How to Become a Midwife Consultant

Midwife consultants are certified midwives that have advanced education and experience in the field of midwifing. They act as a liaison for expecting mothers who are interested in delivering at home or in a birthing center. Midwife consultants not only coordinate care for expectant mothers, they also supervise midwives-in-training and provide prenatal, antenatal and postnatal care for both the mother and the infant.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

1. Get the education that you need to become a certified midwife. Your first option is to get a nursing degree. This will take you anywhere from 2 to 4 years. Your second option is to graduate from a midwife certification program that has been accredited by the Midwifery Education Accreditation Council or the ACNM Certification Council. These programs will last any where from 1 to 2 years. Your final option is to gain certification by completing an experience portfolio assessment process offered by the North American Registry of Midwives (see Resources below).

2. Gain practical experience. This will require participating in 20 births as an assistant, participating in between 10 and 20 births as the primary midwife (supervised by a certified midwife), completing 75 prenatal examinations, completing 40 post partum examinations and 20 newborn examinations.

3. Complete supplementary certifications. For example, most states will require their midwives to be certified in CPR for both adults and infants. You will also want to complete IV training and emergency medical care courses.

4. Apply for certification with the North American Registry of Midwives. This process will involve verifying that you have met the educational and experience requirements (mentioned above), as well as verifying that you agree to the ethical standards held by the NARM. You can find a list of the standards on the NARM website (see Resources below).

5. Work in the field of midwifery for 5 to 10 years to gain experience. As you gain experience you will work your way up from entry-level midwife to the midwife consultant position. When you start supervising other midwives or when you start managing cases and midwives, you will be qualified for a midwife consultant position. You can find one of these positions by starting your own business, by talking with an established midwifery clinic or by examining the job postings offered by a local hospital. You can also find midwife consultant positions online via job boards such as Midwife Jobs (see Resources below).

Resources

• Find midwifery jobs.
• Find more midwifery jobs online.
• NARM
• Midwifery Education Accreditation Council

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