Recognizing Certified Midwives

What is a Certified Midwife (CM)?

The path to becoming a CM includes completing a graduate program accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Midwifery Education (ACME) and passing a board certification exam from the American Midwifery Certification Board (AMCB), just like Certified Nurse-Midwives (CNMs); however the CM course of study does not require an active registered nursing license.
CMs and CNMs sit for the same board exams, have the same scope of practice, and the same prescriptive authority (ACNM, n.d.)

Did you know that Pennsylvania already has a Certified Midwife Training Program at Jefferson University, but graduates can't practice in this state?

The United States is facing a maternal health crisis. The US has one of the highest maternal mortality rates among developed countries (Snyder et al, 2020)
Pennsylvania received a C grade on the March of Dimes Preterm Birth Report Card (March of Dimes, 2020)
60% of PA counties are medically underserved, of those 78% are rural or partially rural (Pennsylvania Department of Health, 2018)
Licensing CMs, and reducing barriers to enter practice, will increase the obstetric provider workforce and reduce provider shortages in Pennsylvania

The certified midwife credential was developed in 1994 in order to reduce barriers and expand the educational pathways to midwifery (ACNM, n.d.)
- The requirement to complete a nursing degree poses significant financial and time burdens for students who completed non-nursing undergraduate degrees prior to midwifery school (Lichtman et al, 2015)
- A previous nursing background has not been demonstrated to improve student success amongst advanced practice providers (Niemczyk, 2018; Ortega et al, 2013)

The Midwifery Modernization Bill will include the licensure of Certified Midwives and add Pennsylvania to this map!

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