The University of Pittsburgh, School of Nursing is pleased to offer the Nurse-Midwife major within our nationally recognized DNP program. Nurse-midwives, part of the centuries-long tradition of midwifery, provide services to foster a supportive environment for clients and families before, during, and after pregnancy, including wellness care. This major will prepare graduates to sit for the national certification examination in midwifery and to apply for licensure as a Certified Nurse-Midwife (CNM) from appropriate state boards. It achieved FULL accreditation status from the Accreditation Commission for Midwifery Education (ACME) in February 2022.
As a discipline, midwifery pre-dates hospitals; today, midwifery has evolved beyond caring for a woman during birth. CNMs provide routine prenatal and post-natal care, labor and birth care, and sexual and reproductive health care. Nurse-midwives have secured satisfying and challenging employment in private practices, hospitals, birth centers, and health clinics. It is estimated that CNM-attended births account for 7% of all U.S. births in total. Of these births, approximately 97% occur in hospitals and 1.8% take place in freestanding birth centers. For more information about the profession, including salary and employment details, please visit the American College of Nurse-Midwives website.
The Nurse-Midwife DNP is a practice-focused doctoral program that prepares Certified Nurse-Midwives who will be leaders at the highest level of clinical practice. This major in Pitt Nursing’s DNP program will enable graduates to attend births in home, birth centers, and hospital settings; provide clinical care within the full scope of midwifery practice; promote, maintain, and restore health while diagnosing and managing health problems for their clients and their families; participate in quality improvement efforts and lead in mobilizing community health resources.