Educational Pathways
Thank you for considering the path of midwifery. West Virginian women need you! MAWV recognizes the need for more midwives throughout the state, and strives to assist and guide students throughout their pathway to midwifery. We hope you find the information in this section useful for advancing your midwifery education.
Direct Entry Midwives (DEMs)
DEMs utilize a variety of educational pathways, including apprenticeships, accredited and unaccredited midwifery schools and programs, and self study. DEMs work primarily out of the hospital, in a home birth setting. Each state has different rules and regulations for DEMs.
Certified Professional Midwives (CPMs)
The CPM credential was created by the North American Registry of Midwives (NARM) to provide an educational certification for DEMs. Midwives seeking the CPM credential also have a variety of training options available including apprenticepships, accredited and unaccredited midwifery schools and programs, and self study. In their training, CPMs must complete educational core content requirements, skills requirements, and experiental training to include home births. CPMs must sit for a national certifiying exam and complete NARMs Portfolio Evaluation Process (PEP). The typical time required to complete this training is 3-5 years. CPMs primarily practice in home birth settings.
Certified Nurse Midwives (CNMs)
CNMs are advanced practice nurses who hold masters degrees in Midwifery. Typical nurse midwifery graduate programs take 24 months to complete (after completion of RN degree), however, there are direct entry nurse midwifery programs that combine the RN training with the Masters in Midwifery. The majority of CNMs practice in hospitals and birth centers. CNMs are licensed in all states by the Board of Nursing.
Direct Entry and CPM training programs in WV:
Sacred Mountain Midwifery School
CNM Programs in WV:
Marshall University School of Nursing, in partnership with Shenandoah University, offers a CNM degree. Visit their webpages for more information:
Shenandoah University
Marshall University School of Nursing
Important links:
The Midwifery Education Accredation Council (MEAC) accredits schools that train DEMs and CPMs.
North American Registery of Midwives - for information on CPM training and requirements.
American College of Nurse Midwives.