Dr. Nancy Niemczyk has been a leader in midwifery practice and education in Pennsylvania for over 20 years. She helped to create a freestanding birth center at Allegheny General Hospital, and was the founding director of the Midwife Center for Birth and Women’s Health, now one of the country’s 10 largest accredited freestanding birth centers. She has provided care in settings ranging from the office to the Allegheny County Jail, and has attended births in hospitals, birth centers, and at home. She was recognized by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette as one of its “Dozen who Make a Difference” for her role in promoting safe birth options for families in the region.
Dr. Niemczyk received her BA in religion, biology, and women’s studies from Swarthmore College and both her BSN and MSN (with a concentration in midwifery) from the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. She received her PhD in epidemiology from the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, where she completed the training programs in cardiovascular and reproductive, perinatal, and pediatric epidemiology.
Dr. Niemczyk has taught nursing, midwifery, nurse-practitioner, and medical students, as well as serving as faculty in the Forbes Family Practice Residency Program. Most recently, she was an assistant professor at the Midwifery Institute of Philadelphia University, focusing on teaching evidence-based care.
Dr. Niemczyk’s research has focused on the interconnections between pregnancy, pregnancy complications, and cardiovascular disease. She has presented nationally for the American Association of Birth Centers, American College of Nurse-Midwives, and the American Heart Association Epidemiology Council.
Dr. Niemczyk is actively involved with professional organizations including the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM) on a state and national level. She is a member of the ACNM Division of Research, and has served as an accreditation site visitor for the Commission for the Accreditation of Birth Centers. She is a contributing editor to the Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health, for which she writes the “Updates from the Literature” column. She serves on the Medical Advisory Committee for the Midwife Center for Birth and Women’s Health.