By Holly Powell Kennedy, CNM, PhD, FAAN, FACNM, President, American College of Nurse-Midwives Today ACNM’s peer-reviewed journal, the Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health (JMWH) released the long awaited and much anticipated National Birth Center Study II (NBCS II). The first study of this magnitude since 1989, NBCS II features the outcomes of 15,574 births to women who sought care at midwife-led birth centers. As midwives, we know our unique, woman-centered style of care leads to excellent...

By Stephanie Tillman, CNM, MSN Every once in a while, my emotions take over. The daily grind outweighs the beauty of individual interactions, and I (silently, or actually) yell out, “I just want to be a midwife!” Well, guess how that happens? Every midwife first takes the certification exam. There is the rational preparation of studying, practice questions, a good night’s sleep, and maintaining one’s normal routine the morning of the exam. Perhaps the difference with the certificat...

By Stephanie Tillman, CNM, MSN What is the first year of midwifery practice like? Experienced midwives might remember theirs with assured and distant hindsight, considering both the beauty of that time and also cringing at the scars of the learning curve. Student midwives may anticipate the first year with anxiety, uncertain of skills still being practiced and facts yet memorized, always knowing the limitations of school learning. Those currently living the first year may fear their experienc...