Date: 10/22/2024

Author(s): Jen Joynt, Amy Quan, and Joanne Spetz

 

Midwives are licensed clinicians who play a key role in the maternity care workforce. In California, licensed midwives (LMs) and nurse-midwives (NMs) provide comprehensive, person-centered care focused on pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period. To better understand the midwife workforce, Healthforce Center’s Amy Quan and Joanne Spetz surveyed the field with Jen Joynt. In 2023, California had 30 practicing midwives per 10,000 births, which is lower than the national average, but supply varied significantly across regions. Where are these midwives located? What training programs are available, and what are their future work plans? How to their demographics compare with those they serve? See the complete report, funded and published by the California Health Care Foundation, on its website.