IRMO, S.C. — Women across the state of South Carolina want midwifery services. That's according to local providers in the Midlands.
Now Irmo's Prisma Health Wellness suite is answering that call by opening up a new midwifery practice.
"There are several women across the state who desire this type of care and there's not many midwives in this state that can offer this level of care," Darci Putnam, certified nurse midwife said.
Midwifery care includes annual checkups, pre-natal, post-partum and other OBGYN type services.
The goal is to offer a more personalized birth process.
Local certified nurse midwife Darci Putnam tells News 19 midwives take on a best friend role and tend to build great relationship with patients.
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"My favorite parts about this job are seeing the satisfaction on women's faces when they have their baby and they say, wow that was awesome or I never thought I could do it and then just the relationships that we form with the patients as they're going through this process and them being so thankful for the care we've provided and being there for them and just the bonds that we share," Putnam said.
This new practice also aims to educate woman and explain the various changes a body goes through when preparing to have a baby.
"If they're having any issues with anything, heavy bleeding or irregular menstrual cycles and we also like I said take care of women during their pregnancy. We do their pre-natal care. That's mainly for women with a low risk pregnancy," Putnam said.
By the end of August, there will be four midwives available for appointments at this clinic.
These midwives will move into their new Irmo office next Monday.