The Midwifery Institute is proud to announce the release of the Midwife Diploma! This program is intended to take 4 years to complete. You will find that it is an exceptionally in-depth and rigorous course of study. There are certainly easier programs out there, but few that will compare.
This course is offered completely online coupled with an apprenticeship.
The curriculum has been developed to comply with the ICM (International Confederation of Midwives). Following their requirements, the course is designed to span 4 years of study with steadily increasing clinical responsibilities. The theory component is a total of 261 credits comprised of 111 credits in course work, 15 credits pre-requisites and 135 hours in clinicals. This can encompass a variety of activities and more details will be provided in each term. You can find the competencies list by following the link below.
The goal for this course is not to prepare you for the CPM certification. It is our belief that the CPM is fundamentally flawed, as such we support the new certification through the Council for Midwifery Certification. That being said, any graduate of this course should have no problem passing the NARM exam if they wish.
To receive the final diploma and be eligible for the Junior Midwife (JM) credential, you must complete all classes with passing grades, pass the final exam with an 80% or higher, and meet the experience and skills requirement.
As you look over the course list, you may be wondering what an externship is. When you take on an externship, you spend time shadowing a Junior or Senior Midwife. This time is unpaid since you are not to perform any duties. You also will not be awarded credits for the time you are shadowing. Instead, you will receive the typical three credits for completing the assignments you receive in the externship class.
Term 1
Writing Skills for Midwives (3cr)
Communication (3cr)
Medical Terminology (3cr)
Community Work(3cr)
Term 2
History of Birth (3cr)
Anatomy and Physiology for Midwives (3cr)
Professionalism 1 (3cr)
Community Work (3cr)
Term 3
Nutrition (3cr)
Physical Exam and History Taking (3cr)
First Trimester (3cr)
Externship (3cr)
Term 1
Birth & The State (3cr)
Law, Women’s Rights, and the Midwife (3cr)
Second Trimester (3cr)
Clinicals (10cr)
Term 2
Diversity (3cr)
Herbs and Aromatherapy (3cr)
Third Trimester (3cr)
Clinicals (10cr)
Term 3
Abuse and Trauma (3cr)
Mental Health (3cr)
Fourth Trimester (3cr)
Clinicals (10cr)
Term 1
Homeopathy (3cr)
Understanding Lab work (3cr)
Keeping Birth Normal (3cr)
Clinicals (15cr)
Term 2
Physiology of Labor and Birth (6cr)
VBAC, Breech and Twins (3cr)
Clinicals (15cr)
Term 3
Emergency Skills (3cr)
Postpartum (3cr)
Neonatal Physiology and the Transition to Extrauterine Life (3cr)
Clinicals (15cr)
Term 1
Research Project 1 (3cr)
Ethics (3cr)
Pharmacology in the Childbearing Year (3cr)
Clinicals (20cr)
Term 2
Research Project 2 (3cr)
Business of Birth (3cr)
Practice Protocols and Client Literature (3cr)
Clinicals (20cr)
Term 3
Final Project 3 (3cr)
Educating Others (3cr)
Complementary Therapies (3cr)
Clinicals (20cr)
- A minimum of 75 births with an increasing level of responsibility.
- At most 35 as an assistant
- At minimum 40 as the primary under supervision.
- A minimum of 225 prenatal visits.
- At most 75 as an assistant
- At least 150 as the primary under supervision.
- A minimum of 150 postpartum visits
- At most 50 as an assistant
- At least 100 as the primary under supervision.
- 65 Newborn exams
- At most 20 as an assistant
- At least 45 as the primary under supervision.
- Of the 75 births 50 will show continuity of care with the student providing at least 3 prenatal and 2 postpartum visits.
- All the births will be planned out of hospital either at the client’s home or a free-standing birth center.
- No more than 10 may be transports before or during birth.
The final exam is 300 questions combining fill in the blank, multiple choice, true/false and essay. The test will be overseen by a proctor in your local area. You are required to score 85% to pass. Proctoring fees will be covered by the Institute for the first time you take the exam. If you don’t pass then a 2-week wait is required, and we will cover half of the proctoring fee for you to retake the exam. Any additional retakes are at the student’s expense.
Be advised that if you purchase books from any of the links below, the school may receive a small commission which is used to fund our scholarship programs.
A History of Midwifery in the US: The Midwife Said Fear Not by Helen Varney and Dr. Joyce E. Thompson
A Shot n the Dark by H. Coulter
Active Birth by Janet Balaskas
Anatomy and Physiology for Midwives by Jane Coad, Kevin Pedley
Baby Catcher by Peggy Vincent
Baby Maker: A Complete Guide to Holistic Nutrition for Fertility, Conception, and Pregnancy by Barbara Rodgers NC BCHN (Author), Ann Louise Gittleman Ph.D CNS (Foreword)
Bates’ Nursing Guide to Physical Examination by Hogan-Quigley, Beth, Bickley, Lynn S.
Birth by Tina Cassidy
Birth Control Battles by Melissa J. Wilde
Birth Emergency Skills Training by Bonnie U. Gruenberg
Birth Wisdom by Jan Tritten
Birthing from Within by Pam England and Rob Horowitz
Birthing Justice by Julia Oparah and Alicia Bonaparte
Botanical Medicine for Women’s Health by Aviva Romm
Brain Health from Birth by Rebecca Fett
Care of the Well Newborn by BJ Snell and Sandra L Gardner
Childbirth without Fear by Grantly Dick Read
Clinical Practice Guidelines for Midwifery & Women’s Health by
Communication: Making Connections by Joseph P Mazer and Melissa L Beall
Cut it Out: The C-Section Epidemic in America by Theresa Morris
Delivered by Midwives by Jenny M Luke
English Grammar Workbook for Adults by Michael DiGiacomo
Essential Writing skills for College and Beyond by C.M. Gill
Healing Passage by Anne Frye, K Hindall
Hearts & Hands by Elizabeth Davis
Hypnobirthing by Ashley Scott
Ina May’s Guide to Breastfeeding by Ina Mae Gaskin
Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth by Ina Mae Gaskin
Infection Control in Clinical Practice by Wilson, Jennie
It Sucked & Then I Cried by Heather Armstrong
Labor of Love: A Midwife’s Memoir by Cara Muhlhahn
Man-Midwifery Exposed, or the Danger and Immorality of Employing Men in Midwifery Proved… By John Stevens
Motherwit by Onnie Lee Logan
Mothering the New Mother by Sally Placksin
Midwives by Chris Bohjalian
Nutrition: Concepts and Controversies by Frances Sizer, Ellie Whitney
Obstetric Myths vs. Research Realities by Henci Goer
Optimal Care in Childbirth by Henci Goer and Amy Romano
Physical Assessment of the Newborn by Ellen P. Tappero and Mary Ellen Honeyfield
Pocket Guide to Clinical Midwifery by Lauren A. Dutton, Jessica E. Densmore
Policing the Womb by Michele Goodwin
Pushed by Jennifer Block
Reproducing Race: An Ethnography of Pregnancy as a Site of Racialization by Khiara Bridges
Skills for Midwifery Practice by Ruth Johnson and Wendy Taylor
Sperm Donor = Dad by Cheryl Shuler
Spiritual Midwifery by Ina May Gaskin
Top 100 Drugs in Midwifery & Women’s Health by Heidi Collins Fantasia
The Birth Partner by Penny Simkin
The Diary of Midwife by Martha Ballard
The Developing Human: Clinically Oriented Embryology by Keith L. Moore and T. V. N. Persaud
The Labor Progress Handbook by Penny Simkin
The Matron’s Manual of Midwifery and the Diseases of Women during pregnancy and in Childbed by Dr. Frederick Hollick
The Moral Property of Women by Linda Gordon
The Thinking Woman’s Guide to a Better Birth by Henci Goer
The Vaccine Book by Robert W. Sears
The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding by La Leche League
Turabian The Easy Way by Peggy M. Houton and Timothy J Houton
Understanding Diagnostic Tests in the Childbearing Year by Anne Frye and Rhonda Baker
Varney’s Midwifery by Tekoa L. King, Mary C. Brucker
Witches, Midwives & Nurses by Barbara Ehrenreich
Wise Woman Herbal for the Childbearing Year by Susun S. Weed