CPM
Certified Professional Midwife - CPMs are direct-entry midwives who have trained through apprenticeship and/or a MEAC (Midwifery Education Accreditation Council)-accredited midwifery school and have met the requirements for certification put forth by the North American Registry of Midwives (NARM). CPMs are autonomous, meaning we do not work under doctor supervision, and are fully trained and qualified to provide complete maternity care throughout pregnancy, birth, and six weeks postpartum, as well as newborn primary care for the first six weeks of life. We are the only midwives who are trained specifically to work in out-of-hospital settings like home or independent birth centers. We specialize in normal, physiological birth, but have extensive training in handling emergency situations when they arise.
LM
Licensed Midwife - This credential is only available to midwives in some states; other states do not (yet) offer licensure to midwives, and non-nurse midwives are still a-legal or illegal in a few benighted states. Licensure requirements vary by state, but in Virginia, a Licensed Midwife must have earned a CPM credential in order to receive her state license. We are governed by the Virginia Board of Medicine, even though midwifery is actually not medical care per se, and normal pregnancies and birth are not medical events. But I digress...
CNM
Certified Nurse Midwife - This credential refers to an advanced-practice registered nurse who has completed midwifery training through a program accredited by the American College of Nurse-Midwives, passed a national certification exam, and met her state’s requirements for licensure. Nurse-midwives provide maternity care, as well as well-woman care across the lifespan. Though they do not train specifically for it as CPMs do, they may practice in a home or birth center setting, although the vast majority practice in hospital. CNMs may practice legally in all states, and most insurance companies cover their services, though not necessarily in all settings. Regulations vary by state, but CNMs are usually required to have some degree of doctor supervision/back-up, which has its pros and cons, and may limit their scope and style of practice.
CM
Certified Midwife - A newer credential, recognized in some states, this is a route of entry into midwifery for health professionals other than nurses. The training and exam required are very similar to nurse-midwifery requirements.
DEM
Direct entry midwife - This term is seen occasionally in reference to midwives who trained as midwives, as opposed to midwives who initially trained as nurses or other types of healthcare provider. It may be used to describe a CPM, LM, or possibly a midwife who by choice or circumstance is not certified or licensed.
“Lay” Midwife
Commonly used by medical practitioners and others unfamiliar with the different types of midwife as a general term to describe any non-nurse midwife. Many CPMs find the term insulting, as it suggests that midwives who practice outside the medical mainstream are untrained and unqualified. Some of us would, however, like to see “lay” people reclaim normal maternity care and healthcare from the current medical system, and in that spirit, the term could have different connotations.
TBA
Traditional Birth Attendant - Usually refers to direct entry midwives in developing countries. These midwives have varying degrees of medical and/or empirical training and experience, and traditional skills and wisdom unfamiliar to western medicine, even as they may work in resource-poor settings and extremely difficult circumstances.