DiversityNursing Blog

We're Rolling Out the Blue Carpet

Join us on August 15th for a documentary premiere

Come and meet our new President, Dr. Brooke Flinders!

Join Frontier Nursing University at 6:00 pm for a premiere at the Speed Museum Cinema in Louisville, Ky on August 15th for a reception and viewing of Nurse-Midwives: Addressing the Maternal Health Crisis. Produced by Frontier and Michael Breeding, this new documentary examines maternal health care and the role of nurse-midwives.

Register Now!

Unable to join us for the premiere? We invite you to view the documentary at frontier.edu/documentary or sign up to host a viewing in your community!

Appetizers will be provided during the reception. Parking is available in the museum garage. Frontier will provide parking validation at the event. 

“The United States has the highest maternal mortality rate among wealthy nations, and 2022 data from the CDC shows that over 80% of pregnancy-related deaths in the U. S. from 2017-2019 were preventable by providing better care,” said FNU President Dr. Susan Stone, DNSc, CNM, FACNM, FAAN. “This documentary tells the story of how distance education paved the way to addressing this crisis by educating more nurse-midwives who play a crucial role in reducing maternal mortality.”

Before the advent of online learning, a remarkable group of nurses and nurse-midwives believed that more nurses would seek certification as nurse-midwives if they could stay in their home communities during the educational process. Thus the development of the unique and innovative Community-based Nurse-Midwifery Education Program (CNEP). CNEP was developed to allow nurses who lived in rural and underserved communities access to nurse-midwifery education without leaving home. The documentary details the development and evolution of the CNEP via interviews with visionary leaders and educators. It also shines a light on the subsequent development of family nurse practitioner, women's health care nurse practitioner, and psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner distance education programs and their similarly vital roles in maternal health care.

“The work of nurse-midwives and nurse practitioners is reshaping the landscape of 21st-century healthcare,” Dr. Stone said. “From Alaska to Alabama to Appalachia to every state in America, these amazing healthcare providers are making a difference in the rural and underserved communities in which they live and serve.”

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!  

For the first time in history, the world will unite in celebrating the benefits that Nurses and Midwives bring to the health of the global population. The World Health Organization (WHO), has declared 2020 as The Year of the Nurse and the Midwife (YONM).

It is celebrated in honor of the 200^th anniversary of Florence Nightingale's birth. President of the International Council of Nurses (ICN), Annette Kennedy, said "The 20 million Nurses around the world will be thrilled to see their profession recognized in this way. Florence Nightingale used her lamp to illuminate the places where Nurses worked, and I hope the designation of 2020 as the International Year of the Nurse and Midwife will provide us with a new, 20-20 vision of what Nursing is in the modern era, and how Nurses can light the way to universal health coverage and healthcare for all.”

WHO is working with partners such as, the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM), International Council of Nurses (ICN), Nursing Now and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). Their goal for this year-long global focus on Nurses and Midwives is to: 

• Celebrate the contributions of health workers, with particular focus on Nurses and Midwives, in improving health globally,  
• acknowledge, appreciate and address the challenging conditions Nurses and Midwives  face while providing care where it's needed most and
• advocate for increased investments in the Nursing and Midwifery workforce

Lord Nigel Crisp, co-Chair of the Nursing Now campaign said, “The WHO has provided a unique opportunity both for countries to demonstrate how much they appreciate their Nurses and Midwives and to showcase what more Nurses and Midwives can achieve if given the support to do so."

Check out the World Health Organization's video, Nurses and Midwives: Key To Universal Health Coverage

We at DiversityNursing.com are thrilled Nurses and Midwives are receiving recognition for their commitment to the profession and selfless dedication to their patients, families and students.

Appreciation – we love to feel appreciated for what we do, but often, it feels like our work sometimes goes unnoticed. Here’s a story we think you’ll enjoy. It’s all about appreciation and the work Nurses do. This is a big Thank You to Labor & Delivery Nurses, Midwives and Doula’s.

Mother of four, Jill Krause, recently saw a photo by Katie Lacer that moved her. She was overcome with memories and gratitude for the Nurses. Jill shared the photo with her thoughts about the labor, delivery, and postpartum Nurses who help new mothers in their most vulnerable moments. The post quickly went viral and mothers everywhere commented their experiences and shared their thanks to all the Nurses out there.  Below is Jill's post, check it out and leave your thoughts in the comment sections!

"I'll never forget the faces of the nurses who followed me into the bathroom after delivering each baby. That moment when I was so vulnerable, so tired, scared, shaky. My swollen belly deflating, and my modesty long gone. They treated me with such kindness and dignity. For me, these have been moments of empowerment and confirmation that I have a real village to help me, even if just for that little bit of time in a bathroom, on a toilet, while a kind nurse shows me how to put an ice pad on my mesh undies. This photo by my friend MommaKT Shoots just takes me right back. Like, I can smell the Dermaplast. Let's hear it for the nurses and the doulas and anyone else who shows us how to make ice pad underwear (or helps with that first shower post c-section!) <3"

Posts came pouring in from moms all over! Below are some of the posts that were shared.

"When I was pushing, I'll never forget pulling my face away from my nurse's chest to see her scrub top SOAKED with my sweat and tears. I was like, 'Oh my god I'm so sorry!' And she said, 'Baby, this is life all over my shirt. Nowhere else I'd rather be. Now let's get that baby out.'" —Leigh Kathleen, Facebook

Pictured: Joanie McConnell, CNM at the University of Louisville by Katie Lacer / Via mommaktshoots.com

"I will never forget the nurse that helped me get to the bathroom for the first time after I had my daughter. I was hemorrhaging and when I stood it was so humiliating...but that kind soul didn't flinch. I kept apologizing and she kept reassuring me that it was nothing. I will never forget watching her clean my legs and I just kept thinking that this is what my God means when he says love your neighbor." —Tiffany Barnes

"My husband and I lost our daughter at 23 weeks two years ago, and delivered our rainbow baby boy at the same hospital this May. All the nurses I had knew our history, and when my son was born he wasn't breathing. He was immediately taken away to the NICU and I just could not stop sobbing. My nurses cried with me. They rubbed my hair and my back and did everything they possibly could to get me mobile and up to see my sweet boy in the NICU." —Lauren Self, Facebook

Thank you Nurses!

Pictured: NICU nurse at Norton Women's & Children's Hospital discusses care measures for one of Amanda and Lauren Vinova's preemie triplets. By Katie Lacer / Via mommaktshoots.com