Midwives in the United States

Midwives in the United States provide assistance to childbearing women during pregnancy, labor and birth, and the postpartum period. Before the turn of the 20th Century, traditional midwives were informally trained and helped deliver almost all births. Today, midwives are professionals who must undergo several formal trainings.

Childbirth in the United States has traditionally been attended by midwives. During the seventeenth century, the English colonies strictly had women midwives to attend childbirths. Town records indicate some well-known midwives including Bridget Fuller (d. 1664) who practiced in the Massachusetts Bay Colony and Mrs. Wiat of Dorchester (d. 1705) who attended over 1,000 births. Others such as Ruth Barnaby (1664-1765) and Elizabeth Phillips (1685-1761) practiced for over forty years. While Elizabeth Phillips was trained in London before continuing her practice in Boston, other midwives such as Ann Eliot may have acquired medical skills through their husbands.

Similarly, in the Dutch colony of New Netherland, women were also established in midwifery practices. In 1633 in New Amsterdam, the colonists constructed a building for the official midwife. This position was held by Mrs. Trynje in 1644 and Hellegond Joris in 1655. Later in 1658, the Dutch councillors of New Amsterdam appointed midwife Hilletje Wilbruch to oversee a new hospital. The English later took over New Amsterdam and renamed it New York, and women continued to be prominent in midwifery.

A Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) is a professional independent midwife certified by the North American Registry of Midwives (NARM) and adheres to the Midwives Model of Care. The CPM is the only US credential that requires knowledge and experience for out-of-hospital settings. CPM certification process consists of two steps:

...
Wikipedia