Jennifer, serving as an assistant midwife in Senegal, Africa in March of 2004. Midwives make a difference!!!

First of all, what is a midwife?

If we look in a dictionary, you would find a definition like this:

Word History: The word midwife is the sort of word whose etymology seems perfectly clear until one tries to figure it out. Wife would seem to refer to the woman giving birth, who is usually a wife, but mid ? A knowledge of older senses of words helps us with this puzzle. Wife in its earlier history meant “woman,” as it still did when the compound midwife was formed in Middle English (first recorded around 1300). Mid is probably a preposition, meaning “together with.” Thus a midwife was literally a “with woman” or “a woman who assists other women in childbirth.” Even though obstetrics has been rather resistant to midwifery until fairly recently, the etymology of obstetric is rather similar, going back to the Latin word obstetrix, “a midwife,” from the verb obstare, “to stand in front of,” and the feminine suffix -trx would thus literally stand in front of the baby.

But a midwife is so much more than just a definition. A midwife is more than just a woman who assists women in their births. In our North American society, a midwife attends low risk women in hospitals, birth centers and at homebirths. High risk women are best served by Obstetricians. But to get a better glimpse of what a midwife is, let us look at the Midwives Model of Care:

The Midwives Model of Care is based on the fact that pregnancy and birth are normal life events. The Midwives Model of Care includes:

monitoring the physical, psychological and social well-being of the mother throughout the childbearing cycle
providing the mother with individualized education, counseling, and prenatal care, continuous hands-on assistance during labor and delivery, and postpartum support
minimizing technological interventions and;
identifying and referring women who require obstetrical attention

The application of this model has been proven to reduce to incidence of birth injury, trauma, and cesarean section.

do I want a midwife to attend me?

Trudi Are you seeking a low intervention birth with lots of support and hands on care? Are looking for more one on one interaction with your caregiver? Have you been told that you are low risk in your pregnancy? Do you wish to have a peaceful birth with minimal or no pain medications? Would you like to have the freedom to move around during labor, not be hooked up to monitors, and be able to eat and drink during labor? Do you wish for your baby's cord to be clamped only after it has stopped pulsing, giving your baby the benefit of having the extra oxygenated blood in his/her system? Do you want to catch your own baby or have your partner catch the baby? Do you want to be able to wear your own clothes and not wear a hospital gown? Do you want to have a waterbirth or labor in the water? Do you want to avoid vaccinations, eye ointment, baby warmers and other infant interventions? Do you want your baby to be brought to your breast immediately after birth to avoid hemmorhage and help birth the placenta more quickly? Do you want a homebirth? Do you want to stay out of the hospital? Do you want a hospital birth with no interventions?

If you answered "yes!" to any of the above questions, you may want a midwife.

Different midwife types

When searching for a midwife, you are often met with a rather confusing alphabet soup after midwives names. You will see letters like, CNM, CPM, Lay, LM, DEM, or TM. Here is a breakdown:

Certified Nurse-Midwives (CNM): Registered Nurses who have completed an additional 1-3 years of training. Some CNM entrance requirements are a bachelors degree of science in a related field. CNM's are required to work with a physician, they can obtain hospital privileges, and can write prescriptions. In most places, Certified Nurse Midwives attend both birth center and hospital births, in some areas they also do home births. They are the most medically trained midwives.

Certified Midwives (CM) or Certified Professional Midwives (CPM): Direct entry midwives (trained directly into midwifery without becoming a nurse first) who are certified by their state organization or through the North American Registry of Midwives. Their training is acquired through various methods such as apprenticeship, certifying programs and/or schools. Licensed Direct Entry Midwives (LDEM or LM) are Certified Midwives who have acquired licensing through the state. They are licensed by a state board. CMs and LDEMs attend births at home. Licensing laws vary state by state. NJ does have a licensure process for CPMs, however, some CPM's may choose not to acquire a license in their state. Most CPMs have physician backup and are able to help you get a referral in case of an emergency.

CNM's, CPMs, LDEMs and CM's are required to pass comprehensive written and oral exams, to attend a required number of births, to have continuing education and peer review, and to practice by specific guidelines and protocols. For more information please visit: http://www.mana.org

Direct Entry Midwives or Lay Midwives: DEM's or Lay Midwives receive their education primarily through apprenticeship with another midwife's practice or through informal schooling. Training and experience will vary among individuals. Some direct entry midwives choose not to get certified or licensed due to philosophical beliefs. They attend births at home. Their lack of formal training does not mean that they are not as knowledgeable as a CPM or CNM. In fact, their training may be more specialized for their part of the country and for homebirthing in particular. Many Lay midwives also choose to take correspondence courses for their education.

How do I find a midwife?

You may e-mail me at Jennifer@MyBirthByDesign.com or visit my contact me page for my phone number. I currently work as a midwife's assistant and am an apprentice with a homebirth midwife (CPM) in Stroudsburg, PA. Currently I forsee sitting for my CPM exam in 2009. Also, if you visit my favourite links page I have links to other websites that list midwives by state and specialty.

Disclaimer:The materials provided at this site are for informational purposes and are not intended for use as diagnosis or treatment of a health problem or as a substitute for consulting a licensed medical professional.