Meet Victoria Buchanan: Respectful Care at Sentara Midwifery Specialists
"Midwifery care is respectful maternity care," says Victoria Buchanan, C.N.M., a certified nurse-midwife at Sentara Midwifery Specialists.
Caring for women during pregnancy and birth is a cornerstone of her career as a nurse-midwife. She also provides routine care for women from adolescence through menopause.
"I'll honor your choices and walk alongside you in this journey," she says.
Improving Outcomes for Women's Health
Victoria came from a military family and was born at Langley Air Force Base. She has several nurses and midwives in her family and was inspired to follow in their footsteps. After nursing school, she began working as a labor and delivery nurse. "I really loved nursing, and I knew I wanted to work with mothers and babies," she says. "But I realized that working in labor and delivery meant I could only impact their experience in that short moment."
She wanted to find a role where she could form more lasting relationships with patients-and not just care for them when they arrived at the hospital to give birth.
"The hardest part was seeing the disparities in health outcomes experienced by people of color," she adds. Compared with white women, women of color are more likely to experience life-threatening complications during pregnancy. They also have higher rates of interventions like cesarean sections.
As a nurse-midwife, Victoria aims to improve outcomes for her patients by educating them about their health and caring for them before and during their pregnancies. "I want to be a partner in my patients' care," she says.
Pregnancy Care and Beyond
As a certified nurse-midwife, Victoria provides gynecologic and obstetric care for women of all ages. This includes:
- Annual exams
- Birth control
- Breast and vaginal health
- Preconception planning
- Pregnancy
- Labor and delivery
- Postpartum care
- Testing for and management of sexually transmitted infections (STIs)
- Post-menopausal hormone replacement therapy
- General women's health
Nurse-midwives don't perform surgery, but they are trained and licensed to provide all of the routine care a woman needs.
"Our visits tend to be longer than average doctor visits. We take time to educate you and answer your questions," she explains. "I believe you deserve to be fully informed about your options so you can make the best decisions for you and your body."
Personalized Maternity Care
Victoria tailors her care for each patient. "Equity is important to me, and I want to make sure patients get the best care regardless of their backgrounds. But that doesn't mean I treat everyone exactly the same," she says.
One patient may need help planning for postpartum support. Another might need to be connected to resources for affordable food or transportation. "It's never a copy-and-paste situation. I consider cultural differences, health differences and your available resources to make sure you have respectful maternity care, no matter your background."
"Patients often come in with fear, and many have had traumatizing experiences in the past," Victoria says. "The most rewarding part of my job is when patients tell me they feel respected and empowered and that their childbirth was a healing experience."
Background
Victoria studied nursing at Hampton University and later received a master's in nursing with a specialty in nurse-midwifery from Frontier Nursing University in Kentucky.
Outside of work, Victoria is very active in the dance fitness community and is a huge Marvel movie fan. She enjoys spending time with her family and volunteers for a local home-birth practice by helping them with administrative tasks. Victoria sees patients at Sentara Midwifery Specialists in Hampton. Call 757-827-2455757-827-2455 to make an appointment.