How would I go about becoming a midwife?

Help and advice on career change- becoming involved in midwifery!?

• hi guys, just wonder if anyone would be able to give me a bit of advice... ive been out of work now for 2 years, before this i worked for 7 years as a nursery supervisor looking after children between ages of 3 months and 5 years. i loved this job and found it very rewarding at times, however since having my children i used to feel that i didn't have time for them when i got home seen as i had spent so much time with other children during the day.. Im currently thinking of changing my career and would love to know more about how to go down the route of becoming a midwife assistant or even a midwife. any advice or guidance that any of you can give would be greatfully appreciated. I have working qualifications in health and social care and in early years childcare and education. thanks guys

• Answer:

  I guess it depends a lot on where you live (USA, UK, etc?). I can only answer for the USA. There are several paths to a career in midwifery. Are you talking Certified Nurse Midwife or lay midwife, etc.? It all depends on how much of an education you want to commit yourself to, and also whether you want to attend home births or work with a clinic that does deliveries in a birth center or hospital setting. If you want to become a Certified Nurse Midwife in the US, you first need to go to regular nursing school to get your RN license. You could start with an Associates Degree and then try to get working as an RN in OB / L&D right away and complete your BSN shortly after, or, you could go for the full BSN right away. Either way, you'll need the BSN in order to get into a Masters level CNM program. Many schools are transitioning to a Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree, which is about 2 years beyond the Masters. To even get into a CNM program, you usually need a minimum of one year work experience in L&D. If you want to go the non-nursing route and become a Certified Midwife or a lay midwife, then a lot less formal education is needed. There are smaller programs that offer these midwifery programs, and you learn all you need to know about pregnancy, labor, delivery, newborn care, etc., but you lack a lot of essential medical knowledge that nurses get in their programs. You cannot attend hospital deliveries and you will only find work in private birth centers or working for yourself doing home births. I am self-admittedly biased towards the nursing side of things, because of that increased expertise in other aspects of medical care, and IMO it makes you a safer practitioner. It's a huge commitment to take on, but one that is very well worth it in the long run, esp. if you have a passion for maternity and newborn care. So honestly, if you're looking to spend more time at home with your kids, I don't know how that would work, first going to school for several years and then getting the necessary work experience, then as a CNM (or any midwife), you are essentially on-call quite frequently, 24/7 if you are a private midwife that does home births without any other backup. Like I said, not sure if you're in the US or not, but if you are then I hope this was helpful. Good luck.