Midwifery School in New Hampshire - NH

By Bonnie Walker, allied health world contributing writer
Published: December, 10 2010

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Midwifery is based on the principle that women have a right to safe and effective health care that addresses their specific needs. While traditional medicine approaches pregnancy almost as an illness or affliction, midwives organize their practice around the tenet that it is a healthy, normal state and that childbirth can be a very creative and powerful experience. In addition to helping women get through labor and natural delivery, midwives provide prenatal care, postpartum care, and other healthcare services related to a woman’s reproductive life cycle. Going to midwifery school in New Hampshire will help you develop the knowledge and skill set necessary to provide these essential healthcare services to women.

Midwives in New Hampshire include Certifed Nurse-Midwives (CNMs) and New Hampshire Certified Midwives (NHCMs). Certified Nurse-Midwives are trained both as general nurses and as midwives and can thus practice in a wide range of medical facilities, including hospitals, community health centers and clinics, and private gynecological and obstetric practices. About 20% of births in New Hampshire are attended by a Certified Nurse-Midwife each year. In New Hampshire, CNMs are treated as advanced registered nurse practitioners and have prescription writing privileges. They are regulated by New Hampshire’s Board of Nursing. NHCMs who have completed nursing and midwifery courses in New Hampshire will find career opportunities awaiting them at medical facilities such as Cheshire Medical Center in Keene, Wentworth Douglas Hospital in Dover, Concord Hospital in Concord, and Catholic Medical Center in Manchester.

New Hampshire Certified Midwifes are trained, practicing midwives who have been certified by the New Hampshire Midwifery Council, which consists of an obstetrician, a pediatrician, three certified midwives, and a member of the general public familiar or experienced with midwifery. Instead of working primarily at hospitals or other medical institutions, NHCMs generally treat their clients in their homes or at home-birth centers, although they may have professional offices where they consult with women about issues such as prenatal nutrition and postpartum health.