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Nurse Midwifery

A program that prepares registered nurses to independently deliver babies and treat mothers in the prenatal, delivery, and post-delivery periods. Includes instruction in pre-delivery screening, physician referral, and the care of infants during the delivery and immediate post-delivery phases.

Types of Degrees Nurse Midwifery Majors Are Earning

Students pursuing Nurse Midwifery may pursue degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Master’s Degree	515
Doctor’s Degree	44

What Nurse Midwifery Majors Need to Know

Programs in Nurse Midwifery develop a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Nurse Midwifery graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

According to O*NET, a major in Nurse Midwifery emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Medicine and Dentistry — Importance 4.8 / 5; level 5.5 / 7.
• Psychology — Importance 4.4 / 5; level 5.4 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 5.3 / 7.
• Biology — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

Skills developed in a Nurse Midwifery program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Speaking — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Critical Thinking — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Social Perceptiveness — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.

Abilities

The cognitive and physical abilities most relevant to Nurse Midwifery careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Oral Expression — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Deductive Reasoning — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Problem Sensitivity — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.9 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Nurse Midwifery graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Assisting and Caring for Others	4.9 / 7
Getting Information	4.8 / 7
Documenting/Recording Information	4.7 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.6 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.6 / 7
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events	4.6 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.6 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.5 / 7
Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings	4.3 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	4.3 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Nurse Midwifery professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	—
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
MicroFour PracticeStudio.NET EMR	Medical software	—
Amkai AmkaiCharts	Medical software	—
Acrendo Medical Software Ob/Gyn EMR	Medical software	—
GE Healthcare Centricity EMR	Medical software	—
Cerner Millennium	Medical software	—
Medscribbler Enterprise	Medical software	—
ChartWare EMR	Medical software	—
Texas Medical Software SpringCharts EMR	Medical software	—
eClinicalWorks EHR software	Medical software	—
digiChart OB-GYN	Medical software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Nurse Midwifery graduates include:

• Staff Certified Nurse Midwife
• Certified Nurse-Midwife (CNM)
• Direct-Entry Midwife
• Registered Nurse Midwife
• Postpartum Nurse
• Nurse Midwife
• Staff Nurse Midwife
• Postpartum RN (Postpartum Registered Nurse)
• Adjunct Clinical Nursing Instructor
• Nursing Faculty Member
• Professor
• Nurse Instructor
• Nursing Professor
• Advanced Nursing Professor
• CPR Instructor (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Instructor)

What Can You Do With a Nurse Midwifery Degree?

Graduates with a degree in Nurse Midwifery commonly enter the following occupations:

Occupation	Job Growth	Median Salary	25th–75th Pctile
Nurse Midwives	12.4%	$36,174	$28,671–$43,677
Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary	5.7%	$69,718	$58,585–$80,852

^{Job-growth = projected employment change for the parent occupation. Source: ONET / BLS Employment Projections.*}

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Nurse Midwifery graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Master’s degree	74.7%
Post-master’s certificate	12.7%
Doctoral degree	7.6%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	2.5%
Post-doctoral training	1.4%
Bachelor’s degree	1.1%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in Nurse Midwifery?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 98.9% of Nurse Midwifery degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	553	98.9%
Men	6	1.1%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Nurse Midwifery graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	363	64.9%
Asian	11	2.0%
Hispanic or Latino	55	9.8%
Black or African American	87	15.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native	1	0.2%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	1	0.2%
Two or More Races	18	3.2%
Race Unknown	22	3.9%
International Students	1	0.2%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Nurse Midwifery Graduates Earn?

College Scorecard reports median earnings of Nurse Midwifery graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. Earnings tend to climb steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$83,453
4 years	$80,149
5 years	$90,156

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $90,156 — roughly 8% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Online Nurse Midwifery Programs

Distance learning is tracked by IPEDS for Nurse Midwifery. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Master’s	6	1

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Is a Degree in Nurse Midwifery Worth It?

Strictly by the federal earnings tracker, Nurse Midwifery graduates earn a median of $80,149 four years after completion — roughly 111% above the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	Annual Degrees Awarded
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	311,372
Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse	256,965
Family Practice Nurse/Nursing	14,847
Nursing Practice	9,206
Nursing Administration	7,911
Nursing Science	4,245
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing, Other	4,125
Nursing Education	3,933
Adult Health Nurse/Nursing	2,457
Nurse Anesthetist	1,960
Public Health/Community Nurse/Nursing	1,505
Geriatric Nurse/Nursing	641

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.