Midwifery Today Community

Hi, everyone!

My name is Jenni and I live in Baltimore, MD. I'm currently working toward DONA International certification as a birth doula. I'm also an aspiring midwife.

Can anyone recommend a good DEM program (preferably MEAC-accredited)?

Has anyone studied at Birthingway College of Midwifery? Florida School of Traditional Midwifery? International School of Midwifery? I need feedback from current and former students!

Thanks so much!

 Hi Jenni!

I am a student of Ancient Art Midwifery and even though it isn't MEAC accredited I highly recommend it!  As far as education goes it is the best one out there.    If you have any questions about AAMI I would be happy to answer them.  It may take me a while to get back here, I just had my 12th baby 4 weeks ago today, but I will respond as soon as I get a chance.

Sherry

Congrats on your baby, Sherry. I'm considering ancient arts midwifery institute, so I might have some questions later.

Caroline

I am hoping to start the AAMI program as soon as we are able...which is looking like March - April...  I am really excited.  I live in Portland, OR...the home of Birthingway college of Midwifery, but the tuition is completely out of our price range.

I have heard so many good things about AAMI, and just because a school isn not MEAC accredited, does not mean it is not a worthwhile program. You can take the NARM exam whether or not you have gone to one of those schools...and THAT is what helps you get licensed and established in most states. It seems that MEAC accreditation has more to do with moolah and networking than anything else.  Do not forget, many of the midwives who came before us, who teach us and inspire us, used the true apprenticeship model!  There were no MEAC schools with 30k+ tuition, just women handing down knowledge to other women as they had for centuries.  (Just like my great grandmother did to my grandmother!  I caught the bug too...)  I hope that we can each find our own educational path that is right for us, and be respected for that choice.  Be it lay midwifery, or a B.S. in Midwifery!

 Jenni

I am also an aspiring midwife. I am visiting the Florida School of Traditional Midwifery in March to see if it is the school for me. Is there anything you want me to ask them while I am there?

love

yarra

 I too will be visiting the Florida School of Traditional Midwifery next month!  It looks like an unbeatable program and I've chatted with some of their graduates and they all have excellent things to say about it!

Yarra...Will you be attending their introducory meeting on the 25th?

 I've seriously looked into FSTM (florida school of traditional midwifery) and have decided not to go there. It is a good program, and they do have many wonderful midwives graduate from there, but here is why I made my decision:

1- class scheduling- they say it is commuter friendly, but really it isn't. They often have classes 5 days a week, and often different days each week, so it is very unconsistant. that makes it hard not to live in gainsville, which has a poor job market and is quite a college town. It also makes it hard to keep a good schedule with a preceptor.

2- If you live in gainsville it can be REALLY hard to get your birth numbers- and florida requires more then any other state (to the best of my knowledge). There is tons of competition for apprenticeships, and I don't agree with the way they have had graduates get numbers (imo- touching baby while it's being born does not mean you were the primary-) there is a LOT more to managing a birth then catching.

3- the price is astronomical- and there are no student loans as of now- only conventional, which can be extremely hard to get. The school has said many times that they will have student loans soon- but they've been saying that for years, from what I hear.

Those were the 3 biggest reasons I'm looking elsewhere for my education.

Those are really good points to consider...The money doesn't bother me because compared to what I paid my University they're small...the scheduling however would be a concern!

 Lauriebelle

I will be in Florida March 6-16th so unfortunetly not.

I'd also be VERY interested in hearing opinions and experiences of those who know about Maternidad La Luz!!!!

I've been aspiring to midwifery for a while.  Still not sure exactly how or when, being a very busy homeschooling mommy, probably having another baby in the next year or so, but I do know that I have to be involved in birth somehow. 

A few of you mentioned AAMI.  I like their structure and the fact that they are family friendly.  I'm also glad that their reputation seems pretty strong.  Their pricing is also very do-able.  Are there any other direct-entry distance learning programs that lead into or are in conjuction with apprenticeships?    Please bear with me, I'm just beginning to look into this.

Keep the info coming.  I'll be watching this thread.

Hello! I don't have any personal experience with any programs yet but I'm pretty excited to "meet" someone right off the bat that lives in my hometown! I am not there yet (right now I'm in NYS) but I will be by the end of March.  I think it's great there are actually a few people in Baltimore interested in midwifery! :)

you can go to mana.org or narm.org and follow their links to DEM programs. I did a self-study program, so i'm not the best person to ask, but I personally know people who did the Utah school of midwifery, ,and the one based in Maine. They all seem like very good options.

The big issue with schools, is that midwives seem to be graduating with very little experience under their belt, but feel that they are fully equipped midwives, rather than very inexperienced midwives. The technical numbers required are somewhere around 20 "observe/assist" and 20 "catches". Often those catches are with a preceptors hands on yours, rather than you carrying the weight of the whole birth AND then catching, after having been trained to catch.

NARM's CPM process considers the PEP entry to be THE GOLD stardard (or platinum, whatever is highest). Schools must MEET the PEP's standards, rather than the PEP applicants meeting a school (or MEAC's) standards. So if you do an apprenticeship along with a formal program of study (and not as a small "clinical" part of your school) you will be VERY well prepared.

Hope that helps!

Ruth

Hi, babiesforRuby (Ruth),

Let me see if I understand you.  Midwifery schools, such as the ones we're tossing around here (are you referring to the distance learning programs specifically?), offer little by way of clinical experience, but that meeting the NARM's CPM requirements (PEP), you're well prepared because it requires much more actual, hands on experience??  Am I getting you?  Just from what I've been thinking about in the last couple of weeks, to me, an apprenticeship would be an absolute necessity when doing a distance learning program.  I would not feel prepared.  I learn much better from seeing and doing.

Thanks for your input.

 I'm not very experienced with forums. I'm more of a Yahoo! groups girl, but thought I would give it a shot! 

I am a mother of 3 homebirthed babies (9, 7, and 5). I am also homeschooling my kids. I began teaching natural childbirth and doula-ing in 2003. In 2005, I became a Birth Assistant for the midwives who attended my third birth. In 2008, I enrolled in Midwives College of Utah and switched roles from Birth Assistant to Student Midwife. I love MCU and feel the courses are good preparation. Of course, I agree that birth experience is essential to any midwifery training. Between home births (as birth assistant or student midwife) and hospital births (as a doula), I've attended almost 100 births. I have yet to be the Primary at any births.

MCU is very clear that being the Primary at a birth has nothing to do with whether you catch or not. You have to be making the midwifery decisions. You can catch a baby and not be the primary midwife, and you can be the primary midwife and not catch the baby (perhaps Dad or the mother herself catches). If other schools or preceptors are defining the Primary Midwife role differently, they are not following NARM. I certainly hope all new midwives are practicing responsibly and continuing with a senior midwife if they need more experience. Probably the worst thing that could happen for midwifery is if we started having more and more bad outcomes hitting the media. ACOG would have a field day with that!