Myths About Midwifery

[tnbutterfly - Mary]

Are you considering becoming a Nurse-Midwife? There is much confusion about this nursing specialty.

This nursing path is extremely rewarding for both midwives and patients, and midwifery ultimately results in better outcomes for mothers, babies, and public health. Since 1990, the countries around the world that have been most successful at improving maternal health have done so through the deployment of midwives.

If you'd like to learn more about the Nurse-Midwifery career path, check out this podcast from RN Radio that I came across, a podcast for nurses and students who are passionate about learning and staying informed. In the episode below, RN Radio interviews Julia Lange Kessler, DNP, CM, FACNM, Director of the Nurse-Midwifery/Women's Health Nurse Practitioner program at Georgetown University School of Nursing & Health Studies, to discuss myths and misconceptions that surround midwifery in the United States. For example, Dr. Kessler explains that some people ask her if midwifery is legal, and others don't know that midwifery requires higher education. Others still think that midwifery is restricted to only home births, when in reality midwives can deliver babies in hospitals, birthing centers, or private homes. What is the first thought that comes to your mind when you think about midwifery?

Lilsten to the full conversation...

[video=youtube;3eq-p-0Zyfg]

[cayenne06, MSN, CNM]

As a CPM and now CNM, I also bristle internally when I get comments like "You're a midwife? I thought nobody did that anymore!"

I found my CPM education to be woefully insufficient, and am very proud to be a CNM. But... I went to nursing school with the sole aim of becoming a CNM. I am not a nurse. I am a midwife. And while I value my RN education, I think midwifery is a separate professional altogether.

I'd like to see NARM and MANA get on board with creating a more standardized and comprehensive educational pathway for the CPM credential. Right now it is such a joke that it drags down the reputation of midwives as a whole. Of course there are wonderful, highly skilled CPMs, but the credential itself in no way guarantees competency. I want CPMs and CNMs to come together as a united, highly educated, profession.

I don't like feeling as though I need to qualify my title as "Midwife" by inserting "Nurse" in front of it. But until the NARM midwives embrace a higher bar for entry to practice, I feel compelled to identify myself as a CNM.

There's a small but growing movement in this direction, from both CPMs and CNMs. Check out US MERA for more info. I think a big reason I've kept my CPM cert active all these years is because I want to be involved in this unification. I even did my master's thesis on the topic.

[DWelly14]

The Army does still use nurse midwives. I graduated with two amazing CNMs who both are now employed through the Army.

[cayenne06, MSN, CNM]

The Army does still use nurse midwives. I graduated with two amazing CNMs who both are now employed through the Army.

My sister is a Marine and sees a CNM on base for gyn care :) Not sure if she is a civilian or not though.