Midwives offer expectant mothers prenatal care, guidance through holistic, high-quality natural childbirth, hands-on assistance during labor and delivery, counseling and postpartum support. Stowe resident Claire Lintilhac, who’d trained as a nurse midwife in England and spent nearly two decades as a traveling nurse in rural China, co-founded the Midwifery Service at UVM Medical Center in 1968 in partnership with then chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology, John Maeck, MD. Claire’s legacy of support has continued for decades through the Lintilhac Foundation, with Claire’s son, Phil, and his wife, Crea, as trustees.

Today, our certified nurse-midwives (CNMs) attend nearly 25% of deliveries, a rate more than double the national average. Demand for reproductive health care is escalating, but the midwife workforce is not keeping pace with demand. Many midwives are retiring, the number of midwifery education programs remains static, and financial and geographic barriers are deterring interested learners. Maternal health care deserts are taking root, leaving pregnant women in our region without reproductive care, particularly in rural and underserved communities.

A new midwifery education program at UVM Medical Center is under development thanks to formative gifts from the Lintilhac Foundation and from David and Eleanor Ignat, a local couple whose giving has fueled health care workforce development throughout our state. The program will recruit and train CNMs from a variety of backgrounds and will offer a curriculum informed by the unique needs of the rural, low-income and underserved communities we support. Recruitment efforts will focus on people who are interested in remaining in our region and working in rural areas and areas that have been declared maternal care deserts. Qualified applicants from low-income and underserved backgrounds will be given priority access.

"Midwifery care has been part of UVM Medical Center for more than 57 years, thanks to Claire Lintilhac. It’s been my honor to practice here for 32 years. I have loved being part of this community by sharing in the births of local families. When I meet people and they show me photos of their babies now grown into children or young adults, my heart is touched. Training more midwives through a midwifery education program will be a lasting legacy for Vermont families," says Marti Churchill, CNM, MSN, lead midwife, Midwifery Services, UVM Medical Center, and clinical instructor, Dept. of Obstetrics, Midwifery, Gynecology and Reproductive Health, UVM Larner College of Medicine.

Once fully funded and after state approval and accreditation are secured, this program will help increase access and affordability for learners, expand the midwife workforce and bring skilled services to the women and families who need it.

"The state of Vermont has an incredible track record in terms of reducing maternal and infant morbidity and mortality, and midwives play a key role. In the years ahead, our workforce need for CNMs will grow. Our goal is to create a Midwifery Education Program to help train this workforce and provide essential care to women across the state," says Jeffrey Peipert, MD, PhD, professor and John Van Sicklen Maeck, Chair, Obstetrics, Midwifery, Gynecology and Reproductive Health, UVM Medical Center.

To explore opportunities to impact maternal health care with your gift, contact Lauren Mauter.