Demystifying Midwives: Everything You Need to Know about Midwives

When I first mentioned that I switched from a doctor to a midwife for my first child’s birth, most of my children gasped in what sounded to be horror and shakily inquired, “WHY?” After speaking with them at some length on the topic, I realized just how many myths and lies there were about midwifes and their role in the birthing process.

It is important to first acknowledge that there are a few different “types” of midwifes out there, but each are incredibly involved in the birthing process. We will start with perhaps the most common type of midwife:

• Certified Nurse-Midwives: Women (or men) who are trained as a “CNM” are fully trained registered nurses who have also done additional study in midwifery (where I live, it is an additional 4 year program). Many of these nurses are graduate students who also usually deliver in hospitals (like a doctor) and are affiliated with an obstetrician’s office in case any issues do arise.
• Certified Professional Midwife: These women are midwifes who have had to complete incredibly thorough competency testing that is given by the North American Registry of Midwives (NARM). Once completed, they are then given a CPM certificate. They too attend the birth and offer prenatal care. Rather than typically deliver in hospitals, they tend to deliver in birthing centers and homes.
• Direct Entry Midwives: These men and women are independent practitioners who have studied, completed apprenticeships, attended a midwifery school or has finished a college program on midwifery that is independent from a nursing program. They provide full prenatal care, and tend to attend births in either a birthing center or in a home.
• Licensed Midwives: The state has decided to issue this particular person a license to provide midwife services. What type of qualifications or testing they require to obtain a license will vary from state to state.

Though it is true that midwives may need to send you to an obstetrician for ultrasounds and to laboratories for blood work, they do have access to all materials necessary to monitor your pregnancy and ensure a successful birth. Midwives are not only for low-risk pregnancies either; if you happen to be a moderate to high-risk pregnant woman, you can still see a midwife. The only consideration you may want to make is to give birth in a hospital rather than a birthing center or at home due to possible complications.

If you are looking for a personal, more natural approach to birth with fantastic post-natal care for both mama and baby, a midwife is certainly the way to go. I can personally tell you that I would never consider going any other route than the midwife route for my future pregnancies after my first fantastic experience.

Should you have any more questions or concerns, speak to a local midwife group in your area or check out the Midwives Alliance of North America (MANA) website.

photo by Bianca de Blok