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Midwives

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they do.

Provide prenatal care and childbirth assistance.

Related: Emergency Medicine Physicians Nurse Midwives Nurse Practitioners Obstetricians & Gynecologists Registered Nurses

Industries: Health & Counseling Government Education

Summary
Details

Obtain complete health and medical histories from patients including medical, surgical, reproductive, or mental health histories.
Suture perineal lacerations.
Perform annual gynecologic exams, including pap smears and breast exams.
Set up or monitor the administration of oxygen or medications.
Incorporate research findings into practice as appropriate.
Inform patients of how to prepare and supply birth sites.
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.
Establish and follow emergency or contingency plans for mothers and newborns.
Maintain documentation of all patients' contacts, reviewing and updating records as necessary.
Provide, or refer patients to other providers for, education or counseling on topics such as genetic testing, newborn care, contraception, or breastfeeding.
Evaluate patients' laboratory and medical records, requesting assistance from other practitioners when necessary.
Refer patients to specialists for procedures such as ultrasounds or biophysical profiles.
Provide, or refer patients to other providers for, education or counseling on topics such as genetic testing, newborn care, contraception, or breastfeeding.
Perform annual gynecologic exams, including pap smears and breast exams.
Provide information about community health and social resources.
Perform post-partum health assessments of mothers and babies at regular intervals.
Provide information about the physical and emotional processes involved in the pregnancy, labor, birth, and postpartum periods.
Collaborate in research studies.
Identify, monitor, or treat pregnancy-related problems such as hypertension, gestational diabetes, pre-term labor, or retarded fetal growth.
Set up or monitor the administration of oxygen or medications.
Respond to breech birth presentations by applying methods such as exercises or external version.
Evaluate patients' laboratory and medical records, requesting assistance from other practitioners when necessary.
Counsel women regarding the nutritional requirements of pregnancy.
Estimate patients' due dates and re-evaluate as necessary based on examination results.
Complete birth certificates.
Collect specimens for use in laboratory tests.
Identify, monitor, or treat pregnancy-related problems such as hypertension, gestational diabetes, pre-term labor, or retarded fetal growth.
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.
Monitor fetal growth and well-being through heartbeat detection, body measurement, and palpation.
Assist maternal patients to find physical positions that will facilitate childbirth.
Assess birthing environments to ensure cleanliness, safety, and the availability of appropriate supplies.
Recommend the use of vitamin and mineral supplements to enhance the health of patients and children.
Compile and evaluate clinical practice statistics.
Monitor maternal condition during labor by checking vital signs, monitoring uterine contractions, or performing physical examinations.
Conduct ongoing prenatal health assessments, tracking changes in physical and emotional health.
Develop, implement, or evaluate individualized plans for midwifery care.
Provide comfort and relaxation measures for mothers in labor through interventions such as massage, breathing techniques, hydrotherapy, or music.
Perform annual gynecologic exams, including pap smears and breast exams.
Test patients' hemoglobin, hematocrit, and blood glucose levels.
Estimate patients' due dates and re-evaluate as necessary based on examination results.
Treat patients' symptoms with alternative health care methods such as herbs or hydrotherapy.
Assess birthing environments to ensure cleanliness, safety, and the availability of appropriate supplies.
Assess the status of post-date pregnancies to determine treatments and interventions.
Provide patients with contraceptive and family planning information.

Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.
Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Judgment and Decision Making
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.
Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
Management of Material Resources
- Managing equipment and materials.
Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
Systems Analysis
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
Instructing
- Teaching people how to do something.
Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.
Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.
Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.
Coordination
- Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.
Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
Speaking
- Talking to others.
Operations Analysis
- Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Programming
- Writing computer programs.
Equipment Selection
- Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Service Orientation
- Looking for ways to help people.

Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.
Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Glare Sensitivity
- Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.
Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Wrist-Finger Speed
- Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Rate Control
- Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.
Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.
Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.
Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.
Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.
Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.
Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.
Time Sharing
- Doing two or more things at the same time.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.
Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.

Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Building and Construction
- Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Customer and Personal Service
- Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Therapy and Counseling
- Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Foreign Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
Personnel and Human Resources
- Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Administration and Management
- Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Chemistry
- Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Geography
- Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Administrative
- Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Engineering and Technology
- Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
Physics
- Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Education and Training
- Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Psychology
- Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Medicine and Dentistry
- Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Philosophy and Theology
- Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
Public Safety and Security
- Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Communications and Media
- Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Sales and Marketing
- Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

Education

Postsecondary certificate

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

No on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

69440/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

33.39/hr

Currently Employed

11,560

Yearly Projected Openings

960

Social: People interested in this work like activities that include helping people, teaching, and talking. They do well at jobs that need:

Dependability
Concern for Others
Integrity
Self Control
Stress Tolerance
Adaptability/Flexibility

Acute care fetal or maternal monitoring units
Bedpans
Blood collection syringes
Desktop computers
Electronic blood pressure units
Electronic medical thermometers
Endoscopic hemostatic balloons or needles or tubes or accessories
Glucose monitors or meters
Infant scales
Intermittent positive pressure breathing IPPB machines
Intravenous tubing with catheter administration kits
Lancets
Medical acoustic stethoscopes
Medical bulb syringes
Medical exam or non surgical procedure gloves
Medical gas cylinders or related devices
Medical oxygen masks or parts
Medical syringes with needle
Medical tape measures
Medical ultrasound or doppler or echocardiograph transducer accessories
Medical ultrasound or doppler or pulse echocardiograph or echocardiograph units for general diagnostic use
Mercury blood pressure units
Mobile medical services automated external defibrillators AED or hard paddles
Notebook computers
Patient floor scales
Personal computers
Reflex hammers or mallets
Surgical clamps or clips or forceps
Surgical needle holders
Surgical scissors
Suturing kits or trays or packs or sets
Therapeutic heating or cooling pads or compresses or packs
Transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation units
Urinalysis test strips
Urinary catheterization kits
Vacuum blood collection tubes or containers
Vaginal exam speculas