshalltown community,” said Sarah Brown, UnityPoint Health Ambulatory Vice President. “Prenatal care is important and staying local is more convenient for our patients and their families.”

Even though UnityPoint in Marshalltown will bring back prenatal care, there will not be a labor and delivery option.

Sharese Van Sloten, the Director of Clinic Operations — Specialty Services, said no babies will be delivered in Marshalltown. However, the midwives will be instrumental in helping pregnant women transition to a facility which will be able to handle baby delivery.

“This is an opportunity for us and our prenatal patients to connect care with neighboring communities,” Van Sloten said. “People are already going to Des Moines to have their babies. Now they will be working with us.”

After UnityPoint made the August decision to shut down the OB/Gyn unit and Women’s Center, Van Sloten said hospital officials still recognized there was a need to provide women’s care.

“This was the best way to deliver that care,” she said. “We all know women’s health care services are needed here and this is a way to provide those services.”

Midwife myths

Contrary to popular belief, the midwives will not provide home birthing options. Nor will doulas be available. A doula is a non-medical professional who is trained to provide support to people going through significant medical events — the most common being pregnancy and delivery.

A common myth about midwives is that they only deliver babies in the home. Van Sloten said she would like to help dispel some myths about midwives, beginning with the home births.

Some other myths that should be dispelled are:

• Midwife care is inferior to hospital care. To become a midwife, a person needs to hold a master’s degree and pass a certification exam.

• Midwives are only for women experiencing pregnancy and birth. They also provide gynecological exams, fertility counseling and menopausal care.

• Midwives only assist in natural births. Midwives are there to help women understand options, provide support and accommodate needs.

• Midwives are old-fashioned. Many midwives utilize modern medical techniques and help provide a personalized approach to women’s health.

The midwives are provided by UnityPoint Midwife Services in Des Moines.

Van Sloten hopes that the partnerships with the Waterloo and Des Moines locations will eventually help expand hours of the Women’s Health Outreach Clinic in Marshalltown.

“This is super exciting,” Van Sloten said. “We took the time to get this built.”

To schedule an appointment at Women’s Health Outreach Clinic, call 641-844-6259. Van Sloten said that number will get the caller in touch with the Multi Specialty Clinic on Main Street.

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Contact Lana Bradstream

at 641-753-6611 or

lbradstream@timesrepublican.com