What is the difference between nurse-midwives and direct-entry midwives?
A Certified Nurse-Midwife (CNM) is a person who has been educated both in the discipline of nursing and in the discipline of midwifery. A CNM’s education occurs in a university program accredited through the American College of Nurse-Midwives and the birth experience is primarily in a hospital setting. They must pass a national exam in order to become certified and then are legal and eligible to become licensed in all 50 states. Most CNMs work in hospitals or birth centers. A direct-entry midwife is educated in the discipline of midwifery in a program or path that does not also require her to become educated as a nurse. Direct-entry midwives learn midwifery through self-study, apprenticeship, a midwifery school, or a college- or university-based program distinct from the discipline of nursing. A direct-entry midwife is trained to provide the Midwives Model of Care to healthy women and newborns throughout the childbearing cycle primarily in out-of-hospital settings.
