Do Midwives Follow Standards and Guidelines?

We get it! The concept of a care provider that works out of the hospital might be a foreign idea to you! A common misconception is that there are no standards for Certified Professional Midwives. The truth is that our field has a very narrow scope of practice with standards and guidelines that help us ensure that we maintain safe boundaries for ourselves and our clients. The Georgia Midwifery Association has existed since 1985 to provide standards and guidelines for the midwives who practice out of hospital. Read 2019 Standards and Guidelines here.

Do Midwives have Practice Protocols?

Practice protocols are unique to each institution and practice. A common misconception about Certified Professional Midwives is that we do not adhere to practice protocols. Actually, we are required to submit practice protocols in order to apply to take the test for our national certification. Just like your hospital has a written protocol for what to do for postpartum hemorrhage or treatment of urinary tract infection, a CPM does too! You might be surprised to find that our protocols look a lot like yours, but we refer out when someone needs more medical attention whereas you might just treat them yourself. We will be providing examples soon.

Do Midwives do Continuing Education or Peer Review?

Another commonly misunderstood thing that other types of providers bring up is that we are uneducated. This is also not true. A Certified Professional Midwife has simply forgone nursing instruction which is not necessary when you are not working in a hospital or for a physician. We jump right into our midwifery studies and spend an average of 3-5 years only studying midwifery. We also are require to pursue continuing education to maintain our national certification, just like you do! We probably have attended some of the same conferences as you, since most of our CE credits are granted by an accrediting organization such as MEAC, ACOG, ACNM, AWHONN, AAFP, State Health Departments, Nursing or Perinatal Associations. Our certifying organization also requires cultural competencies for recertification.

We are also required to participate in regular peer review, reporting outcomes, and accepting feedback.