DiversityNursing Blog

Certified Nurse Midwives (CNMs) are becoming more common for women and mothers across the nation.

Overall employment of Nurse Midwives is projected to grow 45% from 2020 to 2030, much faster than the average for all occupations.

If you're interested in this career path,  it's beneficial to understand what CNMs do and their role in health care.

Nurse Midwives are primary health care providers for women of all ages and provide all types of gynecological, prenatal, and post-pregnancy care.

According to Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science, common tasks and duties include:

• Confirming and dating pregnancy
• Providing prenatal and postpartum care
• Caring for women during childbirth including monitoring the mother and fetus during labor, assessing labor progress, managing complications, assisting with pain management, performing episiotomies if needed, and delivering the newborn and placenta
• Providing education for new parents on infant care
• Supporting new mothers that are breastfeeding with education and training
• Preparing pregnant women for what to expect during the birthing process
• Performing preventive health screenings and tests
• Diagnosing and treating gynecological disorders such as sexually transmitted diseases and infertility

There are many different paths in the Midwifery field. According to Western Governors University, various roles include:

• CNM: Certified Nurse-Midwives are Registered Nurses who have additional certification as a Midwife. That double licensure gives them additional opportunity and training in the medical field. Specific Midwifery education is the same for a CNM and CM.

• CM: A Certified Midwife is someone who is certified as a Midwife, but doesn’t have a Registered Nursing license as well. The certification is identical for a CM and CNM, the only difference is the Registered Nursing license.

• CPM: A Certified Professional Midwife is certified and must have particular experience in home-birth or out-of-hospital settings. The certification requirements are much less than that of a CM or CNM. A Midwifery program may still be involved, but often it is less detailed and intense.

• Doula: Doulas are not maternity care providers, but provide informational and emotional support for a mother during childbirth. Doulas provide services to mothers while they are pregnant, during their labor and delivery, as well as after the baby is born. Some Doulas work directly for birth centers or hospitals, while others are hired directly by expecting mothers. Because Doulas don’t provide medical support, there aren’t direct legal requirements regarding their practice. Some doulas get formal training, though it’s not required.

The average CNM salary in the United States is $116,574, as reported by Salary.com.

If you’re truly interested in becoming a Nurse Midwife, start with your BSN then find a Nursing school like Frontier Nursing University (FNU) to help get you started on your journey.

FNU graduates make up nearly 40% of the nation's Midwives!  

National Midwifery Week is the first week of October, and Frontier Nursing University (FNU) is celebrating by hosting a virtual event from Oct. 5-8, called Empower 2020: Year of the Nurse and the Midwife. 

The event features four free sessions, including two continuing education opportunities, presented by FNU faculty, students, and alumni on the latest practices and topics influencing nurse-midwifery care:

• It’s the Year of the Nurse and the Midwife: Get the 411 on Becoming a Nurse-Midwife, presented by Dr. Jeneen Lomax and Dr. Tonya Nicholson - Oct. 5 at 5 p.m. ET
• Midwifery Pearls of Telehealth, a Free CE Session presented by Dr. Tanya Belcheff, Dr. Cassie Belzer, Dr. Judith Butler, Martha Harvey, Dr. Audrey Perry and Heidi Loomis - Oct. 6 at 5 p.m. ET
• Hot Topics in the Management of Perimenopause & Menopause: A Conventional & Integrative Approach, a Free CE Session presented by Dr. Ruth Ellen Elsasser and Dr. Ana Verzone - Oct. 7 at 5 p.m. ET
• Racial Disparities in Maternity Care: Where Do We Go From Here?, presented by Dr. Heather Clarke and Dr. Susan Stone - Oct. 8 at 5 p.m. ET

It’s the Year of the Nurse and the Midwife: Get the 411 on Becoming a Nurse-Midwife is for midwifery students or anyone who is considering becoming a nurse-midwife. Participants will hear from current midwifery students about their experiences and have the opportunity to ask questions during this live session.

Midwifery Pearls of Telehealth will provide an overview of telehealth from a midwifery perspective with special emphasis on the areas of patient engagement, group care, provider satisfaction and best practices for meeting compliance requirements.

Hot Topics in the Management of Perimenopause & Menopause: A Conventional & Integrative Approach will provide a review of the most common conventional and evidence-based integrative medicine interventions used during perimenopause and menopause.

Maternal and infant mortality affects black and indigenous women at a much higher rate than other races. In Racial Disparities in Maternity Care: Where Do We Go From Here?, FNU Assistant Professor Dr. Heather Clarke and FNU President Dr. Susan Stone will review the issues related to health care disparities and discuss how midwives can engage in meaningful strategies for change.

The World Health Organization (WHO) designated 2020 as the “Year of the Nurse and the Midwife” in honor of the 200th anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth. The designation brings awareness to the importance of nurses and midwives in the health and care of populations across the globe. According to the WHO, the world needs nine million more nurses and midwives to achieve universal health coverage by 2030.

Southern Cross Insurance Solutions is sponsoring the 2020 virtual event. National Midwifery Week was created by the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM) to celebrate and recognize midwives and midwife-led care. ACNM and its 7,000+ midwife members, physicians and women’s health organizations observe National Midwifery Week each year. Dr. Cathy Collins-Fulea, FNU course faculty member and DNP graduate, is currently serving as president of the ACNM Board of Directors.

Frontier Nursing University is the birthplace of nurse-midwifery in the United States and has 80 years of experience in delivering graduate nursing and midwifery programs. This is the sixth consecutive year FNU has hosted a virtual event in support of National Midwifery Week.

Register for the Empower 2020: Year of the Nurse and the Midwife virtual event and learn more at Frontier.edu/MidwiferyWeek. 

VERSAILLES, Ky.—National Midwifery Week is the first week of October, and Frontier Nursing University (FNU) is celebrating by hosting a virtual event dedicated to nurse-midwifery. Featured topics include healthcare team communication and perinatal mental health. Nurse-midwives, prospective midwives and others can participate online at Frontier.edu/MidwiferyWeek. 

From September 29 to October 5, the Empower 2019 FNU Virtual Event: Nurse-Midwives Improving Patient Care Through Teamwork will bring together leaders in nurse-midwifery to present the following sessions:

·         Celebrating National Midwifery Week - Susan Stone, CNM, DNSc, FACNM, FAAN, President, Frontier Nursing University and President, American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM)

·         It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood: A Community-Based Approach to Improving Perinatal Mental Health - Kalena Lanuza, DNP, MSN, APRN, FNP-C, PHN, CLCI 

·         We’re All in It Together - Midwives, Nurses and Physicians: A Team Solution for a Team Problem - Cathy Collins-Fulea, DNP, CNM, FACNM, Faculty Member, Frontier Nursing University

·         Maybe there is an “I” in TEAM: IPECS - Audrey Perry DNP, CNM, Clinical Director, Women’s Health Care Nurse Practitioner and Nurse-Midwifery programs, Frontier Nursing University and Mark B. Woodland, MS, MD, Chair, Department of OBGYN, Reading Hospital 

·         I Wanna Be Part of the Team! Becoming a Nurse-Midwife - Tonya Nicholson, DNP, CNM, WHNP-BC, CNE, FACNM, Associate Dean of Midwifery and Women’s Health, Frontier Nursing University

Dr. Collins-Fulea will present a certified nurse-midwife-designed quality improvement project aimed at decreasing the length of stay in an obstetrical triage unit. She will discuss how improved team communication and patient engagement and the use of nurse-driven orders decreased patient time in triage and increased client and staff satisfaction. 

Dr. Lanuza’s session will explore how empowering women through a shared decision-making process, coupled with community collaboration, can improve the implementation of effective perinatal mental health practices in the obstetric setting and society at large. Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders (PMADs) can occur in up to 20 percent of women during the perinatal period and are among the leading cause of complications associated with childbearing.

The 2019 virtual event is sponsored by Southern Cross Insurance Solutions. National Midwifery Week was created by the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM) to celebrate and recognize midwives and midwife-led care. ACNM and its 7,000+ midwife members, physicians and women’s health organizations observe National Midwifery Week each year. FNU President Dr. Susan Stone is currently serving as president of the ACNM Board of Directors. 

Frontier Nursing University is the birthplace of nurse-midwifery in the United States and has 80 years of experience in delivering graduate nursing and midwifery programs. This is the fifth consecutive year FNU has hosted a virtual event in support of National Midwifery Week. 

Register for the virtual event and learn more at Frontier.edu/MidwiferyWeek.