About Midwifery

What Is a Certified Nurse-Midwife?

A certified nurse midwife (CNM) is a registered nurse who has completed advanced education to provide specialized health care to women regarding:

• pregnancy
• childbirth
• the postpartum period
• care of the newborn
• family planning
• gynecological care
• primary care

Certified nurse-midwives prescribe drugs and order diagnostic and laboratory tests.

Education

Certified nurse-midwives in Kansas and Missouri possess:

• graduate education from a pre-accredited or accredited university
• a state board of nursing license
• passing results from a rigorous national exam conducted for the American College of Nurse Midwives (ACNM)
• continuing competency to practice as an advanced practice nurse, dually recognized by Kansas and Missouri state boards of nursing

Outcomes

Certified nurse-midwives are adept at providing care that helps women prevent complications. The following statistics are from the May 1998 issue of the "Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health."

Women whose infants were delivered by a CNM in the US had:

• 31% lower risk of low birth weight infants
• 33% lower risk of neonatal mortality
• 19% lower risk of infant deaths

The following statistics are from the November 1996 issue of "Obstetrics and Gynecology." Women whose infants were delivered by a CNM in the US had:

• 10% increase of breastfeeding at delivery
• 17% lowered risk for perineal laceration
• 12% increase of rooming-in of infant

The following statistics are from the May 1993 issue of "American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology." Women whose infants were delivered by a CNM in the US had:

• lower rate of cesarean section than did physician deliveries
• 50% less probability to have fetal distress
• 25% less probability to have labor arrests