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Hospitals and health systems
Kaiser Permanente, HCA Healthcare, Cleveland Clinic
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Workers, All Other
Certified nurse midwives care for pregnant patients through prenatal visits, labor, delivery, and early postpartum follow-up. The work is different from many other healthcare jobs because it mixes hands-on birth support with fast clinical judgment, especially when a pregnancy shifts from routine to risky. The tradeoff is that the job is deeply personal and high impact, but it can also mean urgent decisions, night calls, and very little room for remote work.
Also known as Certified Nurse MidwifeNurse MidwifeCNMCertified MidwifeAdvanced Practice Midwife
Median Salary
$64,030
Mean $73,200
U.S. Workforce
~37K
2.6K openings per year
10-Year Growth
+3.6%
41.7K to 43.1K
Entry Education
Postsecondary nondegree award
+ None experience
What This Role Looks Like in Practice
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Workers, All Other sits in the Healthcare category. In practical terms, this role combines day-to-day execution, cross-team coordination, and consistent decision-making under real business constraints.
U.S. employment is currently about ~37K workers, with a median annual pay of $64,030 and roughly 2.6K openings each year. Based on BLS projections, total employment is expected to grow from 41.7 K in 2024 to 43.1K in 2034.
Most hiring paths start with Post-secondary certificate in midwifery, and employers typically expect none of related experience. Many careers in this track begin around Obstetric Nurse and can progress toward Lead Midwifery Clinician. High-value skills usually include Prenatal and Postpartum Assessment, Fetal Heart Rate Monitoring, and Epic, Cerner & Clinical Documentation, paired with soft skills such as Social Perceptiveness, Critical Thinking, and Monitoring.
Core Responsibilities
- Check pregnant patients regularly to spot physical or emotional changes that could affect care.
- Estimate due dates and update them when exam results or symptoms suggest a change.
- Help people in labor find positions and comfort measures that make delivery easier to manage.
- Create and adjust a personalized plan for each pregnancy and birth.
Keep exploring: more Healthcare careers or browse all job titles.
A Day in the Life
01 Check pregnant patients regularly to spot physical or emotional changes that could affect care.
02 Estimate due dates and update them when exam results or symptoms suggest a change.
03 Help people in labor find positions and comfort measures that make delivery easier to manage.
04 Create and adjust a personalized plan for each pregnancy and birth.
05 Spot warning signs of complications, including overdue or ectopic pregnancies, and arrange treatment or referral.
06 Teach patients about pregnancy nutrition and prepare backup plans for emergencies involving the mother or newborn.
Industries That Hire
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Women’s health and OB/GYN groups
Axia Women’s Health, Unified Women’s Healthcare, Women’s Care
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Academic medical centers
Mayo Clinic, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Mass General Brigham
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Birth centers and midwifery practices
The Midwife Center for Birth and Women’s Health, The Birth Center of New Jersey, Family Tree Midwifery
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Community health organizations
Planned Parenthood, OneWorld Community Health Centers, Health Care for the Homeless
Pros and Cons
Advantages
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The pay is solid for a hands-on healthcare role, with mean annual earnings of $73,200 and a median of $64,030.
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Demand is stable enough to support regular hiring, with about 2.6K annual openings projected.
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The work is highly patient-centered, so you get to follow people through pregnancy instead of seeing them once and moving on.
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No prior work experience or on-the-job training is required by BLS, which makes a certificate or graduate program the main doorway into the field.
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The specialty uses both clinical judgment and direct caregiving, so the work stays practical and visible rather than being purely administrative.
Challenges
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Growth is modest at 3.6% over the decade, with only about 1.5K jobs added, so this is not a fast-expanding field.
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The job is mostly in person, so remote work is rare and the schedule can be shaped by labor, emergencies, and weekend coverage.
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The stakes are high: the work includes contingency planning for mothers and newborns, and complications can escalate quickly.
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The occupation is specialized enough that advancement can flatten out unless you move into leadership or a different healthcare role.
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The schooling-to-pay tradeoff can be frustrating, because many workers need postsecondary training or even a master's degree while the median salary stays around $64K.
Career Progression
Obstetric Nurse
0-2 years
$52K-$59K
Supports prenatal and labor patients in a hospital or clinic while learning the pace, documentation, and safety routines of maternity care.
Certified Nurse Midwife
2-6 years
$60K-$72K
Provides routine prenatal care, helps manage labor, and makes day-to-day clinical decisions for patients whose births are expected to be straightforward.
Senior Midwife THIS ROLE
7-12 years
$73K-$88K
Takes on higher-complexity cases, mentors newer clinicians, and is more likely to handle urgent decisions when a delivery starts to change course.
Lead Midwifery Clinician
13+ years
$89K-$108K
Oversees care standards, coordinates with physicians and nursing teams, and helps shape protocols for maternal and newborn safety.
Education Paths
Post-secondary certificate in midwifery
This is the most common entry route, held by 32.75% of workers in the occupation, and it can lead directly into clinical practice after specialized training.
Master's degree in nursing or midwifery
A graduate degree is also common, with 28.79% of workers reporting this level of education, especially for people who want broader authority and more mobility.
Post-baccalaureate certificate in midwifery
This is a realistic alternative for licensed clinicians who want to specialize, and 15.93% of workers in the occupation report this pathway.
Bachelor's degree plus professional midwifery certification
Some workers enter with a bachelor's degree, which accounts for 12.19% of the occupation, and then add the clinical credential needed for this specialty.
Key Skills
Technical
Prenatal and Postpartum Assessment 82%
Fetal Heart Rate Monitoring 80%
Epic, Cerner & Clinical Documentation 78%
Obstetric Triage & Emergency Response 77%
Labor Support & Birth Positioning 76%
Pregnancy Nutrition Counseling & Patient Education 75%
Soft Skills
Social PerceptivenessCritical ThinkingMonitoringActive ListeningJudgment and Decision MakingSpeaking Job Outlook and Trends
+3.6%
Projected growth (2024-2034)
2.6K
Annual job openings
Employment is projected to rise from 41.7K to 43.1 K over the next decade, representing 3.6% growth. Around 2.6 K openings per year include both newly created roles and replacement hiring from turnover.
Remote availability is currently Rare. Demand remains strongest where employers need practical domain knowledge plus modern workflow and data skills.