Midwives play an important role in providing comprehensive care and education for women and their newborns.  Have you ever wondered what a midwife’s yearly salary might be?  There are several factors that determine the salary  range.  Most importantly is midwife education and certification.  Other factors are the level and years of work experience, employer, and the service location.  Certified nurse midwives can earn an estimated salary between $70,000 to $90,000 a year. There are several accredited midwife schools across the nation and we have many of them listed here on our website called How Do I Become A Midwife.

• Interesting facts about midwifery in the U.S.A. on a global comparison.
• The percentage of countries providing universal prenatal care that have lower infant mortality rates than the United States: 100%.
• The percentage of U.S. births attended principally by midwives: 5% The percentage of European births attended principally by midwives: 75%.
• Number of midwives practicing in the U.S.: 3,000-4,000 direct-entry midwives; 3,500 certified nurse-midwives.
• Number of midwives needed in the U.S. to meet European levels: 120,000.
• The World Health Organization (WHO) states that the preferred location for most births is outside the hospital, either at home or in a birthing center, and that out-of-hospital birth should be implemented and maintained as the basic standard for all midwifery education and training programs.
• According to two recently published studies, direct-entry midwife-attended home births were accomplished with safety comparable to that of conventional births. In fact, physician-attended hospital birth has never been shown to be safer than midwife-attended home birth for women with normal pregnancies.
• Most home births in the United States are attended by direct-entry midwives.
• Americans could save $13 billion to $20 billion annually in health care costs by developing a network of midwifery care providers, demedicalizing childbirth, and encouraging breastfeeding. (Frank A. Oski, M.D., professor and director, Department of Pediatrics, John Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore)

Source:  CHOICE

For those who are considering homebirth you may want to reach out and network with other homebirthers online or in a local community homebirth group.   Your midwife or doula may provide some excellent contact sources with other homebirthers.  Be sure to also check with your state midwife association.  Click here for a list of links to communities that you may enjoy connecting with.

More and more women are considering natural birth.  The following are 100 of some of the best top-notch natural birthing blogs providing invaluable resources covering a vast array of natural birthing subjects such as midwifery, natural birth stories, hypnosis, midwife and doula blogs, lamaze, and podcasts & videos.  These websites will help you make the right choices for the best birthing experience possible.  Click to read more…

From Thebirthsurvey.com – “The purpose of The Birth Survey is to provide women with a venue to give feedback about their birth experiences with specific doctors, midwives, hospitals and birth centers, and to make this feedback available on this website as searchable reports. These reports currently include overall ratings but will over time expand to include detailed feedback. These searchable reports will be a resource to help other women and families to make more informed choices when choosing maternity care providers and birth settings and provide practitioners and institutions with feedback for quality of care improvement efforts.”

Is home birth really as safe as birth at a hospital or birthing center?

For most women with low-risk pregnancies, birth outside the hospital is as safe as—or safer than—hospital birth. The medical attitude of expecting trouble during birth, and the hospital policies that support this attitude, prevent women from giving birth easily and safely in the typical hospital.

A midwife is a person who has undertaken an accredited education program in order to register to practice midwifery. Midwives provide care for childbearing families throughout the preconceptual period, pregnancy, labor and birth and the early postnatal period. They also provide care for newly born infants. Throughout the world, the majority of healthy pregnant and birthing women are cared for by midwives.

What Does a Midwife Do?

Midwife USA offers valuable Midwife and birthing resources for expectant mothers, new moms, and all levels of Midwives and Doulas.  Founded by mothers and Midwife advocates who believe that home birth is a natural process that can be safe and empowering by making informed choices.  We want to share safe and healthy birth options for expectant mothers so they can make intelligent decisions regarding their own pregnancy and delivery.

We at Midwife USA hope that you find useful and practical information for your birthing journey.  As mothers, we want to share the joys and adventures of our own birth experiences and hope that you will be inspired to make the best choice possible for you and your baby.

Sincerely,
Janice & Susan
The Staff at Midwife USA
Connecting Women for Life