Benefits of Increasing the Number of Midwifery Education Programs

Sukey Krause, CNM, MSN, FACNM

The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) workforce analysis of 2017 projects a shortfall of more than 20,000 qualified maternity care providers by the year 2050.

Most developed countries provide for the maternity needs of their population through the use of professional midwives. The United States has one of the lowest midwife-to-physician ratios in developed countries, and this ratio has remained relatively static for decades.

ACOG and the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM) are working together to address this issue. There is ample evidence in support of midwifery-led models of care and the benefit of midwifery management in low-risk birth, but we need to double our capacity to educate midwives to help meet this shortfall.

Benefits for Academic Medical Centers

One approach is to develop a broader variety of accessible nurse-midwifery education programs. Numerous academic medical centers with OB/GYN residencies and robust midwifery practices exist. Certified nurse-midwives (CNMs) are involved in the education of residents and medical students throughout the nation. It is possible to develop midwifery education programs within such academic medical centers.

Using the Baystate Midwifery Education Program in Springfield, MA, as a model, we can explain how a clinical service can expand to include a midwifery education program, adding CNM positions while improving job satisfaction and CNM retention.

Funding structures through the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services exist to support such education programs. Academic affiliation and education articulation allow concurrent acquisition of a master’s degree.

This program design also supports opportunities for inter-professional education. Educating midwives and physicians together enhances collaboration and improves appreciation of the complementary nature of the two professions: midwifery contributes expertise in physiologic birth, and obstetricians provide expertise in the management of pathology.

Providing more programs within cities will improve access to midwifery education and may increase the diversity of the midwifery workforce. This model of midwifery education has been working at Baystate Medical Center since 1992. We have graduated over 100 midwives and have a 100% first-time pass rate on the American Midwifery Certification Board (AMCB) exam.

Would it work at your institution? Contact us to learn more.