CNM in North Carolina?

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Hi everyone,

I am moving to Charlotte, North Carolina and am planning on becoming a CNM (eventually!). What is the climate for CNMS in this area? Are there jobs or opportunities for CNMs to attend births? What about homebirth?

Thanks!

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I, too would love to live in that region and am curious how the job market is there. I'm still in nursing school and have a bit to go, but I'm really curious if there are certain areas where CNM is more popular or desirable?

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I am not a NC expert, but I live in another southern state. From my point of view, job search, and the research I have done, the south is just not a great place for midwives. For some reason even though access to healthcare is so poor, there are few midlevel providers. Perhaps NC is different but SC, GA, and AL are definitely relective of that. Good luck to you!

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From everyone's experience or the "word on the street," in what regions and types of places is midwivery more popular? Small towns? Big cities? East vs West coast? I'm just curious (not to take the attention away from the original question)

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Because NC does have a nurse midwifery program, albeit only one (East Carolina University), in the state, there are CNMs scattered throughout the state with more being in Greenville (where ECU is), Asheville, Raleigh, Chapel Hill (there's an out of hospital birth center there just minutes from UNC hospital), and I would assume Durham (just because it is in "the Triangle," along with Raleigh & Chapel Hill), but I would also assume there to be some midwives in Charlotte as well just based on what I know of my local area here in Raleigh and given that Charlotte is a larger city.

Rebeca Bagley, MSN, CNM, and director of the ECU Nurse Midwifery program told me that she's starting to see more CNMs in the state, even in areas that were once very anti-CNM, including a practice in High Point and one in Statesville who just hired CNMs and I think the Statesville practice even paid for the RN to do the program. It's only one or two in these areas but for two places that were firmly entrenched against the practice of nurse midwifery, I think it's a great step forward. Professor Bagley also told me that she anticipates the legalese of the collaboration requirement in the statue to change soon, especially since, in the areas where CNMs practice it usually isn't adhered to, which of course would be another big stride for the profession in the state.

It wasn't Charlotte-specific information but I hope it was helpful to you.

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You can also go to ACNM's website to find more about state specific midwifery info. I know the Frontier School has more students there now than they use to, so i hope that means midwifery is making a name for itself in that state.

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I have friends who live in Charlotte and they just had a baby with a CNM at a birth center down there IN Charlotte. They LOVED it! :)

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Thanks for all the info! PointCounterpoint, your points are very reassuring. Thanks.

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Until about 6 months ago I was the only CNM at a large hospital in Charlotte. It is sort of lonely. My patients are happy to have me but the rest of the OB community just doesn't seem to be so receptive.

I try to do my job and not get involved in the politics, but it is not so easy.

Here's hoping we get some younger, interested physicians who "get it".

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