Federal Grant to Enhance Campus Midwifery Program
Grant focuses on strengthening the educational program for training nurse midwifery, along with recruitment and developing midwives' skills in a diverse population.
April 20, 2006
By LAURIE MCLAUGHLIN
When folks hear the word "midwives," they may have
visions of old-fashioned, at home
births where the men were
shooed away to get hot water. In
fact, that quaint scenario bears no
resemblance to today's modern
midwives who earn master's
degrees and pass a rigorous certification
exam in order to practice
and deliver babies.
"Ninety-five percent of nurse
midwifery deliveries are in a
hospital setting," says B.J. Snell,
associate professor of nursing and director of the women's
health care concentration, which
was launched in 2003. "About
10 percent of vaginal births in
the United States are attended
by midwives" instead of doctors,
adds Snell, who was awarded
$244,477 as first-year funding
of a three-year grant from the U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services' Health
Resources and Services Administration
to enhance CSUF's
midwifery program.
There are two specialties in
the women's health care concentration. "One is for those who
want to become nurse practitioners,
and the other is for nurses
who want to become midwives,"
says Snell, who holds a doctorate
in midwifery. She practices at a Laguna Beach health clinic and
delivers babies at the South Coast Medical Center. "Both nurse
practitioners and nurse midwives
in our program work in doctors'
offices, clinics and hospitals, and
are educated to provide healthcare
for women from puberty
through menopause. Nurse
midwifes have additional training
to gain competence to care
for women in labor and birth,
including delivering babies."
A relatively new profession,
the practice of midwifery was
established in the U.S. in the
1920s, according to the American
College of Nurse-Midwives, the
industry's professional association.
Today, about 400 midwives
are certified annually across the
nation. Currently, 15 students
are participating in CSUF's
midwifery specialty, and Snell
expects six new students to enroll
in the program each year.
The HRSA grant focuses
specifically on strengthening the
education program for training
within the nurse midwifery
component, says Snell. The goals
include recruiting and preparing
nurses to become nurse midwives
and developing their skills in
serving a diverse, multi-cultural
population. Students also benefit
from grant-funded partnerships
with hospitals and clinics
established by the university throughout Los Angeles, Orange,
Riverside and San Bernardino
counties wherein CSUF nursing
students acquire first-hand
experience, says Snell, "which allows them a better understanding
of what's expected when they
graduate."
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