Good Shepherd Health Care System (GSHCS) announced the addition of Certified Nurse Midwife Cynthia Rice.
Rice is the second midwife to join the Good Shepherd Women’s Center.
Moving to Eastern Oregon from Southern Georgia was no change for Rice, as she has spent the majority of her career in rural hospital settings and communities. Rice has a master of science in nurse-midwifery from Frontier Nursing University in Hyden, Kent., and seven years of experience in healthcare as a registered nurse in emergency, medical-surgical, and labor & delivery divisions.
“I chose to become a certified nurse midwife three years ago after an inspiring experience being cared for by a midwife during my second pregnancy,” said Rice. “My first birth experience was very traumatic and ended with a c-section (cesarean section). The next was entirely different thanks to my midwife who helped me to go on delivering my next two children VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean section).”
Rice credits the tremendous midwifery care she received as the foundation for her practice today. “I wanted to be able to share what I learned with women everywhere,” she said.
To Rice, midwifery is more than just a career, it’s her passion.
“It is my calling to help empower women through their healthcare and pregnancies by building their confidence, and together, we’ve found that this carries over into their parenting and lifestyle,” she said.
When most people hear the term “midwife” they think of labor and delivery only, but according to Rice, midwives provide a lot more care than that.
“In addition to labor and delivery services for low-risk pregnancies, I am also able to provide basic care all throughout a female’s lifespan, from contraceptive counseling and management, gynecological care for all ages, to prenatal care prior to pregnancy.”
As a part of the Good Shepherd Women’s Center, Rice is looking forward to working with an expert team of obstetrician and gynecology physicians, and continuing to build the midwifery model of care in our community.
“This really is a supportive environment to be able to offer the full model of women’s care from adolescence to menopause,” she said. “If something out of the ordinary arises that’s beyond our midwifery care, the support is there from our partner OB/GYN physicians. It’s a collaborative, team-effort to meet the needs of the women in our community.”
The Good Shepherd Women’s Center is located at 620 N.W. 11th St., in Hermiston. To schedule an appointment with Rice, call 541-667-3801 or request an appointment online.
