midwifery in australia compared to the usa

It really depends on whether you work as a midwife or if you are employed by a hospital as an L & D staff RN. Midwives, in our area, are usually part of a group, much like the docs, and have their own patients that they follow and deliver (if no complications occur.) Staff RN's are staff RN's, for the OB's the family docs, or the midwives who do deliveries.

It's important to note that nurse midwives in the US are almost all Masters prepared, so midwives from other countries have to practice as staff RNs, not midwives in the US. L&D nurses stay with women and monitor them throughout their labor and assist the doc or midwife in the delivery. In my experience, some midwives do stay and comfort their patients, but most of them simply show up for the delivery and leave just like the docs.