Baystate Midwifery Program Granted Accreditation

SPRINGFIELD — Baystate Medical Center’s Midwifery Education Program has been granted 10-year accreditation from the American College of Nurse-Midwives.

The Baystate Medical Center Midwifery Education Program, established in 1992, is a post-baccalaureate certificate program that prepares graduates to provide primary women’s care as certified nurse midwives (CNMs). Through classroom learning and clinical components, the program prepares students for full scope midwifery practice, including the delivery of babies and providing health care for women before and after pregnancy, as well as research and education.

Located within the hospital’s Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology in the Division of Midwifery and Community Health, program faculty are affiliated with Tufts University School of Medicine, for which Baystate Medical Center serves as its Western Campus. Students also benefit from an established midwifery practice at Baystate that provides opportunities for extensive clinical experience. And, through collaboration with the School of Nursing at UMass Amherst, students have opportunities for other degree programs.

Nurse midwives have been on the staff at Baystate Medical Center since 1980. The department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Baystate established a nurse midwifery clinical service, Baystate Midwifery Associates, in 1984. In 1992, the nurse midwives opened the Baystate Nurse Midwifery Education Program, which has attracted students nationwide and whose graduates have enjoyed a 100{06cf2b9696b159f874511d23dbc893eb1ac83014175ed30550cfff22781411e5} first-time pass rate on the national qualifying exam.