Midwives are licensed clinicians who play a key role in the maternity care workforce. Robust research shows that midwifery care results in positive health outcomes, including fewer c-sections and higher patient experience scores. California credentials two types of midwives: licensed midwives, who primarily attend births in homes and birth centers, and nurse-midwives, who primarily attend births in hospitals.
Although midwives are the primary maternity care providers in many other industrialized nations — which have significantly better maternal health outcomes than the US — they are an often-overlooked workforce in this country. Amid a worsening ob/gyn shortage and hospital labor and delivery unit closures in California and nationwide, advocates and some policymakers are pushing to expand the number and scope of practice of midwives.
Learn about midwifery care and California’s midwife workforce in the following resources.
Read the Full Report
Maternity Care Almanac
This almanac provides an overview of the delivery of maternity care in California, using the most recent data.
Review the Fact Sheet
What is a Midwife? — Policy at a Glance
This fact sheet describes how a worsening ob/gyn shortage paired with hospital labor and delivery unit closures have generated urgency for expanding access to midwives.
Explore the Data Snapshots
California’s Midwife Workforce
These snapshots present survey findings on licensed midwives and nurse-midwives in California.
