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Nurse Midwife: Helping Women Live Their Healthiest Lives During Pregnancy and Beyond

July 11, 2021

By Erin Bane
Doctor of Nursing Practice, Certified Nurse Midwife
Women’s Health Services, Backus and Windham Hospitals

I’m the new nurse midwife at Windham Hospital Women’s Health Services Clinic. I also deliver babies at Backus Hospital. If you have a uterus (or you’ve had a uterus!), I’d love to meet you. At Women’s Health Services, we provide prenatal and postpartum care, and we also provide almost any type of gynecologic care you need, no matter your age.

I work as part of an excellent team at Windham Hospital, which includes two nurses (Pam and Robin), a medical assistant (Carmen), a physician (Dr. Eugene Rozenshteyn) and our patient access representative (Mary Sol). Among us, we have a lot of information and expertise, and we love to share it. Pam is also a lactation consultant, and is always excited to help families in their breastfeeding journey. Robin and Dr. Rozenshteyn have been here for years, and excel at helping patients to navigate their healthcare in the most safe and efficient way possible.

We accept all insurances, and we work with people who are uninsured to make sure they have access to the care they need. Three of us speak Spanish fluently, including me. I’ll be working at Windham Hospital four days a week, and one day a week I’ll deliver babies at Backus Hospital in Norwich. Dr. Rozenshteyn is at Windham Hospital five days a week.

I relocated here from Seattle, where I received my doctorate in nursing practice at the University of Washington. Seattle is a beautiful place, but New England is definitely home. I’m living in Norwich with my family – I have a husband and two children,  4 years old and 1.

If you’ve never heard the term “nurse midwife” before, let me provide some background. The scope of midwifery has really expanded from taking care of mostly low-risk pregnancies into an ability to care for people experiencing mild/moderate complications in their pregnancies. I can work with physicians to continue management of pregnancies that are deviating from normal. This is important to me, because I think every person who desires a midwife should have access to one.

Nurse midwives and physicians are trained differently. A nurse midwife is an expert on what is normal and identifying the need for a physician’s care. A low-risk, mostly healthy person does not necessarily require a physician for their basic gynecologic and prenatal care. I work closely with the physician here at Windham as well as with the physicians at Backus Hospital in case their expertise is required.

You might choose to deliver with a nurse midwife because we are trained to trust you and your body and make recommendations based on research. We are comfortable with unmedicated labors/deliveries but most of us (including me) support a person’s choice to receive pain medications in labor. Basically, as a nurse midwife, I’m passionate about helping you have the pregnancy and birthing experience you desire.

Something else that is important in midwife care is including trans men or nonbinary persons. I received specific education during my training so that I’m able to provide sensitive, patient-centered care to persons who identify as a gender other than female, but still require gynecologic care.

Who I am as a provider:

Mostly, I’m passionate about sharing my knowledge with people, so they can make the best decision about their health. I really believe that knowledge is power. We will work as a team. I can give you my best recommendation based on evidence from research, and then you and I decide what happens together.

I like to know what’s going on in your life if you want to share. I like to laugh a little bit in our visits, if we can, and talk about what we can do to make sure your physical, mental and emotional health are all cared for.

We can’t wait to meet you. Call our office to make an appointment, no referral necessary: 860.456.6769.

Windham Women’s Health Services

Dr. Bane joins a robust team at Windham Women’s Health Services, a practice that offers a full array of care for women from family planning to help with the symptoms of menopause. The practice includes a physician specializing in women’s health; an experienced maternity nurse; a nurse/lactation consultant; and a patient access representative (PAC). Mary Sol Nazario, the PAC, and Carmen Gonzalez, the medical assistant, speak fluent Spanish.

Together, the team provides personalized care focused on promoting, maintaining and restoring physical and emotional wellness for women of all ages. The network of providers women can access through Windham Women’s Health Services includes specialists in:

• Primary care
• Family planning and prenatal care
• Breast health
• Heart health
• Gynecology
• Bone density
• Urogynecology

Windham Women’s Health Services is located at Windham Hospital, 112 Mansfield Ave., in Willimantic. Referrals are not required.

To make an appointment, call 860.456.6104.