American Midwifery Certification Board Certification Demographic and Employment Data, 2016 to 2020: The Certified Nurse-Midwife and Certified Midwife Workforce

The Decision to Leave the Midwifery Workforce in the United States: A Qualitative Investigation

AIM

To explore the experiences of and reasons for midwives leaving practice.

DESIGN

A qualitative approach applying a social constructivism interpretative framework.

METHODS

Twenty participants were selected for interviews based on reasons for leaving midwifery practice between October 2022 and April 2023. Thematic analysis was used to identify themes, and results were checked for trustworthiness through a third coder, community engagement and member checking with two participants.

FINDINGS

One overarching theme with six subthemes characterised the experience of leaving midwifery practice. All participants reported the overarching theme: Caring for myself and my close community became incompatible with the work of midwifery. Five subthemes reflected negative aspects of midwifery work: value incongruence; racism in midwifery; not feeling respected/valued (+compensation); high workload leading to low quality of care; negative practice climate and psychosocial safety climate. The theme of strong professional commitment and identity weighed into their decision to leave. Negative experiences working in birth centres were prominent across themes.

CONCLUSIONS

Participants reported leaving the profession of midwifery when they reached an unsustainable balance between the demands of work life and personal life. The decision to leave midwifery was emotional; participants maintained a strong connection to midwifery. The leaving process supports a theoretical premise for midwifery turnover behaviour. The work life of midwives is a complex composite of challenges that are reflective of identified problems with maternity care in the United States.

IMPLICATIONS FOR THE PROFESSION AND/OR PATIENT CARE

Midwives are not leaving practice because they want to leave midwifery but because they are unable to meet non-work-related caring demands. Family-friendly policies, such as flexible schedules and leave policies, could help retain the midwifery workforce.

PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION

Based on recommendations from representatives of historically marginalised groups within the midwifery community, we offered participants to be interviewed by a midwife of colour.

Growth and diversification of the perinatal nursing workforce: An American Academy of Nursing consensus paper

Perinatal care in the United States is in crisis. U.S. childbearing women are dying at higher rates than in comparable economically developed countries, despite the fact that four of every five perinatal deaths are preventable. The crisis disproportionately affects Black and American Indian and Alaska Native women, who are dying at two to three times the rate of their White counterparts. These disparities have been linked to systemic and structural racism and lack of access to care. A perinatal care workforce that reflects and meets the needs of a racially and ethnically diverse U.S. population is warranted to increase the likelihood of equitable care and decrease perinatal disparities. Using a health equity lens, this paper provides policy recommendations for a system-wide approach to growing and diversifying the perinatal nursing workforce as part of the solution to decrease disparities in perinatal outcomes.

Defining Midwifery-Led Care in the United States Using Concept Analysis

National health policy initiatives recommend increased integration of midwifery care in the United States to improve care quality and reduce maternal health disparities. However, the service models through which midwives provide midwifery care and produce quality outcomes are poorly understood. Midwifery-led care is a service model frequently associated with improved outcomes compared with other models. The service model has been infrequently or inconsistently studied in the Unites States and has been narrowly defined and applied to perinatal care. The purpose of this concept analysis was to evaluate the concept of midwifery-led care and expand the definition to guide midwifery practice, research, and health policy. The analysis followed Walker and Avant's methodology. Three attributes of midwifery-led care were identified: (1) midwife as the lead clinician; (2) person-midwife partnership; and (3) care embodies midwifery philosophy. Antecedents were (1) license to practice as a midwife; (2) a person needing or desiring sexual, reproductive, perinatal, or newborn care; (3) a person with low- or moderate-risk health status; (4) regulations and guidelines that support provision of midwifery care; and (5) reimbursement for services. Consequences of midwifery-led care included (1) improved maternal and neonatal outcomes, (2) patient satisfaction, and (3) reduced health care costs. The presented expanded definition of midwifery-led care is the first to use a systems level approach and explicitly center the person receiving care and the philosophical approach of midwifery care. Application of this definition is needed in theoretical and pragmatic research to classify midwifery-led care and other service models and compare patient- and organization-level outcomes.

Racial and Ethnic Representation Among Complementary and Integrative Health Program Graduates

Background: Use of complementary and integrative health care (CIH) varies across racial and ethnic groups in the United States. Lack of racial and ethnic diversity among CIH providers may hinder access to CIH for underrepresented groups. This study aimed to (1) document racial and ethnic representation in licensed CIH professions (chiropractic, acupuncture, traditional East Asian medicine, naturopathic medicine, direct-entry midwifery, and massage therapy), non-licensed CIH professions, and conventional health care; (2) compare diversity in these professions with the U.S. population; and (3) examine changes in CIH diversity in recent years. Methods: We conducted a repeated cross-sectional study design with the 2011-2022 Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System to examine race and ethnicity among graduates in licensed CIH professions, compared with non-licensed CIH professions and conventional health care. Our sample included 53,393 programs representing 3,524,494 individuals. We examined the proportion of graduates from each racial and ethnic group, compared results with the U.S. population, and graphically explored changes between 2011 and 2022. Results: Inclusion or exclusion of massage therapy influenced interpretations across all questions. With massage therapy, licensed CIH professions appeared more diverse, with a higher proportion of Latino and Black graduates. Without massage therapy, diversity in licensed CIH professions was similar or slightly reduced compared with non-licensed CIH professions and conventional health care. Notable differences emerged among licensed CIH professions: acupuncture and East Asian medicine had larger proportions of Asian graduates than other CIH programs and the U.S. population. Racial and ethnic diversity in CIH increased modestly between 2011 and 2022. Discussion: While professions such as massage therapy, acupuncture, and traditional East Asian medicine have greater diversity, a disparity persists between the racial and ethnic composition of licensed CIH professions and the diversity of the overall U.S. population.

Working Conditions in Complementary and Integrative Healthcare Professions

OBJECTIVE

The study aimed to describe working conditions among complementary and integrative healthcare (CIH) providers, specifically acupuncturists, chiropractors, massage therapists, midwives, and naturopathic doctors.

METHODS

We used cross-sectional Occupational Information Network data (2013-2021) for five CIH occupations. We examined means and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for 10 variables that represented positive conditions, ergonomic demands, psychosocial demands, and schedule demands. We compared CIH to conventional healthcare and non-healthcare occupations.

RESULTS

CIH occupations had relatively high degrees of positive conditions, moderate degrees of psychosocial demands, and moderate hours/scheduling. Massage therapists, chiropractors, and acupuncturists reported more ergonomic hazards (eg, 1-5 scale where 5 is the highest, mean bending/twisting frequency for chiropractors is 3.43 [95% CI, 3.80-4.05] compared to 2.17 for midwives [95% CI, 1.97-2.36] and 1.96 for managers [95% CI, 1.42-2.51]).

CONCLUSIONS

CIH occupations generally had healthy working conditions, although ergonomic hazards were prominent.

Midwifery Students' Experiences of Bias in the Clinical Setting: Prevalence, Types, and Impact

INTRODUCTION

Exposure to bias in clinical learning environments may undermine students' confidence, cause emotional harm, impede learning, and potentially delay graduation. However, little is known about the prevalence of bias experienced by midwifery students in the United States. This cross-sectional, descriptive study aimed to quantify clinical midwifery students' experiences of bias based on 7 self-identified characteristics (gender identity, race or ethnicity, body size, age, sexual orientation, religion, and occupational background). Additionally, this research explored the impact of bias on student well-being, learning, and professional commitment.

METHODS

The survey consisted of 39 items addressing (1) prevalence and types of bias, (2) emotional impact and influence on clinical learning, (3) ways students coped, (4) whether anyone spoke up at the time bias occurred, (5) whether students reported bias to faculty, and (6) impact of bias on commitment to midwifery. The survey was distributed to midwifery students and recent graduates in 2022 via American College of Nurse-Midwives email discussion lists and social media. Participants were eligible if they were in a clinical rotation in an Accreditation Commission for Midwifery Education-accredited midwifery program between 2019 and 2022.

RESULTS

Surveys were returned by 383 participants, with 301 meeting inclusion criteria. Most participants (66.5%) reported personally experiencing or witnessing bias against at least 1 of 7 personal characteristics. The most commonly reported biases were related to gender, occupational background, age, and race or ethnicity. Only half of the participants reported these occurrences to someone with academic authority, and nearly a third considered withdrawing from their educational programs.

DISCUSSION

In this study bias was common and significantly impacted students. These results underscore the need for creative and bold interventions at personal, educational, and institutional levels to prevent and mitigate bias. Safeguarding clinical learning environments will enable students to thrive, graduate with confidence and competence, and thereby contribute to the diversification and strengthening of the midwifery profession.

The Availability of Midwifery Care in Rural United States Communities

INTRODUCTION

Access to pregnancy-related and childbirth-related health care for rural residents is limited by health workforce shortages in the United States. Although midwives are key pregnancy and childbirth care providers, the current landscape of the rural midwifery workforce is not well understood. The goal of this analysis was to describe the availability of local midwifery care in rural US communities.

METHODS

We developed and conducted a national survey of rural US hospitals with current or recently closed childbirth services. Maternity unit managers or administrators at 292 rural hospitals were surveyed from March to August 2021, with 133 hospitals responding (response rate 46%; 93 currently offering childbirth services, 40 recently closed childbirth services). This cross-sectional analysis describes whether rural hospitals with current or prior childbirth services had midwifery care with certified nurse-midwives available locally and whether rural communities with and without midwifery care differed by hospital-level and county-level characteristics.

RESULTS

Among hospitals surveyed, 55% of those with current and 75% of those with prior childbirth services reported no locally available midwifery care. Of the 93 rural communities with current hospital-based childbirth services, those without midwifery care were more likely to have lower populations (37% vs 33%); majority populations that were Black, Indigenous, and people of color (24% vs 10%); and hospitals where at least 50% of births were Medicaid funded (77% vs 64%), compared with communities with midwifery care. Conversely, communities with midwifery care more often had greater than 30% of patients traveling more than 30 miles for hospital-based childbirth services (38% vs 28%).

DISCUSSION

More than half of rural hospitals surveyed reported no locally available midwifery care, and availability differed by hospital-level and county-level characteristics. Efforts to ensure pregnancy and childbirth care access for rural birthing people should include attention to the availability of local midwifery care.

Evaluating the roles of workload and practice climate in workforce retention across the midwifery career lifespan: A latent profile analysis of early-, mid-, and late-career US midwives

PROBLEM

Retention of midwives across the career lifespan is essential to address workforce shortages.

BACKGROUND

While workplace factors are demonstrated to affect job satisfaction and turnover intention, there is little research investigating how workplace factors affect midwives at different career stages.

AIM

To examine the effects of workload and practice climate on job satisfaction and turnover intention at different career stages.

METHODS

In a secondary analysis, we split a sample of US midwives into early-, mid-, and late-career stages. We used latent profile analysis to create profiles (called "classes") of workload (volume of women/individuals receiving care and acuity) and practice climate. Job dissatisfaction and turnover intention were compared between classes by career stages.

FINDINGS

Across all career stages, classes with negative practice climates had significantly higher turnover intention and job dissatisfaction, regardless of patient volume or acuity. Among early career midwives, high workload was not associated with high turnover intention or job dissatisfaction in the context of positive practice climates. The highest proportion of mid- career participants were in the class with high turnover intention and job dissatisfaction, while in the early career subsample the largest proportion was in the class with low dissatisfaction and low turnover intention.

DISCUSSION

Across all career stages, the practice climate was the primary driver of turnover intention and job dissatisfaction. Practice climate is particularly important for early-career midwives working in high-volume settings. Mid-career midwives are an under-studied group at risk of leaving the profession.

CONCLUSION

Efforts to retain the midwifery workforce would benefit from tailoring retention strategies to midwives at different career stages.

Weight Bias Among Certified Nurse-Midwives and Certified Midwives: Findings From a National Sample

INTRODUCTION

Weight bias toward individuals with higher body weights permeates health care settings in the United States and has been associated with poor weight-related communication and quality of care as well as adverse health outcomes. However, there has been limited quantitative investigation into weight bias among perinatal care providers. Certified nurse-midwives (CNMs)/certified midwives (CMs) attend approximately 11% of all births in the United States. The aims of this study were to measure the direction and extent of weight bias among CNMs/CMs and compare their levels of weight bias to the US public and other health professionals.

METHODS

Through direct postcard distribution, social media accounts, professional networks, and email listservs, American Midwifery Certification Board (AMCB)-certified midwives were solicited to complete an online survey of their implicit weight bias using the Implicit Association Test and their explicit weight bias using the Antifat Attitudes Questionnaire, Fat Phobia Scale, and Preference for Thin People measure.

RESULTS

A total of 2257 midwives participated in the survey, yielding a completion rate of 17.7%. Participants were mostly White and female, with a median age of 46 years and 11 years since AMCB certification. More than 70% of midwives have some level of implicit weight bias, although to a lesser extent compared with previously published findings among the US public (P < .01) and other health professionals (P < .01). In a subsample comparison of female midwives to female physicians, implicit weight bias levels were similar (P > .05). Midwives also express explicit weight bias, but at lower levels than the US public and other health professionals (P < .05).

DISCUSSION

This study provides the first quantitative research documenting weight bias among a national US sample of perinatal care providers. Findings can inform educational efforts to mitigate weight bias in the perinatal care setting and decrease harm.

ACNM's Commentary on the Midwifery Workforce in the US

The American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM) represents certified nurse-midwives (CNMs) and certified midwives (CMs) who are graduate-prepared advanced practice providers. They attend educational programs accredited by the American Commission for Midwifery Education (ACME) and are certified by the American Midwifery Certification Board (AMCB). Their scope of practice as defined by ACNM includes primary care, reproductive services beginning with menarche through menopause, gender-affirming services, contraception, abortion, prenatal, birth, postpartum, and care of the newborn. CNMs/CMs attend 10.9% of US births, but other high-income countries have the reverse proportion of midwives to obstetricians. The CNM/CM workforce is growing, but retirements and attrition slow the growth. Research demonstrates good outcomes from care provided by midwives, and ACNM's primary goal is to expand the midwifery workforce and increase consumer access to midwifery care to mitigate the persistent rise in maternal mortality and morbidity. Barriers to workforce expansion include restricted practice at the state level, inability to expand the number of seats in education programs due to lack of clinical preceptors, and a lack of diversity in the workforce. Strategies to address these barriers may allow the workforce to grow, increasing access to high-quality, equitable sexual and reproductive care for people in the United States.