CNM

Certified nurse-midwives (CNM) are licensed health care practitioners educated in the two disciplines of nursing and midwifery. They provide primary health care to women of childbearing age including: prenatal care, labor and delivery care, care after birth, gynecological exams, newborn care, assistance with family planning decisions, preconception care, menopausal management and counseling in health maintenance and disease prevention.

The CNM practices within a health care system that provides for consultation, collaborative management or referral as indicated by the health status of the client. This collegial relationship with physicians allows many hospital-based CNMs the ability to care for women with a wide variety of risk factors and obstetrical needs. While the majority of CNMs deliver in hospital settings, some CNMs also work with low-risk clients independently in birth center or homebirth practices. CNMs now deliver 9% of all babies born in the US.

The majority of CNMs are educated in programs within institutions of higher education leading to a Masters Degree, and this has become the current standard of nurse-midwifery education. CNMs are certified through the American Midwifery Certification Board (AMCB) and practice legally in all states, though the scope of what they can legally do varies state by state. To learn more about becoming a Certified Nurse Midwife, visit the American Midwifery Certification Board’s website by clicking here.

CPM

A Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) is a knowledgeable, skilled and professional primary maternity care provider. Certified Professional Midwives are trained and credentialed to offer expert care, education, counseling and support to women for pregnancy, birth and the postpartum period. CPMs practice as autonomous health professionals working within a network of relationships with other maternity care providers who can provide consultation and collaboration when needed. All Certified Professional Midwives meet the standards for certification set by the North American Registry of Midwives (NARM).

In the United States, Certified Professional Midwives provide unique and critical access to normal physiologic birth, which profoundly benefits mothers and newborns. Although qualified to practice in any setting, they have particular expertise in providing care in homes and free-standing birth centers, and own or work in over half of the birth centers in the U.S. today.

Certified Professional Midwives are a fast-growing branch of the midwifery profession in the United States. With the first CPM certificate issued in 1994, and with over 2454 certificates awarded as of January 2014, approximately 1 in 6 midwives in the U.S. today is a CPM.

Why choose a CPM for your birth?

Certified Professional Midwives (CPM) are the only nationally-credentialed midwives in the U.S. with special training in providing community-based care, offering services for home and midwife-owned birth center care.

In a maternity care system that has come more and more to rely on medical interventions that are not proven to benefit healthy women during childbirth, women in ever-greater numbers are turning to CPMs and home and birth center care to give birth to their babies. More and more women are seeking care that reflects their aspirations to give birth naturally, knowing that it profoundly benefits them and their babies. Women want to be full and respected partners in their own care, and to have the time, education, attention and company of a midwife they have come to know during pregnancy for themselves and their babies. CPMs provide a model of care that meets the needs and wishes of women seeking this kind of high-quality childbirth experience.

(Taken from The National Association of Certified Professional Midwives. Read more here.)

To learn more about becoming a Certified Professional Midwife, visit the North American Registry of Midwives website by clicking here.