[Kerrilyst]

I am looking into schools for direct entry midwifery.... Does anyone have any recommendations? Deciding factors might be Cost, Location (i am in CA) online availability and intensity of program. also, I am an active Christian so I would like to find one that aligns as best as possible with my beliefs. Thank you for any help.

[suzanne4]

Not sure what your background is, but midwifery in the US, if done as an RN, is only Master's prepared and called the CNM program, or Certified Nurse Midwife. There are quite a few direct entry MSN programs in Ca, but have not seen any that offer the CNM.

The programs that I have seen in the past actually required two years of work experience as an RN in Labor and Delivery before they would accept a student.

[dancingdoula]

There is a direct entry school in Seattle where you apprentice with a midwife and travel to Seattle for one week a month for classes. Everyone I know who has gone this route went there. Not sure about the religious thing.
I do, however, highly recommend going the CNM route as Suzanne mentioned above. I wanted to be a midwife for most of my life and was urged by several direct entry nurses to just to the RN path since they all went back to school after years of midwifing to get that certificate. It gives you more autonomy to practice more places, more credibility, and in my experience, more skills for when something goes wrong.
Good luck!

[CHATSDALE]

my nephew had a midwife and a doula for their last child
i don't know what training is involved but i agree with above posts that several years experience in a labor/delivery setting would be minimum for safety of mother and baby

[Wendy79]

If you're not a doula already, I definitely recommend that as a beginning step. Elizabeth Davis in the Bay Area offers Midwifery Assistant programs that I have heard wonderful things about. I don't know of any DEM schools in California, but it's been a few years since I've looked. I do have a friend who offers Midwifery Assistant trainings... her website is http://motherwisemidwifery.com/. There are several schools around the country that sound great. Unfortunately, pursuing this path tends to be extremely expensive. I should note, too, that not everyone goes to school to become a midwife--they do it chiefly through apprenticeship. I'd encourage you to explore both midwifery pathways to figure out what's right for you--I know several non-nurse midwives who are content with what they do, and a couple who have gone back for their nursing degrees, as Dancingdoula mentions. I went back and forth a few times... but I really did want to be a nurse, and here I am--not sure yet whether I'll still pursue CNM. Good luck!

Oh, here's a website that lists a lot of schools, though I don't think it's been updated recently: http://learnmidwifery.com/

[czyja]

That's a pretty tall order!

UCSF has a direct entry master's program with a midwifery focus.

As suzanne4 noted nurse midwives are masters prepared nurses. You will find all masters entry programs to be very intense. For example, the UCSF program condenses the equivalent of 2+ years of nursing school undergrad courses into one year.

As for alignment with your religious beliefs that may be trickier. There are a handfull of roman catholic nursing schools in california, University of San Francisco for example. I don't know if any offer midwivery or not. There is an Adventist college in Angwin CA that has a good nursing program. You will, of course, pay alot more for a religious based education than you would at a public university or college. Outside of Cali you might try Georgetown for a nursing program with religious. Outside of the catholics and the adventists I am not aware of any religious group with a tradition of training nurses.

NB - masters entry programs tend to be highly competetive. Midwivery programs are the most competetive specialty within the already highly competeive atmosphere of direct entry. Another route would be to get your ADN or BSN then go on to the midwivery masters.

[Wendy79]

Oops, in my post above I meant to say that not everyone goes to school to become a midwife--SOME do it chiefly through apprenticeship--didn't mean to imply this is necessarily common. It seems like going to school is more common these days, though it's hard to know, because the schools create larger communities that you then hear of more.

Also, many of the midwives I have known have been active Christians--I think you'll find that it's a pretty welcoming field--seems like every other midwife is either a very religious Christian or a dyed-in-the-wool hippie--and the couples who want homebirths with midwives are about the same.

(I'm assuming, by the way, that the OP is asking about "direct entry midwifery" as in non-nurse midwives, not direct-entry MSN programs.)

[czyja]

Aha. Given that this is nursing forum I suspect I may have incorrectly assumed that the OP was interested in becoming a certified nurse midwife.

Sorry - I no nothing about non-nurse midwives.

[clhRN2b2010]

I spent a great deal of time considering the CPM-or direct entry route-to midwifery. I decided to go CNM for all the above reasons and also the fact that interntionally a CNM is much more recognized. My family is very interested in missions and that was a big factor.

Do your research and check out both paths. There is a good book offered through Midwifery Today called "Paths to becoming a Midwife". It will list out all the accrediting bodies and programs for DE Midwifery, as well as do a fair job explaining CNM route also. I would highly recomend spending some time on the Midwifery Today web site. CA is a great place to rub shoulders with some fantastic midwives...so network, network, network. Attend any conferences you can find and talk to DE midwives.

As far as your belief system. I have to say I have been incredibly surprised by the number of believers I have encountered. I'm not sure why because it makes sense that women who believe in a beautiful, perfect creation would believe that women were built and designed to do this and that God had a pretty good idea of how things would work best-emotionally, physically, and spiritually in childbirth . Check out:

http://www.christianmidwives.org/
-great group in Indiana bringing together Christian birth professionals

http://www.midwifeschool.org/about_mission.htm
-great school in phillipinnes, mission focused, christian based, and will earn you CPM status.

There are others, but start there. Feel free to PM if you have anby questions or want to chat about anything.

Peace,
C

[imenid37]

Marquette University also has CNM. It is a Catholic institution.