From the year 2015, many women are turning to Midwives for their reproductive care and health during pregnancy, childbirth, early neonatal stage. Midwives do just more than the delivery of babies and are the first point of contact for these stages. They help the women to make informed decisions about their care.
Midwives describe their job as a privileged one. They are the vital presence for a pregnant woman since the role they assume in preparing the woman for delivery of new life.
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Who is a Midwife?
A certified midwife cares for a woman from her adolescence stage to menopause during her lifetime’s reproductive years.
A Midwife is a primary care provider supporting a woman and her family during the most crucial time of their lives before and during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period.
Midwives help women deliver their babies, provide antenatal and postnatal care and advice, and support the women, baby, partner, and families.
Midwives are a part of the medical and professional team of doctors, social workers, neonatal nurses and health visitors. They are responsible for supervising the maternity support workers during delivery.
Duties of Midwives
- Build relationships of trust and confidence with the patients.
- Assessment, support and care management of the woman before and during pregnancy.
- Carry out the labour process in home settings or hospitals.
- Identification of high-risk pregnancies and help patients deals with miscarriage, termination, stillbirth and death of their newborn.
- Administer injections and medications, monitoring the fetus during labour.
- Carry out the screening tests and take the patients vitals like temperature, BP, samples and pulses.
- Record writing and tutoring of student midwives.
- Provide necessary support and advice on daily needs of the baby like breastfeeding, bathing and bottle feeds etc.
Skills required for Midwives
- Be caring, calm and patient during emotionally charged situations.
- Capable of reacting quickly and effectively during a stressful situation or when urgent decisions have to be taken during labour.
- Excellent team working skills to work along with different healthcare professionals.
- Good communication skills to interact clearly with a diverse range of women.
- Treating all the women equally not concerning about their background or circumstances.
- Good physical strength, stamina and physically fit.
- Strong observational skills with the ability to follow the instructions and procedures from supervisors.
- Be flexible and adaptable to different situations.
- Interest in the pregnancy and birthing processes.
Required Education
- Aspirants have to complete their 12th in Biology, Physics and Chemistry (BPC) stream from a recognized board.
- Then pursue undergraduate course in midwifery.
- Pursue post-graduate diploma courses after completion of graduation.
- Undergo relevant training and certification.
Top Colleges in India that offer midwifery courses
Prominent Medical colleges in India that are offering midwifery courses at undergraduate and post-graduate levels:
- College Of Nursing – All India Institute of Medical Sciences (Delhi),
- National College of General Nursing & Midwifery (Punjab),
- Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences & Technology (Tamil Nadu),
- College Of Nursing – SSKM Hospital Campus (Kolkata) and
- Armed Forces Medical College of Nursing (Pune).
Work-places of Midwives
The midwives can work in various settings during their careers such as:
- Hospitals
- Birthing Centers.
- Physicians’ Offices.
- Medical Centers.
- Independent practice.
- Maternity Homes.
- Home Birthing
- Health Departments.
- In colleges and universities.
Well-known Midwifes in India
- Vijaya Krishnan is the first Indian-based Certified Professional Midwife, Founder and Owner of Health Mother Clinic in Hyderabad.
- Priyanka Idicula is a student midwife and owner of Birth Village, Birth Center in Kochi.
- Red Miller is a Canadian midwife working in India for 5 years.
- Celestina Cavinder, a Doula in Bangalore for 15 years.
- Corinna Stahlhofen, midwife of German origin in Goa.
- Divya Deswal, a Delhi-based Doula.
Salary and Career Prospects
In India, for entry-level midwives, the salary is INR 4k- 8k every month with experienced professionals earning an average of INR 12k- 16k every month.
The average salary of a midwife abroad is $93,610 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLU). These salaries vary based on practice settings, urban or rural location, type of care provided, benefits packages etc.
The job outlook for certified mid-wives is decent. The BLS predicts a growth rate of 31% between 2014 and 2024.
Aspiring nurse-midwives who desire leadership or management roles should pursue Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP), the highest education level in the midwifery field that allows the midwives in teaching as well as leadership roles.
The need for women healthcare is increasing globally, so midwives with DNP can help in the improvement of newborn and maternal health by stepping into leadership positions.
– Samiya Firdous
