Midwives provide care and support to pregnant people, deliver babies, and help with postpartum recovery. The work is hands-on, deeply relational, and requires extensive preparation. You can enter this field with a certificate, though pathways vary.
Pathly builds you a free, personalized roadmap and helps your counselor champion you along the way.
Midwives assist and care for pregnant people throughout pregnancy, labor, and delivery. You document medical information, establish trust with clients, and make clinical decisions in real time. You monitor both parent and baby, identify changes in condition, and respond quickly to problems. You also provide education and support during the postpartum period. The work draws on knowledge of medicine, psychology, and counseling as you guide people through one of life's most significant experiences.
Core work activities
Career video courtesy of CareerOneStop.
Midwives earn a median of $65,790 a year, based on 2025 data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Pay rises with experience, specialty, and location.
The outlook is steady. Employment is projected to grow 4 percent from 2024 to 2034, about as fast as average for all occupations, with about 2,600 openings a year.
Top skills
Knowledge areas
Midwifery requires extensive preparation. You'll need a certificate program in midwifery, which builds on a foundation in nursing or healthcare. Most programs combine classroom learning in anatomy, physiology, and clinical practice with supervised clinical experience attending births. You'll develop critical thinking and active listening skills alongside technical knowledge. The path is rigorous and typically takes several years of focused study and hands-on training before you're ready to practice independently.
Midwifery has multiple entry routes depending on your background and goals. Whether you're coming from nursing or starting fresh in healthcare, Pathly can map the midwive path that fits you to map out the steps that fit your situation, and work through it with your counselor.
Many midwives must be licensed, and professional certifications can strengthen your resume.
Common certifications
Licensing is handled at the state level and the requirements vary, so check the licensing board in your state. Pathly shows your state's specific steps inside your roadmap.
You're drawn to this work if you're deeply social and people-focused. You listen well, think critically under pressure, and find meaning in supporting others through major life moments.
Reading about a career is the easy part. Turning it into a plan is where most students get stuck. Pathly takes you from curious to a clear next step, and gives your counselor the insight to champion you along the way.
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Last updated July 1, 2026.
Data sources. Career details from the O*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. Salary and outlook figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (May 2025 wages; 2024–2034 projections), delivered via the CareerOneStop API. Certification, licensing, wage, and outlook data from CareerOneStop, sponsored by USDOL/ETA and the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED).