Before you fill out an application, read this!
Training to be a midwife is, in many ways, more vigorous and demanding than medical school. Midwifery requires not only a knowledge of normal labor and delivery, pregnancy, and nursing skills, but it also requires quick thinking, the ability to rapidly access multiple sources of information, and put together the puzzle pieces that is your patient. A midwife is effectively the mother’s primary caregiver, confidant, educator, and coach; all of which makes the education to become a midwife very intense.
This 3 year program is designed to prepare you to step into the role, and do the job, of a midwife. Many schools teach midwifery theory, no other school prepares you as well as we do for the complications that can, and do, occur. Our philosophy is to train you to be a midwife, not just a “baby catcher.” Our students have seen the thrill of emergency breech deliveries, twin births in and out of the hospital, and learn the newest techniques in sonography and women’s health care.
This school does not try to influence your personal beliefs, but it does teach you not to impose yours on your clients. We expect you to honor and care for all women, to hold private the information they have given us, and to respect their needs as birthing mothers. Here, at the Miami Maternity Center, the primary clinical site, you will interface with Buddhists, Muslims, Jews, and Christians; all receiving the best care we can possibly provide.
Midwives eat, drink, sleep, and practice midwifery. If you think you can attend class during the day, and leave it there, you are in for a rude awakening. If you require at least 8 hours of sleep per night, this program may not be for you. If you have important family vacations or reunions during the time you are a student here, this program may not be for you.
There will be days when you want to just up and quit. There will be days when you are so exhausted you cannot drive home. You will learn to hate your cell phone. These should be balanced by the joy on a new mother’s face when you tell her to reach down and pull her baby out. If you still think you have what it takes to be a midwife, please continue on to application.
Sincerely,
Shari Daniels
Shari Daniels, L.M., C.P.M., M.Ed.
