CNM programs with midwifery model of care

Specialties CNM

Published

Hello all,

I am currently researching CNM programs in the US and would love to get people's experiences, thoughts, etc. on program content and philosophy. I am looking for a program focused on the midwifery model of care rather than medical. The school does not have to be homebirth based, though that would be great. I'm mainly looking for a program that leans towards non-interventionist, non over-medicalized, encouraging of alternative forms of healing and wellness, etc. Any direction would be great! Thanks!

Hecate

4 Posts

I'm interested in replies to this to. I am currentlly a CPM student struggling with deciding between sticking with my current program of study or becoming an RN and then CNM. Its a difficult decision because I am so passionate about the midwifery model of care. Empowering women to make their own decisions about pregnancy, labor & birth is a wonderful thing and unfortunately from what I have seen in my research, most CNM programs are more focused on the medical model of care. That's not to say that you can't go on to be a great midwife who uses that model despite her education, but my hunch is that its something you must incorporate into your own practice vs. what is encouraged and is the "norm".

smallwonders07

55 Posts

It was my understanding that all nurse-midwives and cnm training programs follow the midwifery model of care rather than the medical model. Yes they are nurses, but they are midwives as well. So, to be clear, all cnm's and cnm programs do not follow the midwifery model of care and the non-interventionist approach? thank you.

epiphany

543 Posts

It was my understanding that all nurse-midwives and cnm training programs follow the midwifery model of care rather than the medical model. Yes they are nurses, but they are midwives as well. So, to be clear, all cnm's and cnm programs do not follow the midwifery model of care and the non-interventionist approach? thank you.

You are right the first time. The curriculum has to meet the standards of the American College of Nurse Midwives in order to be an accredited school, and the midwife philosophy of care is what distinguishes this profession of the medical profession. There are always going to be some outlier midwives who are more into intervention, as they are OB's who are more like midwives in their approach. What you do after you begin your career is up to you as person.

The curriculum involves a lot of sciences and pharmacology, but that doesn't make midwifery "medical" in approach.

SNM2010

2 Posts

Epiphany, I respectfully disagree. Schools are restricted by the practice environment in which they operate. There are schools that give lip service to the midwifery model of care, but clinical training, arguably the most important part, is quite different.

I would tell prospective students to ask lots of questions about the relationship between their preceptors, MDs, and their facility policies. And don't just ask the faculty and look at the website. Ask students in their second and third years. Ask about continuity of care. Ask about induction rates and c/s rates. The honest answers will probably surprise you.

untererde

1 Post

I am in my second semester in the CNM program at Emory... To my mind, our lectures tend to walk a middle ground. I am sure that some of our students would say that the classes are much too 'granola' or unrealistic given the realities of working in a hospital-based setting, while others would certainly say that what we learn is much too medical or a little too like the 'standard operating procedure'... My experience has been however that your training as a midwife is governed much, much more by the practice(s) where you do clinical. Work to find a practice whose model of care reflects your own, and the type of care you hope to learn to provide, and then do everything, go to whatever school you have to, to arrange to work with them as a student.

HeartsOpenWide, RN

1 Article; 2,889 Posts

Specializes in Ante-Intra-Postpartum, Post Gyne.

You will be hard pressed to find a school that does homebirths. I don't think they could get insurance to cover it. I do know that even a big school UCSF, states that they do not do homebirths but state that many students do it on the side away from the school.

mommy2boysaz

288 Posts

Specializes in OB.

Frontier School of Midwifery! They absolutely embrace the midwifery model of care and the art of midwifery. Can't recommend it enough. (And I'm a current student, working with an alumni.)

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