Avera St. Luke's Healthcare Providers for Women

Birthplace

Avera St. Luke's provides a lifetime of comprehensive women's health services, including specialized care for moms-to-be and their babies. But you have to know what those specialists do before you can find the one best for you. Use this Quick Guide to better understand who's who and what they do for women and children.

Obstetricians and Gynecologists

Obstetricians and Gynecologists (OB/GYNs) specialize in caring for women's reproductive health. They have completed specialized training in obstetric and gynecologic services, procedures and surgery for women in their childbearing years and later in life. OB/GYNs can be a woman's primary health care provider.

Pediatricians

Pediatricians are doctors with at least three years of additional training in the treatment of a broad range of childhood conditions from illness to the most serious of diseases.

Family Practitioners

A Family Practitioner is a physician who may provide primary health care for women, or any member of the family. They provide a wide range of primary care services including preventative care and minor surgical procedures. Services specifically for women include general gynecological care and may also include obstetrical services for expectant women with uncomplicated pregnancies.

Lactation Consultants

Lactation Consultants are specially trained, credentialed nurses who are available to teach and support new mothers who choose breastfeeding, coaching them through feeding positions and techniques. They can answer all of your feeding questions before and after you baby is born. Lactation Consultants also provide education about returning to work, storing breast milk, and more. Avera St. Luke's has an experienced team of an Internationally Board-Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC), Certified Lactation Counselor and Lactation Educator who help new moms succeed in breastfeeding.

Physical Therapy for Women

Avera St. Luke's understands that women have special healthcare needs. That's why we have the region's only female therapists with specific training in women's health issues. The following programs are staffed by female therapists in a women-to-women atmosphere and in an outpatient setting: pain and discomfort with pregnancy, incontinence, osteoporosis, lymphedema, fibromyalgia, musculoskeletal disorders, pre- and post-natal exercise, OB Tens (reduces labor and delivery pain).