Comparison of Licensed Midwives, Certified Professional Midwives & Doulas
Informational Chart
To check if a clinician is licensed in New York, look them up on the New York State Office of Professions website.
Midwives in New York State
In New York, Licensed Midwives are independent clinicians specializing in reproductive healthcare: pregnancy, childbirth, routine gynecology, family planning, and primary and newborn care. Midwives attend births in the home, birth centers, and hospitals. They provide outpatient care in private and hospital-based practices. As independent practitioners, they consult, collaborate with, and refer to other healthcare clinicians based on their clients’ needs.
Midwifery care is grounded in the philosophy that childbearing is a normal physiologic process that is interlaced with the social, emotional, cultural, spiritual and psychological background of a birthing person. Midwifery care is holistic and in partnership with birthing individuals and their families.
What Can Midwives Do?
Midwives provide care from the onset of menses through menopause and have full prescriptive privileges in NYS. The following are examples of some of the many services Licensed Midwives provide:
- Annual GYN visits: cervical cancer screening, breast exams, screening for sexually transmitted infections (STI’s), & vaccinations
- Treatment & Diagnosis of common problems: STI’s, vaginal infections, UTI’s, & mastitis
- Contraception counseling and initiation, including the placement of long acting reversible contraceptives (LARC’s)
- Prenatal, childbirth, postpartum, and newborn care
- Perimenopausal/menopausal care
Contact your local midwife to see if they provide the service you are seeking. The NYS Education Department, Office of the Professions, Q&A about Midwifery is a valuable resource about midwifery practice in our state: NYS Midwifery: Midwifery – Questions & Answers (nysed.gov)
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How do I find a midwife?
You can use “Find a Midwife” at the American College of Nurse-Midwives to search for a midwife in your area.
If you are in New York City, NYC Midwives has a listing of midwives in the NYC area.
Homebirth midwives in NYS can be found at Homebirth Midwives of New York.
