Direct Entry Midwife

All Midwives spend their careers helping women give birth to babies. The difference between the various types of Midwives is mainly a matter of education and licensing. While a Nurse Midwife has nursing training and a license, a Direct Entry Midwife has training only in childbirth, and may or may not have a license. A Direct Entry Midwife may also rely on traditional medicine rather than medications to ease childbirth pain.

As a Direct Entry Midwife, you form close relationships with the mothers in your care. Long before the birth takes place, you meet and plan. Since you don’t have a license, you cannot formally provide prenatal care, but you ask about her Doctor ’s appointments so you can make sure she doesn’t have health problems that might crop up during the birth.

The births you supervise often take place in the parents’ homes, and you hurry over when labor begins. You provide massages and coach the mom to breathe properly. You let her lean on your strong shoulders so she can stretch, or help her walk from room to room to make the contractions more bearable. When the baby is born, you’re the first to see its wizened face and tiny fingers, and you hand it to the thrilled parents.

If the labor stretches on for many hours or the mother experiences a medical problem, such as shortness of breath or extreme fatigue, you call her Doctor and ride with her to the hospital. In most states, you’re not allowed to provide care in the hospital, but you do provide emotional support as the Doctors and Nurses take over the care.