The Homebirth & Midwife Choice

• You must have a strong desire to birth at home; cost is not sufficient motivation to birth at home.
• You must trust in your body's natural ability to birth and be willing to devote time and energy to finding the right birth practitioner, to doing research and to taking care of your self.

Types of Midwives

Home births are typically overseen by a midwife. An increasing number of states are recognizing the practice of midwifery and have created education and licensing requirements to create the best midwives and birthing support available.

In some states there are two types of Midwives:

Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM) is a registered nurse who is educated in midwifery and has passed the ACNM (American College of Nurse Midwives) exam. Most of these midwives work through a hospital or in collaboration with a physician and also have the authority to dispense drugs.

Licensed Midwife, also called a “direct-entry” is a midwife who has professional preparation on midwifery and has met all the credentials set by the state. This type of midwife most often oversees deliveries in a birthing center environment or attends home births.

Find out more about the licensing requirements for your state.  Most often midwives are licensed by the State Health Department.

Trying to find the perfect midwife, here are some questions you should consider asking your potentials:

• What is your rate of cesarean section? Episiotomy? Forceps birth? Use of drugs and anesthesia?
• Do you require or recommend prenatal testing and sonograms?
• What role will my birth partner play?
• How much time do you allot to each prenatal visit, and how long is a typical wait in the anteroom?

You might also want to ask these questions to evaluate the credentials and standards of practice for your midwife:

• Do you have a college degree?
• Did you graduate from a nationally accredited midwifery education program?
• Are you licensed to practice?
• How will you determine if I am an appropriate candidate for midwifery care and what will happen if I need the care of a physician?
• Are you prepared to provide well-woman and gynecological care, including screening for common health problems and writing prescriptions?
• Have you passed a national certification examination?