FAQs

Midwifery is one of the oldest known professions and thus has a rich and diverse history. Internationally, midwives care for most pregnant and birthing individuals. However, midwives attend only about 12% of births in the U.S. and less than 1.5% of our births occur at home. If you are here, you are likely aware of the significant problems that exist in the conventional U.S. medical model of pregnancy care, and of the evidence-based benefits of midwifery care. (But if you’re not, let’s talk!) Currently there are three primary educational routes to become a midwife in the U.S.: Traditional Midwife, Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) and Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM) . Each state has its own guidelines for that kind(s) of midwives are legally recognized. Traditional midwives usually apprentice with other midwives for several years, attending prenatals, births and postpartum care visits for parents and newborns. There training also involves deep studies in all areas pertaining to reproductive, maternal and newborn health and learning to recognize deviations from normal and how to address these concerns and when referral is needed. CPMs (another pathway) have a variety of different training options, they can learn through a rigourous apprenticeship, attend a 2 - 4 year midwifery program. Traditional and CPM midwives focus there education and skills training on midwifery, newborn and well person care. Currently they practice exclusively in the home or birth center setting, specializing in community based care. CNMs are nurses (RN’s) first, so learning the medical model of care and the obtain more education to learn midwifery care. Often they will seeking this additional educations after years of experience in birth as a labor and delivery nurse, with medical model framing of care. Their apprenticeship is usually and primarily in the hospital, but may be out-of-hospital at a birth center. CNMs can work in hospital, birth center, or home birth settings, the vast majority choose the hospital setting to practice in. . Both CNMs and CPMs must undergo rigorous study to sit for a nationally recognized board examination. All midwives are trained to provide prenatal, labor/birth, postpartum, and newborn care, as well as basic gynecology. Brenda and Emily are CPMs, have trained in a traditional apprenticeship model and our licensed.