How Many Years of School to Become a Midwife?
Midwives provide prenatal care to women and attend births. They often provide well-woman care as well, doing routine gynecological exams and providing family planning services. Midwives require education in the fields of women's health and midwifery, of course. The amount of schooling midwives have depends on the type of midwifery they practice and the type of licensure they hold.
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Midwifery
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There are different paths to becoming a midwife. Some midwifery students attend nursing school, become registered nurses and then go on to become certified nurse-midwives. They must pass an exam and are licensed to practice midwifery in any state. Other midwives do not attend nursing school and are known as direct-entry midwives. Their schooling varies widely. In some states they must be licensed but not all states license or regulate direct-entry midwives. In some states, direct-entry midwives cannot legally practice midwifery at all.
Certified Nurse-Midwife
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Certified nurse-midwives have bachelor's degrees in nursing, which generally take four years of schooling to earn. Then they go on to graduate school and study nurse midwifery, which takes one or two more years depending on where they go to school, for a total for five or six years of school. They generally have more years of school than direct-entry midwives.
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Direct-Entry Midwife
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Direct-entry midwives receive varying amounts of schooling. Some states require direct-entry midwives to complete an approved educational program in order to become licensed. In other states, direct-entry midwives may complete an approved educational program or may simply apprentice with an experienced midwife for a period of time. The length of educational programs for direct-entry midwives varies from program to program; for instance, the Florida School of Traditional Midwifery offers a three-year program for direct-entry midwives while the National College of Midwifery offers an associate degree that students can complete in as little as one year.
Apprenticeships and Hand-on Experience
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Some direct-entry midwives learn by apprenticeship only and have no formal education. The lengths of apprenticeships vary. Some direct-entry midwives complete a program of formal education as well as an apprenticeship. Certified nurse-midwives do not usually do apprenticeships but many work as registered nurses in hospital labor and delivery units or birthing centers after completing their bachelor's degrees in nursing and obtaining their licenses, prior to attending nurse-midwifery school. They also get hands-on experience in both nursing school and nurse-midwifery school.
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