Midwifery Academy

Become a God-Fearing Professional Midwife With GEM's Self-Paced Home Midwifery Academy Program for Women Wanting to Serve Families Through Childbirth Around the World

The GEM Midwifery Program is....

Flexible:

Self-paced, completed on your time schedule, and can be started at any time of the year

Affordable:

$100/month membership with optional separately paid skill workshops at 1/2 price to members

Achievable:

Broken down into do-able pieces with incentives and deadlines for motivation and completion

Sustainable:

Encourages a midwifery lifestyle that is protective to self and family so it can be healthy & last

Reproducible:

Provides ways and tools for midwives to train more midwives wherever they go in the world

God-Fearing:

Supports midwives to grow spiritually & authentically integrate their faith into their care of women and their families

START YOUR JOURNEY INTO MIDWIFERY!

Apply For GEM Midwifery Academy

TESTIMONIALS

It has been a great program, I have enjoyed how affordable the program is and that I am able to work at my own pace. I have been learning because each question makes you dig deeper into what you are learning, like going on a rabbit trail which is amazing because then you learn more than just the question.

I highly recommend GEM Academy, the students are wonderful, the midwife is incredibly knowledgeable in everything birth, and if she doesn’t know she finds out. Very affordable and easy instructions. The midwife who started this is in the business of training women to become wonderful midwives. This is her passion so she pours into her students.

Jennifer

The format of this course is very different than most, and I wasn’t totally sure what I thought about it at first. But I really, really like it. I like that we have to go out and find the information ourselves rather than just watching something that tells us the answers. It makes the information stick so much better when we have to go and find it ourselves, especially from multiple sources. I also really like the weekly meetings with the ability to ask questions, hear stories, and get to know our fellow students.

I would mention that this program is suited for people who want to keep things simple and not fancy or high-tech. Some people want huge productions and videos and all that, but I love how simple and down-to-earth this program is, and I especially love how affordable it is! I also love that it’s a Christian program.

Laurel

It took me a couple of years of looking around at different programs, but once I found GEM Academy I knew it was the school for me! I love that it's self-paced, and that works well with my lifestyle. I also love that this program is Christian-based! I've been learning new things every day! This has made me a more knowledgeable doula and I'm very excited for this midwifery journey!

If you're being called to be a midwife, answer the call! Let Jana be your guide on this midwifery journey! It's very affordable, and self-paced so it works with most schedules! I'm a mom of two with one on the way, a business owner, and a birth doula, and I can carve out a bit of time each day to study and progress on my midwife journey! You can do it too!

Raquel

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I get accepted into GEM Academy?

You can send an email to info@gemmidwife.com and ask for the details and requirements to get into the GEM Midwifery Academy.

Can I enroll in GEM Academy if I’m not planning on becoming a midwife?

Yes, if you are wanting to grow your knowledge in birth work and be a part of the community, you are welcome to do so even if you do not plan to complete and obtain a midwife credential to practice.

What resources do I get access to with my subscription to GEM Academy?

When you join the GEM Midwifery Academy, you will get access to a weekly live class Zoom call with fellow students and a teacher midwife, as well as being added to a GEM Midwife student WhatsApp chat group to interact with fellow students and midwife teachers, and you will be able to access a high-value medical research database for study and reference.

How much does the GEM Midwifery Academy Cost?

The GEM Midwifery Academy is a monthly membership subscription model that costs $100 per month.

What are the payment options?

Automatic online payments via debit or credit card. The program is a subscription model and works as a month-per-month payment until you finish the academic assignments

*You may complete all assignments long before completing apprenticeship, in which case you will no longer need to pay GEM membership and you can continue completing paperwork and learning in apprenticeship only until completion… However, we are working on also providing an offer for those who want to continue to have coaching calls with GEM and peer communication even after completing all academic work!

Do I need to make a payment first to start the lessons?

Yes, you need to first subscribe and pay to start. You will not have access to subscribe to the academy until you have applied, interviewed, and been accepted into the program.

Can I pause my subscription and re-enroll in the program?

Yes, you can pause your subscription at any point and then re-enroll in GEM Academy when the timing is best for you.

Is there a specific schedule for the lessons?

The GEM Midwifery Academy program is broken down into eight 12-week quarters over the course of the two years. Each quarter consists of one-course module that includes twelve assignments intended to take one week each to complete. You can go at your own pace (meaning you could go slower like completing one assignment in 2 weeks, or faster like completing two assignments in 1 week!) and there are completion check-ins with a midwife after every completed course module and a weekly group video calls where you can ask questions as you go along.

How does the CPM license work in different states of the USA?

First of all, the Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) credential is not a license but a certification from the North American Registry of Midwives (NARM), which is a private credentialing business organization in the USA. NARM is not government run! Rather it is a business started by homebirth midwives in the 1990’s that created a standard process for out-of-hospital midwifery training and credentialing that has become generally accepted as the standard in the USA.

Now, separately from midwife certification, some states have created midwife licensure which can be obtained by completing individual state requirements, which IS government managed. In some states, the CPM certification is all that is required to obtain Midwife Licensure with the state by some kind of registration process with the state. In other states there are other requirements in addition to CPM certification and in some cases midwifery licensure can be obtained even without a CPM certification. It just depends on each individual state's requirements. In some states midwifery is still illegal and there is no pathway to licensure nor legal practice within the state for professional out-of-hospital midwives.... although in those states usually nurse-midwives, family physicians, or Obstetricians may practice homebirth legally if they choose to.

I explain more about state laws and requirements for midwives in our 7-week Intro to Midwifery Class if you are wanting to learn more about that you can check out that course here: https://gemmidwife.com/7-week-intro-to-midwifery-course/

What are the prerequisites to get into GEM Academy?

To take the 2-Day Doula Workshop and have completed the 7-Week Intro to Midwifery Course, fill out the GEM Midwifery Application and have an interview video call with the academy director.

Can I be enrolled at GEM Academy if I’m not living in the U.S.?

Yes, the GEM Academy curriculum is a self-study program that can be completed from anywhere in the world. If outside the US, we recommend you complete the IRM requirements to become a certified international midwife (CIM).

Unfortunately, with the NARM process to become a certified professional midwife (CPM), clinical practice must be completed within the United States.

How long is the GEM Academy program?

The GEM Midwifery Academy is designed as a 2-year academic self-study program, however, you will be able to complete assignments faster or slower based on your capacity and ability to do so at the pace you want. HOWEVER importantly in most cases, when in clinical apprenticeship with a practicing midwife (which also must be completed in conjunction with the academic studies whether during, after, or in a few cases before academic studies), it is normal for completion of both academic and practical portions together to take 3-5 years (and at maximum 10 years if choosing a very slow pace) to complete in order to receive midwifery certification!

*Few women will be able to complete both academic and practical portions of midwifery study in 2 years, BUT it is possible if you are able to commit 100% of your time to midwifery study and work with a busy midwife doing 5-10 births per month or more…OR you are already starting out with significant previous midwifery knowledge and birth experience from another profession and work with a busy midwife!

How are assignments graded?

The way that GEM is designed is for you to LEARN the information from a variety of sources and then write it down in a way that makes sense to you! SO, you are your own audience for your assignments as you explain to your future self so if you forget, you can go back in the future and read what you wrote and understand. So, grading is competency-based, one-on-one check-ins with Jana via Zoom call where she reviews your assignments and asks you important questions from each topic to verify that you have gained and retained the knowledge from each assignment.

How can I get started in clinical practice while I’m studying at GEM Academy?

We encourage all GEM students to start as doulas. Doula work is extreeeeemely valuable in preparing you as a midwife! The first phase of your clinical practice paperwork is 10 observational births, which means attending a birth in any role… like as a sister, a friend, or a DOULA! So that is the best place to start. *If* you have already been a doula for more than 10 births or many many births, then you are ready to find a midwife to work with in apprenticeship. We encourage students to first get started in the GEM Academy by completing the orientation and module one and attending weekly class calls where Jana can coach you on how to find a midwife apprenticeship and help connect you to midwife apprenticeship opportunities she has relationship and access to!

Do I get a midwife certification when I finish my formation in GEM Academy?

When you finish all modules of the GEM Academy Program, you will receive a certificate of completion of GEM Midwifery Education. However, you must still complete the required apprenticeship and paperwork process through the certifying organizations of NARM or IRM in order to qualify for testing and actual certification as a midwife awarded by NARM or IRM directly.

How do you work after you complete the program?

In most cases, after completing their midwifery training and gaining their CPM credential, women will start their own private practice midwifery business. In some cases, particularly in bigger cities, you may be able to get a job working for another midwife in her homebirth practice OR get a job at a local free-standing (out-of-hospital) birthing center that hires professional midwives (some birth centers only hire certified nurse midwives).