Ok ladies here's a little back ground. . .I have over 60 hours of college at a state university. My credits are general ed.s and mainly education because I wanted to be a teacher MY WHOLE LIFE. But things change. I had my daughter and ended up quitting and am now a stay at home mom. Well I don't want to be a teacher anymore. I still love working with children but it just didnt seem like the field I really wanted anymore.
So now i've been trying to figure out what I want to do with my life. I love staying home and would do it forever but my husband would really like me to go back to school. So I've considered doing online courses and then classes while dd is in school (next year). I've thought about a ton of 2 year degrees that I could do...and be done with fast. But then i think about it...and wonder if i should settle or really buckle down and do something I'm really pationate about. After getting pregnant with my dd and then successfully having a natural birth and breastfeeding past the first year (should have went 2 and regret it) Ive been nore interested in the health field. I don't really want to be a nurse. I looked into beastfeeding because I wanted to help women make it and not give up and educate them on what the dr.'s "forget" to tell you. But I live in a small town and we have VERY FEW lactation consultant positions so it seemed like a lot of schooling to not know if i was going to get a job. So I have a new vision that needs input. I have realized here lately how pissed i get at OB's and some of the deisions they make. Like i said i don't even have degree and many times i feel like I know more about the basics than they do.....such as whoever decided laying in a bed not moving for hours on end with a pit line was better for delivery than walking the baby out is ridiculous (and seriously the ob's and nurses around here are like that even without stalling or complications). So I feel like all of these thoughts and feelings are signs of being very pationate toward the birthing field and toward natural moms in general.
So my questions are: What is the difference in a CNM and a Midwife or are they the same? What do you know about how to become one or the other (I am researching as we speak but thought you ladies might know as well)? And any advice in general on this?
I'm a Breast Feeding, CIO, Spanking When Necessary, Early Potty Training, Stay At Home, Pageant Going, Gymnastics and Cheer Mom and Army Wife!
A lot depends on your state, what the qualifications are. You can also look at becoming a doula in the mean time. If you do the required reading, attend a weekend workshop, attend a certain number of births and write about them and one paper at the end, you are a doula. : ) It would help you to have something to get your foot in the door and help women more quickly, while you go on to become a midwife. There are a wide variety of programs for doula certification, I just gave one link. : )
In most states, CNMs work in a hospital although that is not always the case and often there are different laws about who can attend vbacs vs non-vbacs at hospital, home, birth center etc. so definitely learn about your state laws before you make any decisions.
CNMs have nurse training followed by midwifery training. CPMs, DEMs (direct entry midwives) and TMs (traditional midwives) have different amounts of training. For example a DEM will not have any nurse or other medical training but will directly enter a midwife program or apprenticeship.
lets us know what you are deciding on doing. It's a great field to get into.
it really depends on what state you live in. in my state nurse midwives are not allowed to do attend homebirths which for me was a HUGE turn off! i did not want to work in a hospital, under a doctor and have to follow protocol that i didnt believe in. so thats something to think about.
the alternative was to become a licenced midwife. it involves an apprenticeship of a minimum of 20 births (which includes all prenatal and follow up) plus a state board exam. some midwives charge to have you apprentice, others do not. it all really depends. theoretically you could be done within a few years, but most apprentice for 3-4 years before they are really "ready" to go out on their own. i have known of woman who do a year or two with an apprentice and then fly down to new mexico and do an 18 week intensive in order to catch a lot of babies real quick...but that is not cheap. its great experience (you will be doing 5 plus births a day) but for most people involves leaving your family which can be very hard especially if you have kids.
the only other thing you need to really think about is this: its more than a profession. it is a LIFESTYLE. never again can you plan a family vacation, or go out and have a drink with friends, or drive 3 hours away to visit your aunt, or shut your phone off, or get a full nights sleep, or be present at your childrens birthday parties, or watch your kids open christmas presents and you will need johnny on the spot daycare for your kids which can be impossible to get unless you have a partner who happens to work from home or has a super flexable schedule. now thats not to say that you will miss out on everything, but be prepared to potentially miss out on everything because you are on-call 24 hours a day for the rest of your career. you may be able to have another midwife friend "oncall" you can help you out, but they usually have their own clientelle and can only take on so much themselves. this is not an easy career because you and your family no longer come first, other people and THEIR family come first ALWAYS! and then there is the emotinal aspect of loss. babies do not always live. this is true whether or not you birth at home or in a hospital. and there are also many people who experience miscarriage that you will end up having to councel and support. everyone wants a happy ending but that isnt real life and you need to be able to take on the enormous emotional responsibility of all the different situations you will face when working in this field.
my midwife is retiring this year. she spent over 40 years living this life and her biggest regret was missing out on so much of her own family because of the career she chose. she loved being a midwife but is also very excited about finally being able to do all the things she could never do!
i wish you luck :)
I just looked up the laws and our state doesnt allow midwifes to assist home births either....BLAH....and you brought up a ton of good points....my midwife just retired to because she physically could not do it anymore after a surgery....she attend my church and is a sweetheart but she litterally devoted her entire life to the job....she never got married and has no children and now at the end of her career is in poor health....hmmm so much to consider...not sure if i want to be a doula doesnt seem like reliable work around here
Quoting tansyflower:it really depends on what state you live in. in my state nurse midwives are not allowed to do attend homebirths which for me was a HUGE turn off! i did not want to work in a hospital, under a doctor and have to follow protocol that i didnt believe in. so thats something to think about.
the alternative was to become a licenced midwife. it involves an apprenticeship of a minimum of 20 births (which includes all prenatal and follow up) plus a state board exam. some midwives charge to have you apprentice, others do not. it all really depends. theoretically you could be done within a few years, but most apprentice for 3-4 years before they are really "ready" to go out on their own. i have known of woman who do a year or two with an apprentice and then fly down to new mexico and do an 18 week intensive in order to catch a lot of babies real quick...but that is not cheap. its great experience (you will be doing 5 plus births a day) but for most people involves leaving your family which can be very hard especially if you have kids.
the only other thing you need to really think about is this: its more than a profession. it is a LIFESTYLE. never again can you plan a family vacation, or go out and have a drink with friends, or drive 3 hours away to visit your aunt, or shut your phone off, or get a full nights sleep, or be present at your childrens birthday parties, or watch your kids open christmas presents and you will need johnny on the spot daycare for your kids which can be impossible to get unless you have a partner who happens to work from home or has a super flexable schedule. now thats not to say that you will miss out on everything, but be prepared to potentially miss out on everything because you are on-call 24 hours a day for the rest of your career. you may be able to have another midwife friend "oncall" you can help you out, but they usually have their own clientelle and can only take on so much themselves. this is not an easy career because you and your family no longer come first, other people and THEIR family come first ALWAYS! and then there is the emotinal aspect of loss. babies do not always live. this is true whether or not you birth at home or in a hospital. and there are also many people who experience miscarriage that you will end up having to councel and support. everyone wants a happy ending but that isnt real life and you need to be able to take on the enormous emotional responsibility of all the different situations you will face when working in this field.
my midwife is retiring this year. she spent over 40 years living this life and her biggest regret was missing out on so much of her own family because of the career she chose. she loved being a midwife but is also very excited about finally being able to do all the things she could never do!
i wish you luck :)
I'm a Breast Feeding, CIO, Spanking When Necessary, Early Potty Training, Stay At Home, Pageant Going, Gymnastics and Cheer Mom and Army Wife!
I was thinking
- JocelynsMama1
on Jul. 9, 2012 at 9:33 AM