Rural Maternity Services: Community Health Nurse Providers

Abstract

The community health nurse providing generalized services in sparsely populated rural areas is often one of the earliest contacts of a pregnant woman seeking maternity services, especially prenatal care and instruction. A lack of accessible or acceptable maternity care can contribute to poor pregnancy outcome. This article describes a regional project in which community health nurses provide ambulatory maternity care within a supportive and educational network. The program includes nurse-midwife and physician clinical participation and consultation, with referral linkages for special services. Outcomes of the project reflect the nurses' contributions to improved health care access and to client utilization of services in a rural setting, as well as to improved pregnancy outcomes.