How old were you/how long did it take?

[AspiringNurseMW]

How old were you when you began practicing as a CNM and how long did it take you to become a CNM? I ask because I am 26 and will only JUST be starting my prerequisites to apply for the ADN program that starts next fall. I have 2 young girls, 3.5 years old and 8 months old. There may or may not be more children in the future (but not before I finish my ADN)

My plan is to become an RN (3 years from now god-wiling) to work p/t, complete my RN to BSN online (1 year) and then apply to a distance school like Frontier to become a CNM (2-3 years depending if its p/t or f/t). SO I think Im looking at 6-8 years if I dont take break, which I think realistically Im looking at 7-10, putting me at anywhere from 32-36 years old when I finally begin to practice.

So what was your path to midwifery like? How long did it take you to get here and how old were you when you began to practice?

[CNMidwife2Be]

I started my nursing school pre-reqs at 23, did my ABSN at 25-26, had to take a year off when I decided not to attend my original midwifery program choice, then started Frontier at 27. I'm now 28, turning 29 this month and will graduate and take boards a few months after I turn 30.

Phew! It's been a long haul but worth it. Midwifery is a calling and if it's your calling too, age doesn't matter. : )

[CNMidwife2Be]

Btw, I wanted to add that although there's a big range, the majority of my class at Frontier is older than me too - about 35 is the average.

Don't think about the time/years/age though. Just put one foot in front of the other and suddenly you'll wake up and be most of the way through midwifery school!

[cayenne06, MSN, CNM]

I started my career as a certified professional midwife, licensed in Florida. I graduated at 23. For many, many reasons I decided to go back and become a CNM. I graduated nursing school at 29 and am going to graduate from CNM school next year, just a month after my 32nd birthday.

While part of me wishes I went the CNM route originally, I have found my home birth experience to be wildly beneficial in keeping perspective while i complete my CNM training in a highly medicalized tertiary hospital. Most of my classmates have no home birth experience, and I can see the "mini-OB" mindset in some of them. It is troubling.

[TSM2017]

Hi, I think you can do it for sure.

I started my AAS degree when my first two were 6 months and 18 months old. I was 25 when I completed it. I had two more children after that. I started my BSN online but then I separated from my ex and stopped. I have a new partner and when I was pregnant with my 5th child and put on bed-rest I figured why not finish up my BSN. I just finished Oct 13th. I am in the process of applying to Midwifery schools. I am 36, my children are 16, 15, 10, 8, and 17 months old. I REALLY hope to be done by the time I am 39. I have been told by many midwifes I work with that this is fine. Good luck.

[nancynance]

I am in my first semester of nursing school at the ripe old age of 53! My dream is to snag a job in L&D after I graduate with my BSN, and then start on getting my CNM a couple of years after that. I have been a Childbirth Educator for 13 years and a doula for 5. My kids are 20 and 22, so pretty self-sufficient. It's true, age is just a number.

[mamagui]

^^^

[nursing_student33]

I'm 20 years old right now and graduate next year so September of 2015. I then plan on continuing my education for my BSN. If all goes as planned (which time will only tell because I got pregnant in the middle of school and ended up having to take a semester off when I had my daughter) I will be done with my BSN by 22/23 ish.

[motheringheart]

My path to nursing started in 2004 when my son was born premature and ill. I chose to stay home with him and began taking college courses online one class at a time. In 2008 I began on campus classes. I graduated ADN school in 2013. I will finish my BSN in August and then will finish my MSN by 2018. I will be 43 when I finish my MSN.