It’s a Thursday at Cal State Fullerton when a group of midwifery students each grab a model pelvis, to learn about how a baby’s head moves through the birth canal. Last week, students practiced catching babies with a mannequin in a birthing bed. Next week, they’ll learn how to suture, using foam and raw chicken for practice.
Student Janine Ruiz says it was this sort of hands-on experience that helped her choose this school’s program. “We got to practice, like ‘how do we position our hands?’ I just feel so supported,” Ruiz said. Cal State Fullerton only graduates about 10 to 12 midwives a year.
Now, it’s the only-masters level program left in the state training these health-care workers, in a time where advocates say more maternal care providers are needed. Certified nurse-midwives in California are registered nurses who have advanced degrees and care for people during pregnancy, including labor and delivery, and mostly work in hospitals. They make up the majority of the midwifery workforce.
(There’s another type of midwife in California, known as certified professional midwives or licensed midwives, who oversee home births and at birthing centers). The state’s only other program, UC San Francisco, has paused admissions as it switches to a doctoral program. The school says it’s seeking accreditation to open admissions in 2025.
“We have lots and lots of evidence that at the master's level, nurse midwives are performing very good care,” said Liz Donne.