Midwives: where do you work?

Energizer Bunny · Apr 12, 2004

I am not a midwife but I aspire to be one as well (I am rethinking this though after reading a bunch of info. on it). My midwives that delivered my last two work in a dr. office with a couple of fabulous OB's and deliver at the hospital. The situation seems to go wonderfully for them and they seem very happy. I am looking forward to my next appointment to try to corner one of them to see what else I can find out. I am also hoping one of them will be ready to retire when I get to the point where I am looking for a job! LOL! They all work together fabulously!

mitchsmom · Apr 12, 2004

I am not a midwife but I aspire to be one as well (I am rethinking this though after reading a bunch of info. on it).

Just wondering what info has made you rethink your plans? I'm planning on nurse-midwifery also but sometimes I get discouraged because I hear some practices are being forced out of business (high malpractice and low reimbursements, etc.), also because everything is so interventionist in general and midwives are apparently having a lot of the same pressures the OB/GYN's are & are often becoming "medwives". Also, midwife means "with woman" and the L&D nurses are really the ones that are "with woman" these days, so sometimes I wonder if I would be happier just sticking with that (and not having to be on call in the middle of the night to boot!). Overall, I think I'll stick with my plan but those are some things I think about a lot.

I would like to hear any insights on the topic! Also any experience from the L&D nurses re: CNM's vs. docs, etc.

Energizer Bunny · Apr 12, 2004

Just wondering what info has made you rethink your plans? I'm planning on nurse-midwifery also but sometimes I get discouraged because I hear some practices are being forced out of business (high malpractice and low reimbursements, etc.), also because everything is so interventionist in general and midwives are apparently having a lot of the same pressures the OB/GYN's are & are often becoming "medwives". Also, midwife means "with woman" and the L&D nurses are really the ones that are "with woman" these days, so sometimes I wonder if I would be happier just sticking with that (and not having to be on call in the middle of the night to boot!). Overall, I think I'll stick with my plan but those are some things I think about a lot.
I would like to hear any insights on the topic! Also any experience from the L&D nurses re: CNM's vs. docs, etc.

All of the above...plus, I have been looking into salaries and for the responsibility you have to be taking on, it isn't that much more money. I think I am just going to wait and see...I'll get my RN in two years and start working on my BSN and just watch and see how the job market progresses. I would hate to give up my dream, but I would also hate to pay for the schooling, work so hard for it and find out that it just isn't going to work out for whatever reason.

BabyRN2Be · Apr 16, 2004

All of the above...plus, I have been looking into salaries and for the responsibility you have to be taking on, it isn't that much more money. I think I am just going to wait and see...I'll get my RN in two years and start working on my BSN and just watch and see how the job market progresses. I would hate to give up my dream, but I would also hate to pay for the schooling, work so hard for it and find out that it just isn't going to work out for whatever reason.

I really hope that you'll be able to reconsider and reach your dream. We need you out there!! I know what you are feeling about paying for school, working so hard and find out that it won't work for you - heck, I'm going through the same things right now. :) The midwives around here are really great. I'd love to work with more of them!

To answer the OP, we have midwives around here in private practice, as well as some who work with OB's. The ones who work in private practice mostly do home deliveries. As it stands right now, I believe we have 2 hospitals that grant midwives delivery privileges as long as they are an CNM. I'm hoping that will change soon.

FLOBRN · Apr 18, 2004

I have an interest in becoming a CNM once I get my BSN. I like the idea of working in a small practice with other midwives and an MD. I was hoping to find out what sorts of situations some midwives out there are working in. Hospital? Private practice? What I described above? And what do you like/dislike? What is your ideal?
Thanks!

Hi Steph - I work in a hospital that has CNM's as well. They are attached to one of the OB groups. They were origionally brought in because you know a "real doc" would nto want to take care of health dept pts when the county hospital closed down here. (some things never change). Over time they have established private practice at the OB office as well. I have never seen any of them (4 is the optimal # they try to retain) do less than 12 delivieries per month. After 12 they get a bonus for each one. The current record is, I believe, 52 in one month for one CNM - that was Dec 2002. My only request to you would be to work as a L&D RN for a couple of years before going to CNM school just to get your feet wet. We have had 2 now w/o previous L&D experience as a RN and it made their adjustment period into being a CNM a bit more difficult.

Good luck

mitchsmom · Apr 18, 2004

My only request to you would be to work as a L&D RN for a couple of years before going to CNM school just to get your feet wet. We have had 2 now w/o previous L&D experience as a RN and it made their adjustment period into being a CNM a bit more difficult.
Good luck

Wow, I'm surpirised... I wonder where they went to school because it seems like every program I look at requires at least a year of experience in L&D before acceptance.

FLOBRN · Apr 18, 2004

Wow, I'm surpirised... I wonder where they went to school because it seems like every program I look at requires at least a year of experience in L&D before acceptance.

Try Frontier School of Midwifery. Last one came from their program. Her previous nursing experience was at planned parenthood and as a sexual assualt nurse.

mitchsmom · Apr 18, 2004

Frontier's website says "One year of nursing experience. The admissions committee may consider other significant experience in health care."

http://www.midwives.org/admission/admiss-criteria.shtm

Maybe it's a new requirement, or maybe they accepted her other experience. I looked around at other places and I guess there are some that you can go straight into from BSN (some are hard to tell because they are requirements for the MSN's in general and there may be more requirements for CNM specifically that aren't listed), maybe I just had that in my head since the one I was looking at required it :)

I am curious if you can give specific things that were hard for the non-L&D nurse CNM's?? To be honest I'd probably go straight into a graduate program if mine would let me, even though I know that L&D experience first would help in a lot of ways. I am impatient... just my BSN will have taken me 4 years by the time I'm done (I go part-time since I have little ones at home & I am able to financially[well, with loans!]). -(edit: I should have said I have a previous BA degree in another field, so this is in addition to the whole fist round of college)- Add a couple more for CNM and that's 6 years! I think I'd rather work out the difficulties in the beginning than add another year or two to my path- that would be pretty difficult too. Wonder which would be harder? I don't think I will, but if I end up having the option to go straight into a CNM program, I'd like to know what kinds of things I should put special emphasis on to help avoid the problems that you have seen.

PS- working during grad school is another option