Midwifery in America??!
 

Hi,

I'm hoping to move to America as a midwife but unsure as to how to go about it??! I didnt do nursing first so am solely a midwife and I've only just qualified 5 months ago. I know that not all states acknowledge British trained midwives but am hoping that that wont stop me!

Any advice / tips would be very much appreciated,

Thanks

:)

Re: Midwifery in America??!
 

unlucky

Re: Midwifery in America??!
 

Your chances are not good, to be honest, short of you marrying an American or having US Citizens as immediate family.

There was a thread on this about a year ago that might be helpful:

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...hlight=midwife

Re: Midwifery in America??!
 

i can only speak for ohio but i imagine its not too disimilar elsewhere.

The midwife system is nothing like the UK. In the UK you see a midwife as the norm - only seeing a consultant if there are issues. Here you see a OB doctor as the norm. You 'contract' with them to do all your pre and post natal appointments and the birth itself. (you also chose a hospital as you will have to pay for the rooms/services there seperatly). there is normally no midwife involved.

I wanted a home birth - so I had to research for myself and eventually found a private group nearby. they cover the whole of columbus so quite a large area/city. (13th largest city in the US). You also contract with them for all the pre and post appointments and birth - but dont need to worry about a hospital per se as you hope to have baby at home. I would guess that there were about 8 midwives in the practise. my baby was born on the 5th jan and she was the first born to the practice in 2009 - so you can guess how little the midwife services are used here. Everyone who speaks to me is amazed I had a home birth - as its just so uncommon.

So the 'job' of a midwife may be very different from the UK.

Re: Midwifery in America??!
 

You can find sites that will talk more about the differences. As was just mentioned midwives are not the norm here by a long stretch. In addition, it's also important to note that the US is a highly litigious society, such that
if you were to practice here you would probably need significant liability insurance (perhaps so expensive as to render your practice unprofitable). Many doctors have to pay a considerable amount of money every year for this insurance.

Re: Midwifery in America??!
 

As was said about Ohio, midwives are not that common. For us, the nurse was there for 90%, the OB doctor came in to do the delivery and stitch up. No midwife to be seen on the entire labor and deliver floor.

Plus you have the uphill battle of actually getting a visa which you will have, at best, a very, very small chance of getting.

Re: Midwifery in America??!
 

To be honest, as an American woman, I can tell you that 99% of the women here probably have no clue what a midwife even does. And I would say that the same 99% feel more comfy having a medically trained doctor to hand in case there are complications.

Putting that aside, you chances of getting a visa to live here, based on midwifery skills are zero to none.

Re: Midwifery in America??!
 

You are a yank or married to one right?

Other wise, chances are slim to none, check the wiki and read about the visas...then look at state requirements of a place you plan on moving too if your able....

Re: Midwifery in America??!
 

Thank you for your replies guys! I'm still going to try and work over there as I've spoken to the american embassy and they said it is possible, probably just really difficult! I'll keep you updated though!

Re: Midwifery in America??!
 

They were being very optimistic.

Re: Midwifery in America??!
 

See in UK, the midwife does all the pregnancy care, delivery (including stitching) and postpartum care (including some of the checks that paeds do) and the doctors only get involved if any complications arise!

And no Bob I'm not married to an American so I'm guessing that'll make it even harder...!

Re: Midwifery in America??!
 

it's basically the only way

Re: Midwifery in America??!
 

Makes no difference what they do in the UK...this is the US. Unless you marry a USC you're not coming to work in the US...hang on you could become a doctor...that may increase your chances.

Re: Midwifery in America??!
 

See, that's what the nurses and doctors do here, at least from my experience and what I've seen. A midwife is usually somebody that you hire and bring along with you I believe, especially if you do a home birth. By the way, the US embassy doesn't really count when giving immigration advice, USCIS are the people who do. But the advice you get from them is usually sketchy at best.

Re: Midwifery in America??!
 

:):)

hi there nicola,


As a UK RN, stiil trying to pass this bloody NCLEX, I can tell you its a hard slog getting there.

Nurses are trained different here from UK, so there is no specialised training.
All nurse training here is generalised, so being a midwife wont get you here any quicker.

Try a website called allnurses.com it is excellent for information, plus there is also a retrogression in place right now.... in other words NO VISA EVEN FOR NURSES... I was lucky, I came here on a k1 visa, and it still took me 10 months for my paperwork to go through.

GOOD LUCK to you.. if I can be of help, just ask

aggy:thumbsup: