At the Women’s Center Open House yesterday, the topic of midwifery came up. Apparently, Missouri has recently supported the decision to allow direct entry midwifery. According to Wikipedia, “A direct-entry midwife is educated in the discipline of midwifery in a program or path that does not also require her to become educated as a nurse. Direct-entry midwives learn midwifery through self-study, apprenticeship, a midwifery school, or a college- or university-based program distinct from the discipline of nursing.” Previous to this ruling, midwives in Missouri were required to also be educated as nurses in order to practice legally.
As of April 2007, Missouri was one of only eleven states to prohibit direct entry midwifery (Midwives Alliance of North America).
We also learned that there are, in fact, some male midwives practicing in the U.S., despite the title. One of the reasons we love having students come visit us at the Center is because they are always teaching us stuff!
This is quite an accomplishment for Missouri and hopefully will catch on around the country. Thanks for reporting on it!