Midwifery?

[marshYO8]

i am going to be entering into nursing school this fall and i have been thinking about a speciality. i would really like to work as a delivery/newborn nurse. we were discussing careers in class, not a nursing class, and i said i would like to go on to get my masters, after achieveing the bsn. i told my professor that i would like to eventually be a nurse practitioner or midwife and that i was leaning more towards midwife. he was like "midwife, don't you think that's a little old-fashioned. people don't really go to midwives anymore. i know i would take my wife to a doctor over a midwife...blah, blah, blah." i was shocked that he was so bluntly against my decision. i mean, it was rude. he asked, i shared, and he showed total disrespect (in front of the whole class). what do you all think about being a midwife? any opinions/advice/information? please?

[premedturnednursing]

um....it was very rude. I am thinking of becoming a midwife. In fact I am leaning very strongly toward it. I live in a fairly major metropolitan area and one of the larger hospitals actually has a midwife center and offers midwives as part of your delivery. So, obviously they are not a dying breed. I say blow him off and keep going if it's what you want to do! I'll see you in midwifery school! :)

[bagladyrn, RN]

It was extremely rude of him! I think the operative word here is "him". Midwifery is a very "woman centered" profession and as such is likely to be disdained by many males.

Go for it! Some of my favorite providers to do deliveries with have been midwives.

[Belinda-wales, RN]

How uneducated - the statement he would take his wife showes he knows nothing about reproductive health -lost of people in theusthink they will get some form of better care over a midwife in normal birth - completly misinformed - I would inform him that he needs to read the book born in the USA! For you america needs all the midwives it can get.

[HeartsOpenWide, RN]

I graduate next year with my BSN. I am currently a doula and have taken a beginning midwifery course with a LM which puts me in a position for an apprenticeship. I am currently doing a preceptorship in L&B (labor and birth, babies are born, pizzas are delivered) and plan on (its competitive) becoming a CNM, hopefully not toooo long after I become and RN. I support midwifes 100%, although here are a lot of Obs out there that I would pick to be my care provider if need be (like I had a TRUE complication) my first pick will always be a midwife. And sure its not for everyone, but I think your professor is probably mis-educated.

[tripp3horn]

I would love to one day become a CNM. I had both of my daughters in an ABC unit with nurse-midwives. It was the best experience of my life. This instructor is living under a rock, apparently. If he was at all educated on the subject, he'd realize that giving birth is a natural part of a women's life and it should be treated like that. It is not a disease that needs to be cured. I think more and more women are choosing to birth naturally and I also think that midwifery is an excellent field to get into. Don't get me going on this subject because I'll blow up! This country needs more CNM's... go for it!

[Wicked Wahine]

Next time you see him, point out the fact that most pregnant moms are cared for by midwives over in the UK. As far as I can tell, they only use OBs for high risk pregnancies. Old fashioned yes, but so is having babies.

[Selke]

That instructor doesn't know what he's talking about. Check out the ACNM website http://www.acnm.org. Peruse the website and look at information for prospective students. Under find a midwife, look for CNMs in OK; if there are any listed, why not call one of them and ask them if they would talk with you about midwifery? Maybe you could spend time with one and learn what they do. Look at the CNM forum here and you'll see lots of talk about the field.

That said, Oklahoma is not midwife-friendly and this instructor may reflect the local mores. However his attitude is pathetic for a "nursing" instructor, not promoting advanced practice nursing .... There's only 3 or 4 places in the entire state of OK where CNMs are allowed to practice, and 2 of them are IHS facilities. You may have to move if you want a midwifery education and/or to practice in the future.

Good luck!

[clhRN2b2010]

"i know i would take my wife to a doctor over a midwife"

ummmm...talk about old fashioned. whose husband "takes" them in for their annual anyway?

take it with a grain of salt. you are likely going to get more inflammatory unsolicited advice than that.

smile. nod.

[ankagor]

oldfashioned? isn't it oldfashiond to bring children???!so rude!

[purplepanda]

Man. I get so sick of all these misconceptions about midwives. I got into nursing school in the first place to be a CNM! Don't let him get you down, if that's what you want to do. Midwifery is actually gaining popularity recently in the US.

[cherokeesummer]

We have lots of midwives in the area, sure some insurances probably give you grief about that but I don't know...I guess it depends on the insurance and location. But yes we have a lot and there are a lot of people I know that are interested in them. I'd say go for your dream. It was very rude for the teacher to down you like that and especially in a classroom full of peers as well.