What countries will take a certified professional midwife?

[homebirthing]

I am thinking more and more about moving after I am done with my apprenticeship. It will have been seven years of apprenticeship and I will have my CPM. I have five children and a lovely husband and I would love to move somewhere out of the US.

The problem is I have been looking for awhile and it is really hard to figure out where I can move to and have a job. The midwifery laws are so completely different from region to region. Can someone help me out????

Places that interest me would be:

Germany (I have dual citizenship in Germany, so this is very much on the top of my list)

Ireland

England

Netherlands (A great homebirth area I here.)

New Zealand

Vancouver, BC

Thank you for helping!!

[jengacnm]

I'm a CNM in Chicago and am planning to move to Vancouver BC next fall. You'd need to do a bridging program of 6 to 9 months in order to become registered there. All midwives in Canada do home and hospital birth, so your focus in the bridging program would likely be hospital birth.

Here's the link to the bridging program: http://cmrc-ccosf.ca/node/213 .

Hope this helps-maybe our paths will cross.!

Warmly-

Jennifer

[NewSolarMomma]

From what I have read none of the countries you mentioned accept CPMs, allow them to practice at all, and will sometimes prosecute non licensed MWs if they do practice. The standards are too dissimilar; all of those countries have midwives that have educational and training requirements equal to our CNMs.

I am pretty sure (but not positive) that of all industrialized countries only the USA allows CPMs (or any other direct entry MWs). Canada use to have CPMs but they were banned a few years ago.

There are other countries you may not have considered where you're skills will be valuable. I live in Mexico, on the Pacific, and its great here even though I don't speak Spanish :)

Good luck!

[jengacnm]

Originally Posted by NewSolarMomma 

From what I have read none of the countries you mentioned accept CPMs, allow them to practice at all, and will sometimes prosecute non licensed MWs if they do practice. The standards are too dissimilar; all of those countries have midwives that have educational and training requirements equal to our CNMs.

I am pretty sure (but not positive) that of all industrialized countries only the USA allows CPMs (or any other direct entry MWs). Canada use to have CPMs but they were banned a few years ago.

There are other countries you may not have considered where you're skills will be valuable. I live in Mexico, on the Pacific, and its great here even though I don't speak Spanish :)

Good luck!

Bolded= wrong.

I'm certain that midwives in Canada, New Zealand, and the Netherlands have a four year degree in midwifery-no nursing degree required first. Germany I'm not sure about. England and Ireland both require nursing degrees.

All Candian midwives are "registered". If by CPM you mean "unlicensed", then yes, there are probably midwives doing home births in Canada that aren't registered, and I don't know what, if any, prosecution there is.

homebirthing, this link http://cmrc-ccosf.ca/node/221 will be able to tell you if you are eligible for the bridging program. If your training is exclusively apprenticeship with no formal education, you aren't eligible, but they have an assessment process for midwives with a lot of experience.

And, of course, if you don't want to work in a hospital, you may not be interested in coming to Canada! :)

[MidwifeErika]

I looked into New Zealand a few years ago. While they don't automatically accept the CPM as a credential to get you up and running, I was told that I could submit all my info in a portfolio and they would evaluate it. I don't know much more about it other than that.

[MamaRabbit]

(I thought homebirthing was a big no-no in Germany?)

Where I live in Thailand, I suppose a CPM would be taken if I'd done a university program to get there with a great resume and transcripts.

BUT .... you are forgetting that with most countries, you need a VISA... very specific stipulations for living in that country.

And here, not sure about other places, just because you get a visa, doens't mean you have a PERMIT to work at all.

So it's not just the CPM, it's the 95% other stuff that would need to be taken into consideration.

[ukmidwife]

Originally Posted by jengacnm 

Quote:

Originally Posted by NewSolarMomma 

From what I have read none of the countries you mentioned accept CPMs, allow them to practice at all, and will sometimes prosecute non licensed MWs if they do practice. The standards are too dissimilar; all of those countries have midwives that have educational and training requirements equal to our CNMs.

I am pretty sure (but not positive) that of all industrialized countries only the USA allows CPMs (or any other direct entry MWs). Canada use to have CPMs but they were banned a few years ago.

Bolded= wrong.

I'm certain that midwives in Canada, New Zealand, and the Netherlands have a four year degree in midwifery-no nursing degree required first. Germany I'm not sure about. England and Ireland both require nursing degrees.

That which I've bolded is also incorrect. Since (I think) 2000, midwives in England must have a BSc in Midwifery. This can be obtained by a three-year programme for direct entry students or an 18 month programme for registered nurses. Mine was as the latter in 2009. I'm not sure about Ireland as their licensing is entirely separate. There are independent midwives in the UK (vs NHS) but they have the same educational requirements since 2000.

[ukmidwife]

Originally Posted by MamaRabbit 

BUT .... you are forgetting that with most countries, you need a VISA... very specific stipulations for living in that country.

And here, not sure about other places, just because you get a visa, doens't mean you have a PERMIT to work at all.

So it's not just the CPM, it's the 95% other stuff that would need to be taken into consideration.

This is really important! It is extremely difficult to move into other countries nowadays! Getting a visa, and permits to work as well, are like hen's teeth. (I moved to the UK from the USA) However, the OP says she has dual citizenship in Germany, so I believe this would give her free access to the UK, at least, via both being EU countries.

[homebirthing]

I am not going to school, but instead doing a really long apprenticeship. I will have my CPM, but no MEAC accredidation. Hmmm...what to do.

[mntnmom]

I just had a homebirth in Germany. My understanding is that German midwives go to a 3 yr specialized school for midwives. Beyond that though, you also need to consider insurance and culture of practice. It is getting harder for homebirth midwives in Germany due to some changes in insurance law. But being an EU citizen makes it MUCH easier to live and work in other EU countries. Good luck, we're having the same conversation at our house!

[rmyrene]

For you living in Mexico could you tell me more about the process to practice as a midwife there. Are you practicing there? What do you know about state or national law regulating home birth in MX? I agree totally about the visa aspect of the problem...could be quite a big deal for me to be able to practice as a midwife there. I hold a CO license in the US and a CPM. Thoughts or feed back welcome!

[starrlamia]

Canada has registered midwives though i think it varies from province to province, you do not need nursing first, it is a 4 year university bachelor program to become certified and Im pretty sure the program is the same if you are a nurse or not. It is however very difficult to get into the 4 year program :S

You do need to do a bridging program in order to practice if you are coming out of country. I am not 100% on BC regulations if they differ from Ontario but you could check out

http://www.bcmidwives.com/

http://www.midwifery.ubc.ca/midwifery.htm

Vancouver is an amazing city! Ive only visited there but it is one of the most beautiful places Ive been :)

[shannon84]

I wanted to bump this thread to see if any of you had any information on Mexico as well.  My family will be moving there soon and I plan to practice in Mexico...

[sraplayas]

Shannon--Where are you moving to in Mexico?

I am on a search for a midwife here to do a HB, if at all possible. :)

[delfin]

sra playas, where are you? i lived in mexico for a few years and im coming back next summer. In some states there are great midwives, like in San Cristobal de las Casas (Luna Maya) and in Veracruz is Naoli Vinaver, a real wise soul. Aldso in San Miguel is CASA, the midwifery school, and in Mexico city there are options too.

[sraplayas]

delfin--Thanks.:) We live in Northern Baja, and I am pretty sure that HB is not technically "legal" in this state. If you have any resources, I would love them! I've had to drive across the border for my previous births and it would be so special to do it here this time and not have that extra stress added on. :) It's at times like this that I wish we were in Veracruz or San Miguel!

[delfin]

ah, don't know ther...i was in san jose del cabo and we got a doc for my homebirth (that ended in transfer because he. just. didn't. show.up

i will see if i find something....lay midwifes for sure, but let's find professionals if thats what you would like :)

[delfin]

sra playas, do you know her? Georgina García Lepe, Centro de atencion materno infantil Cami

is in TJ, she's a cb educator and doula, but it seems that she works with a team doing water births and gentle birth

[sraplayas]

delfin, thank you. How did you find her? I will definitely follow up on this. :)

[delfin]

i did a google search with partera tijuana, then i found her on facebook ....ah, the interweb!