Choices in childbirth

Prof. Mimi Niles serves on the team of a new nationwide project called Choices in Childbirth, a web resource spearheaded by Every Mother Counts dedicated to providing accessible and accurate information to support new parents as they embark on their child birthing journey. From April to December 2021, the Choices in Childbirth team collaborated on producing materials to address the diverse range of needs faced by pregnant people as they approach childbirth, such as self-advocacy, cesarean births, prenatal care, mental health, and many more. Prof. Niles contributes her expertise to five different chapters within the project resources.

The daughter of a nurse-midwife who practiced in India, Prof. Niles carries out her mother’s legacy as an actively practicing midwife on top of her professorial role at Meyers. In both her research and midwifery practice, Prof. Niles places particular emphasis on providing care for historically disenfranchised communities and developing models of midwifery care that promote health equity for these populations. She currently provides midwifery care at a collaborative practice in Brooklyn and serves on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Certified Professional Midwives (NACPM) and the New York Birth Center Association (NYBCA). Her midwifery and scholarly work have earned numerous accolades, including the Jonas Nurse Leaders Scholar Award and the Johnson & Johnson Minority Faculty Award. She is currently the only appointed midwife to sit on the New York City Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Review Committee.

Prof. Niles is featured in several chapters within Choices in Childbirth including “Unpacking the Postpartum Experience: What Do New Parents Need?,” “Using Your Voice,” “Birth Explained: The Beauty of Biology,” “Navigating Hope and Fear,” and “What Does Good Maternity Care Mean to You?” Each chapter features a discussion between nurses, midwives, and educators addressing the particular topic and providing key guidance for new parents about every facet of the issue, from emotional response to the logistics of receiving care. All resources are available for download in both English and Spanish and come with a glossary of key terms to know along with extra materials such as reflective journal prompts and planning pages.