A midwife is someone who cares for you and your baby before, during, and after pregnancy. They help tend to your physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, and cultural needs so that you’re able to have a successful pregnancy.
Types of Midwives
If you want a midwife for your pregnancy, there are many types you can choose from that will give you different levels of care.
Certified Nurse-Midwife (CNM). A CNM is a health care professional heavily trained in how to care for women and their babies. They will support a woman during pregnancy, birth, and beyond.
These midwives are nurses and have gone through graduate school. They’re certified by the American Midwifery Certification Board and are licensed in every state.
Certified Midwife (CM). These types of midwifes are also health care professionals who will care for a woman during her entire pregnancy and life as a mother. CMs are not nurses, but they have completed graduate school in midwifery and passed a certification by the American Midwifery Certification Board. These midwives can give the same type of care to you, but not all states license them.
Certified Professional Midwife (CPM). The North American Registry of Midwives certifies all CPMs. People can take the North American Registry of Midwives exam if they work with a qualified midwife and finish an Entry-Level Portfolio Evaluation Process or graduate from a midwifery school or program. But if the Midwifery Education Accreditation Council doesn’t accept the school or program, then the person will need to finish the Entry-Level Portfolio Evaluation Program.
Every state has different guidelines for a CPM. But overall, CPMs follow the Midwives Model of Care. This model allows the midwife to:
- Care for a woman’s health and well-being from the start of pregnancy to after birth
- Refer women to an obstetrician if needed
- Provide each woman with personalized education, care, therapy, assistance during birth, and support
- Stay away from the use of pregnancy technology as much as possible
Direct-Entry Midwife (DEM). These midwifes focus on births at your home or in free-standing birth centers, or places to give birth not linked to a hospital. There are no national certifications for DEMs. Some states have their own qualifications for direct-entry midwives, and some don’t have any.
Most DEMs work for themselves, but CPMs, CMs, and CNMs can also be direct-entry midwives.
Lay Midwife. This is a midwife with no certification or license. They usually didn’t get professional education but instead shadowed or studied by themselves. Some states have a way to license lay midwives and others don’t.
Traditional Midwife. These midwives don’t get certified or licensed for religious, philosophical, or personal reasons. Traditional midwives believe that their job is to help the women in their community without the law involved. They see midwifery as an exchange between them and the mother. Traditional midwives feel that all women should be able to choose a good midwife, no matter their status.
How to Choose Your Midwife
Midwives work with you more on your nutrition and education about pregnancy than a normal doctor would. They’ll focus more on your pregnancy journey overall than on routine checkups. They’re more unique to your pregnancy because they spend a lot of time with you.
When you choose a midwife, it’s important to think about what you’re comfortable with during your pregnancy. Ask yourself these questions before you choose one:
- Do you want to give birth in a hospital or not?
- Do you want a birth that uses medicine or minimal medication?
- What level of formal education do you want your midwife to have?
In any situation, you should choose a trained and qualified midwife to guide you through pregnancy.
It’s safe to use a midwife for your pregnancy as long as you don’t have health risks that could affect your birth. If you’re healthy and don’t have any pregnancy problems, a midwife may be a safe option for you during your pregnancy.
But if you have health issues such as obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, or are pregnant with more than one baby, you may only qualify for a midwife if they work alongside a doctor.
