Nurse Midwife  What They Do

Provides advanced nursing care and education to obstetrical and gynecological patients.

This career is part of the Health Science cluster Therapeutic Services pathway.


A person in this career:

  • Monitors fetal development by listening to fetal heartbeat, taking external uterine measurements, identifying fetal position, or estimating fetal size and weight.
  • Initiates emergency interventions to stabilize patients.
  • Provides prenatal, intrapartum, postpartum, or newborn care to patients.
  • Explains procedures to patients, family members, staff members or others.
  • Develops and implements individualized plans for health care management.
  • Orders and interprets diagnostic or laboratory tests.
  • Educates patients and family members regarding prenatal, intrapartum, postpartum, newborn, or interconceptional care.
  • Documents patients' health histories, symptoms, physical conditions, or other diagnostic information.
  • Documents findings of physical examinations.
  • Writes information in medical records or provides narrative summaries to communicate patient information to other health care providers.

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Working Conditions and Physical Demands

People who do this job report that:

  • You would often handle loads up to 20 lbs., sometimes up to 50 lbs. You might do a lot of lifting, carrying, pushing or pulling.
  • Work in this occupation involves use of protective items such as safety shoes, glasses, gloves, hearing protection, a hard hat, or personal flotation devices
  • Exposure to pollutants, gases, dust, fumes, odors, poor ventilation, etc.
  • Exposed to disease and infections more than once a month through work such as patient care, laboratory work, and sanitation control
  • Work in this occupation involves using your hands to hold, control, and feel objects more than one-third of the time
  • Work in this occupation requires being inside most of the time
  • Sound and noise levels are loud and distracting
  • Work in this occupation involves standing more than one-third of the time

Working in this career involves (physical activities):

  • Seeing clearly up close
  • Speaking clearly enough to be able to be understood by others
  • Identifying and understanding the speech of another person

Work Hours and Travel

  • Rotating shift work
  • Weekend work

Specialty and Similar Careers

Careers that are more detailed or close to this career:

  • Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM) --