Future Midwives- Tell Me About Your Course of Study

[phathui5]

I'm another one here at MDC who wants to be a midwife "one day." Right now, I'm a doula and a homeschooling mother to four children, aged 9, 7, 5, and 3.

I took the DONA Birth Doula training this past winter and am planning to send in my long-finished certification paperwork to DONA soon. This coming weekend, I am going to be taking the BirthWorks Childbirth Educator workshop, with an eye towards completing their childbirth educator program in the next year.

Midwifery school isn't something that I can fit into my life right now, as tempting as it is.

My plan is to continue attending births and studying pregnancy, birth, breastfeeding and baby care until my youngest is about ten years old, and then pick a path into midiwfery (school, apprenticeship, CPM, CNM, etc).

My questions is for the other moms here who want to be midwives "one day." Are you studying midwifery already? What are you reading? Do you have a course of self-education that you're working on? Do you go to conferences?

Am I torturing myself by spending time on something that I have to hold off on or is it good to study and stay current until I am able to fit this into my life more fully?

[completebeginnings]

I am currently apprenticing but I was once like you and I wish I had studied MORE. I knew a heck of a lot going in but I am still overwhelmed by what I have learned in the last 2 years. I was a doula (DONA) and CBE (CAPPA and Bradley) for 5 years before I started apprenticing I taught a ton of classes and attended a lot of births. So I learned as I went. I have been apprenticing for 2 1/2 years with a main preceptor plus doing birth occasionally with others and hope to be ready to take the NARM next year. I have done self study using the old Midwife to Be program (when they sent you the whole curriculum now they are all online so it isn't the same) as a guide line plus the NARM CIB as a study guide. And I am reading every midwifery book I can get my hands on cover to cover. I am neck to neck with many of my friends that have gone the traditional distance schooling way so I am happy with my choice even thought it has been hard to write my own curriculum, but it has been nice to cut out busy work as well. I may go to Casa or the Philippines next summer just to round things out as I work with a very hands off midwife.
I would say attend births. Keep great records and write what you learned from each. I wish I had done this better.
Teach.
Stay involved with the community so you won't have to wait for years to find an apprenticeship.
And read read read.
BTW I have kids about your kids ages and homeschool as well. I have done births since my oldest was 10 months and it is doable but really difficult.

[Cheap Sunglasses]

It sounds like you are getting some great experience with your doula and CBE work. I have 2 young children and plan to have 1 or 2 more before pursuing and apprenticeship, so for now, I just read. I know I am going the CPM route, so most (but not all) of the books I select are from the NARM reference list:

Written Examination Primary Reference List
Davis, Elizabeth, Heart and Hands: A Midwife’s Guide to Pregnancy and Birth, 4th edition, Celestial Arts,2004.
Frye, Anne, Holistic Midwifery: A Comprehensive Textbook for Midwives and Home Birth Practice, Vol. I,Care During Pregnancy, Labrys Press, revised 1995.
Frye, Anne. Holistic Midwifery: A Comprehensive Textbook for Midwives and Home Birth Practice, Vol. II,Care During Labor and Birth, Labrys Press, 2004.
Frye, Anne, Understanding Diagnostic Tests in the Childbearing Year, 6th edition, Labrys Press, 1997.
Gaskin, Ina May, Spiritual Midwifery, 4th edition, The Book Publishing Company, 2002.
Myles, Margaret, Textbook for Midwives, 14th edition, Elsevier, 2003
Page, Lesley Ann, The New Midwifery, Churchill Livingstone, 2000
Simpkin & Ancheta, Labor Progress Handbook, Blackwell, 2000
Sinclair, Constance, A Midwife’s Handbook, Saunders, 2004
Thureen, Assessment & Care of the Well Newborn, Saunders, 1998
Varney, Helen, Midwifery, 4th edition, Jones and Bartlett, 2003

Written Examination Secondary Reference List
Coad, Jane, Anatomy & Physiology for Midwives, Mosby, 2001
Frye, Anne, Healing Passage, 5th edition. Labrys Press, 1995
Goer, Henci, The Thinking Woman’s Guide to Birth, Penguin Putnam, 1999
Hall, Jennifer, Midwifery Mind and Spirit, Elsevier, 2001
Johnson & Taylor, Skills for Midwifery Practice, Churchill & Livingston, 2001
La Leche League, International. The Breastfeeding Answer Book. Mohrbacker and Stock, 1997.
Oxhorn and Foote, Human Labor and Birth, 5th edition. McGraw Hill, 1986.
Pritchard and McDonald, William’s Obstetrics, 21st edition. Prentiss Hall, 2001
Renfrew, Fisher, Arms, Bestfeeding: Getting Breastfeeding Right. 2nd edition, Celestial Arts, 2000
Wickham, Sarah, Midwifery, Best Practice, Elsevier, 2003

I would love to go to a conference or skills training, but that's not feasible for me with the babies...

[sillygrl]

At one point, I had started the midwife-to-be course but ended up stopping for many reasons, mostly really young kids and not being able to find a preceptor. I still love reading about birth, etc, and hope to one day actually find the perfect apprenticeship and persue becoming a midwife.

I think you're doing great!! Keep yourself in the birth community, and keep up on the doula and CBE work. When you're ready to really start, you'll have just that much more under your belt and I think it speaks well if you decide to go the CPM route and approach a mw for apprenticeship. They'll be able to see that you really are passionate about natural birth and also that you're self-motivated.

[MamaRabbit]

When I was at the stage you're at, I did tons of self-study, attended births as a doula, taught CBE. Mostly read anything/everything birth until I was at a point where I could commit to something and knew what direction to go.

[cali4niachef]

I will become a CPM via PEP. I might do some online schooling if its reasonable, but I dont think its necessary. I dont want anything taking away from my apprenticeship.

[phathui5]

Thank you all for your input! Sometimes I get to thinking that I should just leave it alone until I'm really ready to pursue student midwifery, but I am going to keep studying!

[Sijae]

Originally Posted by cali4niachef

I will become a CPM via PEP. I might do some online schooling if its reasonable, but I dont think its necessary. I dont want anything taking away from my apprenticeship.

I don't see how academics could possibly take away from your apprenticeship. unless you are doing a comprehensive academic study course with your preceptor you should definitely be doing some sort of school.

I think it's best to get traditional apprenticeship experience from your preceptor and academics from a different source. That way you are exposed to a lot more different perspectives and come out with a more well-rounded education.

[~Kristina~]

Originally Posted by Sijae

I don't see how academics could possibly take away from your apprenticeship. unless you are doing a comprehensive academic study course with your preceptor you should definitely be doing some sort of school.

I think it's best to get traditional apprenticeship experience from your preceptor and academics from a different source. That way you are exposed to a lot more different perspectives and come out with a more well-rounded education.

Agree 100%. Knowledge is power, especially in birth.

[cali4niachef]

Originally Posted by Sijae

I don't see how academics could possibly take away from your apprenticeship. unless you are doing a comprehensive academic study course with your preceptor you should definitely be doing some sort of school.

I think it's best to get traditional apprenticeship experience from your preceptor and academics from a different source. That way you are exposed to a lot more different perspectives and come out with a more well-rounded education.

I appreciate your input but I dont feel I need formal schooling, its not necessary for the PEP to sit for the NARM. I've been studying birth for 5yrs, so its not like I wont be doing ANY studying during my apprenticeship. I may do self study or I may do something simple like Midwife To Be course.

I want to be distracted by my studies, homework and reports to turn in. I want to be able to be devoted 100% to my apprenticeship.

I've been in school since 2002 off and on. I have no desire to take out additional loans. I have the GI Bill and I've tried countless ways to figure out a way to use it to pay for midwifery education. Either I have to get my Masters in Midwifery at Frontier or I need to move accross the country to Oregon. Neither is possible, I wont relocate my family.

I'm currently a birth doula and I previously worked for 2.5yrs on the OB floor at two hospitals. Soon I will be teaching CBE. I attend Midwifery Today confereneces, domestic and international. I'm pretty well-rounded.

I also plan to apprentice with two-different midwives.

Again this is what works for *me*, I have no doubt if I choose not to do any formal schooling that it wont hinder my ability to pass the NARM. Im extremely motivated and determined, I've accomplished everything I ever set my mind to.

[Sijae]

Originally Posted by cali4niachef

I appreciate your input but I dont feel I need formal schooling, its not necessary for the PEP to sit for the NARM. I've been studying birth for 5yrs, so its not like I wont be doing ANY studying during my apprenticeship. I may do self study or I may do something simple like Midwife To Be course.

I want to be distracted by my studies, homework and reports to turn in. I want to be able to be devoted 100% to my apprenticeship.

I've been in school since 2002 off and on. I have no desire to take out additional loans. I have the GI Bill and I've tried countless ways to figure out a way to use it to pay for midwifery education. Either I have to get my Masters in Midwifery at Frontier or I need to move accross the country to Oregon. Neither is possible, I wont relocate my family.

I'm currently a birth doula and I previously worked for 2.5yrs on the OB floor at two hospitals. Soon I will be teaching CBE. I attend Midwifery Today confereneces, domestic and international. I'm pretty well-rounded.

I also plan to apprentice with two-different midwives.

Again this is what works for *me*, I have no doubt if I choose not to do any formal schooling that it wont hinder my ability to pass the NARM. Im extremely motivated and determined, I've accomplished everything I ever set my mind to.

I appreciate that you feel self-study is enough. I wasn't trying to say you have to attend a college to be educated - far from it! I guess I was interpreting your not wanting to be distracted form your apprenticeship as saying you aren't doing academics at all. There are some people out there that think experience is all you need and academic study takes away from their intuition. I think we should all try to be as educated as possible wether we get it from a school or from reading textbooks in our living room.

In my experience, I studied birth for many years (off and on for 15) and I discovered that I am getting a lot more out of studying with my curriculum than I did from studying on my own (or maybe it's just that I am apprenticing now so I have experience to anchor my knowledge). I am doing a distance learning course that emphasizes individual study, and I'm not a fan of accredited learning institutions.

[cali4niachef]

More than likely I will do academics before I apprentice. Since I wont apprentice till all my kids are in school all day, it will be some time. I'm pregnant with my 3rd.

I definitely dont think academic study takes away from the intuition. Either you have it or your dont, nothing can take it away. I am all for education and learning, in all forms.

I might do something like Midwife To Be just so I have so I have a structured curriculum. Which course are you taking?

Originally Posted by Sijae

I appreciate that you feel self-study is enough. I wasn't trying to say you have to attend a college to be educated - far from it! I guess I was interpreting your not wanting to be distracted form your apprenticeship as saying you aren't doing academics at all. There are some people out there that think experience is all you need and academic study takes away from their intuition. I think we should all try to be as educated as possible wether we get it from a school or from reading textbooks in our living room.

In my experience, I studied birth for many years (off and on for 15) and I discovered that I am getting a lot more out of studying with my curriculum than I did from studying on my own (or maybe it's just that I am apprenticing now so I have experience to anchor my knowledge). I am doing a distance learning course that emphasizes individual study, and I'm not a fan of accredited learning institutions.