Healthcare Practitioners
Midwives
Also called: Birth Center Midwife, Certified Direct-Entry Midwife, Certified Professional Midwife (CPM), Homebirth Midwife
US median pay
$65,790
per year, 2025
Job growth 2025–35
+5.1%
faster than average
Openings a year (US)
2,200
39,100 employed
Typical entry education
Postsecondary nondegree award
Preparation 5/5 · Extensive preparation
What this job is
Provide prenatal care and childbirth assistance.
What they do day to day
- Monitor maternal condition during labor by checking vital signs, monitoring uterine contractions, or performing physical examinations.
- Identify tubal and ectopic pregnancies and refer patients for treatments.
- Provide necessary medical care for infants at birth, including emergency care such as resuscitation.
- Conduct ongoing prenatal health assessments, tracking changes in physical and emotional health.
- Monitor fetal growth and well-being through heartbeat detection, body measurement, and palpation.
- Establish and follow emergency or contingency plans for mothers and newborns.
- Identify, monitor, or treat pregnancy-related problems such as hypertension, gestational diabetes, pre-term labor, or retarded fetal growth.
- Obtain complete health and medical histories from patients including medical, surgical, reproductive, or mental health histories.
- Evaluate patients' laboratory and medical records, requesting assistance from other practitioners when necessary.
- Maintain documentation of all patients' contacts, reviewing and updating records as necessary.
Skills and knowledge that matter most
Skills
- Social Perceptiveness4.1/5
- Service Orientation3.8/5
- Judgment and Decision Making3.8/5
- Coordination3.6/5
- Complex Problem Solving3.4/5
- Instructing3.2/5
- Time Management3.0/5
- Systems Evaluation3.0/5
Knowledge
- Customer and Personal Service4.6/5
- Medicine and Dentistry4.5/5
- Psychology4.2/5
- Therapy and Counseling3.9/5
- English Language3.6/5
- Biology3.5/5
Importance rated by people working in the job (1 = not important, 5 = extremely important).
Education and preparation
Preparation level 5 of 5 — Extensive preparation. Usually a graduate degree (master's, PhD, MD, JD) and extensive experience.
Typical entry education (BLS): Postsecondary nondegree award.
Highest education of people in this job:
- Post-secondary certificate33%
- Master's degree29%
- Post-baccalaureate certificate16%
Who this job suits
Mostly Social
Helping, teaching and caring for people
Realistic
Hands-on work with tools, machines, plants or animals
Investigative
Ideas, research and solving problems
Based on the Holland (RIASEC) interest profile for this occupation.