Midwifery Tools

The practice of midwifery dates back to the beginning of time. After a long period of time during which midwives were persecuted and their trade outlawed, midwifery had all but died out in many parts of the world. Today, midwife-assisted delivery is increasing in popularity among new parents. Midwives may attend births in the hospital, home, or birth center. There are several tools of the trade midwives commonly use during delivery.

Basic Equipment

• Each midwife will bring some basic equipment to the birth. These are common medical items that include sterile gloves, water soluble lubricant, umbilical scissors, clamps, syringes, sterile gauze pads, pitocin, oxygen and resuscitative equipment, infant ocular prophylactics, heavy feminine pads and disposable underwear. These items aid in the physical birth of the new infant and care of the mother. If the midwife is assisting at a hospital birth, these items will be pre-trayed and brought to the birthing room on a cart, ready for the midwife to use.

Monitoring Equipment

• For a home or birth center birth, the midwife will use monitoring equipment to keep an eye on the vital signs of both mother and infant. Some of the types of equipment a midwife may bring to a birth occurring outside the hospital are a stethoscope, blood pressure cuff, Doppler and ultrasound transmission gel or a fetoscope, and a stopwatch. This equipment helps the midwife carefully follow the progress of mother and baby throughout the birthing process. In a hospital birth, their usual monitoring equipment may or may not be used, depending on hospital protocol, midwife standards of practice, and patient preference.

Other Equipment

• Other equipment that may be needed by the midwife are a warming pad or foil baby bunting pack, emesis basins, bedpan, IV fluid and kits, konakion (vitamin K), suturing materials, local anesthetics and tools to aid in comfort measures, such as handheld massage tools.