Breastfeeding Month Provider Feature: Eugenia Montesinos

In honor of Breastfeeding Month, PAGNY is proud to feature Eugenia Montesinos, CNM, WHNP, FACNM, Senior Midwife at NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan.

We sat down with Eugenia to learn more about her career as a midwife. Here's what she had to say:

PAGNY: Why did you choose a career in midwifery?

Eugenia: The care that I received when giving birth to my child inspired me to become a midwife and provide midwifery care to women who desire it. I believe that everyone deserves midwifery care. The focus of midwifery is not only on mothers, but also their families.

PAGNY: What drives you to care? What is the most important aspect of your job?

Eugenia: The midwifery care model is holistic and comprehensive. It focuses not only on a person's current state but every other part of their life. Midwives provide unique care from puberty to menopause—midwifery has given me the opportunity to provide care before, during, and after pregnancy, as well as contraceptive care, including abortion.

The most important part of midwifery care is is teamwork. Everyone participates in the psychosocial and medical care, and we form a support system. Their active involvement makes it more successful and satisfying for them.

PAGNY: What are you most proud of from your time here at PAGNY and H+H/Metropolitan?

Eugenia: Care at Metropolitan is almost bilingual, as almost all of our midwives speak Spanish, as our biggest patient population is Spanish speaking. I am a native Spanish speaker, so I provide care to our Spanish-speaking patients. We also offer care in other languages.

One of my proudest moments was when I delivered the babies of two women who were born at Metropolitan 20 and 19 years before. PAGNY and Met serve our community's OB/GYN and other needs, and our patients return again and again for the compassionate, quality care that we provide.

PAGNY: What are some breastfeeding resources or programs that Metropolitan provides for new mothers?

Eugenia: Here at Metropolitan, we have a bilingual lactation specialist. Nurses in Labor and Delivery are also supportive of new mothers and initiate breastfeeding in our unit. During prenatal care, we also have a counselor who teaches the benefits of breastfeeding to soon-to-be mothers. We also partner with Little Sisters, an organization that provides prenatal, post-natal, breastfeeding, and social support. We can also direct them to La Leche League and Doula support in cases that need more support.

PAGNY: How does the midwifery team increase breastfeeding initiation among at-risk groups, like women of color and low-income women?

Eugenia: The midwifery team starts breastfeeding immediately at birth. Skin-to-skin contact between mother and child is a must, along with delayed cord clamping with the father’s participation in cutting the cord.

Information about the benefits of breastfeeding and the importance of colostrum is mostly done at birth. Midwives and nurses help new mothers accomplish a good latch, and we provide our mothers with empowerment and encouragement! We also have a lactation consultant—in the future, we hope to have a dedicated lactation counselor on the floor.

PAGNY: How does your team provide culturally tailored breastfeeding support? What considerations have to be made?

Eugenia: Our current lactation specialist is bilingual and runs the program for successful breastfeeding. We are a breastfeeding-friendly designated institution.

PAGNY: What is one goal you’re excited to accomplish with the midwives team next year?

Eugenia: We hope to expand the scope of our midwifery care. Women in our community, across the five boroughs, and even in New Jersey travel to our hospital for this care, and we want to meet their needs.