• Applicants must have completed an Anatomy and Physiology course of at least 4 quarter credits or 3 semester credits that covers all of the body systems. This course must have been taken at an accredited post-secondary institution, with a final grade of at least 3.0 (B).
• If you are transferring credits using other systems (units, clock hours, etc.), please contact the Midwifery Program Coordinator for assistance in planning your program.
• If more than one section is taken in order to cover the entire human body, the grade earned in each section must be a B/3.0 or better.
• Courses from some vocational-technical schools (such as Massage Therapy, Chinese Medicine, Chiropractic, and Naturopathy) may meet this prerequisite. An official transcript must be provided.

• An official transcript documenting successful completion of a college level Medical Terminology course of at least 1 quarter credit, with a grade of 3.0 (B) or above.

• Applicants must have completed an approved Labor Doula course or workshop.
• Approved Labor Doula programs include Community Doula Alliance, DONA, ICEA, Birthworks, and Birth Arts Doula Program. During the COVID-19 Pandemic, we will accept online labor doula workshops in order to meet this requirement. For approval of additional programs, please contact the Midwifery Program Coordinator.
• Labor Doula Certification is not a requirement.

Birthingway does not currently offer a college-level expository writing course that fulfills this prerequisite. Applicants must have done at least one of the following:

• Completed a 4 quarter credit or 3 semester credit college-level expository writing course at an accredited post-secondary institution and received a grade of at least 3.0 (B). Creative writing will not be accepted as a prerequisite.
• Submitted an official transcript documenting completion of a Bachelor of Arts degree or higher from an accredited higher education institution.
• Received a minimum score of 60 in one of the following College Level Examination Program tests:
  • English Composition
  • English Composition with Essay
  • Freshman College composition
• Received a minimum score of 4 in one of the following Advanced Placement Programs (AP) tests:
  • English Language and Composition
  • English Literature and Composition
    • You must submit your official examination scores from the College Board and/or AP Services.
• Submitted a written letter from a college professor to the Midwifery Program Coordinator stating that a completed course had a heavy writing component and that the applicant’s writing ability in the course demonstrated at least a B. This fulfills the prerequisite only and will not count toward general education requirements.

• Hold a high school diploma or equivalent. Applicants will be required to submit an official high school transcript OR documentation of GED or other high school equivalency.

A midwifery diploma from Birthingway signifies that the holder is a midwife prepared for entry into active practice. Therefore, candidates for graduation must have the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and judgment to function in a broad variety of clinical situations and to render a wide spectrum of client care. Therefore, the following abilities and expectations must be met and maintained from matriculation through graduation by all students. Failure to maintain Technical Standards may result in dismissal from the program. Students or applicants who have questions regarding these standards are encouraged to contact the Midwifery Program Coordinator.

• You must be able to learn and to conduct basic office lab procedures.
• You must have sufficient use of the sensory, visual, hearing, and motor systems, and the somatic sensation necessary to manipulate the required equipment, instruments, or tools, to perform a physical examination, and to provide care.
• You must have the capacity and demonstrate performance of clinical care activities and skills including, but not limited to, palpation, auscultation, percussion, the administration of intravenous medication, the application of pressure to stop bleeding, the opening of obstructed airways, and the movements, equilibrium and functional use of the senses of touch, hearing, and vision. A complete list of required skills can be found in our Skills Assessment Checklist. Please contact our Midwifery Program Coordinator for a copy.
• You must be able to and follow universal precautions against contamination and cross contamination.
• You must be able to and work in a safe manner and learn to respond with precise, quick, and appropriate action in emergency situations.
• You must be able to communicate in English with accuracy, clarity, efficiency, and sensitivity, including verbally (speaking and understanding), reading, and in writing.
• You must communicate promptly and appropriately with clients, colleagues, health care providers, preceptors, teachers, and College personnel. This includes frequent communication with staff/faculty of Birthingway, responding to email and phone communication, reliably attending scheduled meetings (virtual and in-person), and being accountable for meeting deadlines.
• You must have and demonstrate the skills to analyze and synthesize information, solve problems, and reach diagnostic and therapeutic judgments.
• You must be able to acknowledge evaluation and respond appropriately.
• You must possess the interpersonal skills to develop rapport and to maintain effective, mature, and sensitive relationships with clients, midwives, other care providers, colleagues, staff, and faculty.
• You must be able to work independently, to accept responsibility for your own learning, to set goals for yourself, to manage your work, to ask questions, to seek support when you need help, and to collaborate with peers.
• You must be able to maintain confidentiality and protect the privacy of your clients and of the practices in which you work.
• You must demonstrate the emotional stability, perseverance, diligence, and consistency necessary to complete the midwifery school curriculum and to function in the midwifery profession.
• You must be able to tolerate physically taxing workloads; to function effectively under stress; to adapt to changing environments; to display flexibility and to function in the face of uncertainties inherent in the clinical problems and needs of many clients.

Direct-entry midwives and students share their stories on becoming a midwife and living midwifery day-to-day. Explore the highs and lows of this deeply satisfying and challenging vocation. And learn more about Birthingway’s online program. Meets every other Sunday afternoon for five, two-hour sessions. You must attend at least three sessions (six hours) to meet the Birthingway prerequisite.

Our upcoming Exploring Midwifery series will meet from noon-2:00 PM PST on Oct 10, Oct 24, Nov 7, Nov 21, and Dec 5. Cost $40. REGISTER HERE.

OR

Our So You Want to Be a Midwife workshop is a condensed version of Exploring Midwifery offered in a single, six-hour session (with a 30 minute break). You must attend the entire six-hour session to meet Birthingway’s prerequisite.

Date TBA for our Winter and Spring Term workshops. Cost: $40

How do midwives practice biodynamically? In this course, you will learn how to care for birthing people and their families by increasing oxytocin (the trust hormone) and decreasing stressors, resulting in healthy pregnancies and births, as well as immediate and long-term parent-child connections.

This one-credit course costs $350 (plus $75 term registration fee). Please fill out the 2021-2022 FAFSA by September 30, 2021 if you have scholarship needs for this course.