New certified nurse midwife joining St. Francis

A new certified nurse midwife, Melissa Hatter, is joining St. Francis OBGYN Associates.

The announcement was made Monday.

She will be working there with two CNMs, Melissa Fisher and Nicole Taylor.

Hatter completed her master’s degree in nursing as well as her nurse midwifery training at East Carolina University. She earned her nursing degree at the University of Alabama.

Prior to becoming a midwife, she worked in maternal care or labor and delivery positions at several hospitals.

A number of their patients choose and are assisted in having unmedicated births, but midwives also see patients who desire IV analgesia. Anesthesia professionals are available at St. Francis 24 hours a day to place epidurals for labor comfort.

While midwives specialize in providing support and education throughout pregnancy, in addition to providing prenatal care and delivering babies, midwives provide other health care services as well, including PAP screening and annual exams, birth control planning, preconception counseling, STD screenings, health counseling and gynecologic services.

“Our goal is for each woman to be able to have the birth experience she wants, with the focus first on quality and safety,” Hatter said in a news release.

This story was originally published June 5, 2017 at 5:01 PM with the headline "New certified nurse midwife joining St. Francis."