I have been *slowly* doing midwifery self-study while my babies are so young. Some days, it seems like it will be forever until I can “hang my shingle”. Since I’m not busy attending births, I spend loads of time sorting through my thoughts/feelings about the kind of midwife I want to be. On one of my midwifery-oriented pages recently there was a discussion about just this. The poster was looking for ideas/thoughts/advice on which path to take. Here are some thoughts about that, questions that I pose to myself:
It seems like where to attend school (if at all) and what certification (if at all) to get is a VERY personal choice dependent on many factors.
Is it important to you to be able to legally practice anywhere you feel like living?
Is it important to you to have full autonomy as a practitioner or are you okay with collaborative practice? And, if you are okay with a CPA, do you live in an area (or do you mind moving to one) where CPAs are easily obtained?
How do you learn best? Reading, hands-on?
What kind of midwife do you want to be?
Do you intend to serve only those wishing to birth at home?
Do you want to provide care only during the childbearing cycle or do you want to provide well-woman care as well?
There are so many questions! My guess is that answering these (and more) will guide you to the right, perfect place for you. :)
