Nurse Midwives
Diagnose and coordinate all aspects of the birthing process, either independently or as part of a healthcare team. May provide well-woman gynecological care. Must have specialized, graduate nursing education.
- Median pay
- $134,040
- Doing it now
- 8,200
- By 2035
- Up 11.5%
- Usually needs
- Master's degree
a year
across the country
400 openings a year
to get in
What the work involves
- Educate patients and family members regarding prenatal, intrapartum, postpartum, newborn, or interconception care.
- Provide prenatal, intrapartum, postpartum, or newborn care to patients.
- Document patients' health histories, symptoms, physical conditions, or other diagnostic information.
- Monitor fetal development by listening to fetal heartbeat, taking external uterine measurements, identifying fetal position, or estimating fetal size and weight.
- Perform physical examinations by taking vital signs, checking neurological reflexes, examining breasts, or performing pelvic examinations.
- Consult with or refer patients to appropriate specialists when conditions exceed the scope of practice or expertise.
- Develop and implement individualized plans for health care management.
What to study
The fields of study the Department of Education links to this occupation, most widely taught first.
- Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical NursingSee 1,236 colleges that teach it
Who it suits
O*NET scores every occupation on six interest dimensions. This one leans hardest on these three.
Helping and teaching
Analytical and curious
Organised and precise
Careers like this one
Where this comes from: the description and the task list are O*NET, which the Department of Labor maintains. Pay, workforce size, outlook and the education normally needed are the Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections programme, 2025 wages and 2025 to 2035 projections. Half of them earn more than $134,040 a year, which means half earn less, and what you would earn depends on where you work and how long you have been doing it. The fields of study come from the National Center for Education Statistics crosswalk.