Midwives are skilled care providers who specialize in supporting healthy low-risk pregnancy, birth, postpartum, well-person care, and early newborn care.

There are several types of midwives, each with distinct training pathways, credentials, and levels of legal recognition. Common titles include Certified Professional Midwife (CPM), Licensed Midwife (LM), Direct-Entry Midwife (DEM), Certified Nurse-Midwife (CNM), and Certified Midwife (CM).

A midwife’s experience, scope of practice and style of care may vary based on training, certification, and state law. In Illinois, midwifery is legally recognized through two primary paths:

• Certified Nurse-Midwives (CNMs): Licensed by the state of Illinois as Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs). Most CNMs practice in hospitals, sometimes in collaboration with or under the supervision of obstetricians. A smaller number may attend births in birth centers or occasionally in home birth settings.

• Licensed Certified Professional Midwives (CPMs): As of October 2021, Illinois passed the Licensed Certified Professional Midwife Practice Act, which allows CPMs to apply for state licensure. As of January 2025, licenses are now available. Licensed CPMs specialize in out-of-hospital birth (home and birth centers). Their credential is regulated nationally through the North American Registry of Midwives (NARM).

In addition, traditional or community midwives may serve families outside of the state licensing framework. These midwives often draw on rich experience, apprenticeship training, or cultural traditions, and continue to play an important role in supporting families who seek care that aligns with their values and heritage.

Each path into midwifery brings unique strengths, and families may choose based on their birth setting preferences (hospital, birth center, or home), their philosophy of care, and the relationship they feel with the provider.

The best way to find the right fit is to talk directly with midwives in your community, ask questions, and explore the model of care that feels aligned with your family’s needs.

Illinois law supports midwifery care through CNMs and licensed CPMs, giving low-risk families more access than ever before to safe, compassionate, and personalized maternity care.

The best time to begin midwifery care is during pre-conception to allow for the greatest continuity, education, and support. That said, we are here for you at every stage of pregnancy and would love to support you whenever you begin care.

Many families choose to start midwifery care in the first trimester to establish a strong relationship, review health history and labs, and build a solid foundation for a healthy pregnancy and physiologic birth.

It’s never “too late” to start midwifery care. Families often transfer into care during the second or third trimester, and we’re happy to explore whether Profound Birth is the right fit for your pregnancy and birth goals based on timing, health history, and our availability.

In an uncomplicated pregnancy, prenatal visits typically follow a predictable rhythm that increases as birth approaches. Most families can expect:

• Every 4 weeks from early pregnancy through around 28 weeks

• Every 2 weeks from about 28–36 weeks

• Weekly visits from 36 weeks until birth

These visits allow time to monitor maternal and fetal wellbeing, review labs, address physical and emotional changes, provide education, and prepare for labor, birth, and postpartum.

Midwives also provide care outside of pregnancy, and visit frequency depends on the service:

Well-Person Care: Visits are scheduled based on your needs and may be annual or periodic, focusing on cycle health, hormonal balance, preventive care, and overall wellbeing.

Fertility Care: Visits are individualized and may involve an initial consultation followed by regular visits to support cycle tracking, optimize preconception health, review labs, and adjust care as goals evolve.

Lactation Support: One or more visits as needed, offered prenatally or postpartum, with follow-ups based on feeding goals and challenges.

Perinatal Nutrition: Typically scheduled as a focused visit, with additional visits as needed to review labs, adjust recommendations, and support ongoing nourishment.

Rather than a one-size-fits-all schedule, non-prenatal midwifery care is individualized and responsive. Care happens as often as it’s needed to support your health, healing, and confidence.

Planned home birth with a trained and experienced midwife has been shown in multiple studies to be a safe option for low-risk mothers. Research from countries with well-integrated midwifery systems, such as the Netherlands, Canada, and the United Kingdom, demonstrates that when midwives are skilled, properly trained, and supported within a healthcare system, outcomes for both mothers and babies are excellent.

In fact, the Lancet Midwifery Series and systematic reviews published in the Cochrane Database highlight that midwife-led continuity of care reduces the likelihood of interventions, lowers rates of cesarean birth, and improves overall maternal and neonatal outcomes.

Globally, there is a growing recognition of the need for more midwives. The World Health Organization (WHO) emphasizes that scaling up midwifery education and access is one of the most effective ways to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality and morbidity worldwide.

Midwives are highly skilled healthcare providers who safeguard physiological birth, uphold safety, and provide trusted guidance for families throughout pregnancy, birth, and postpartum.

We know that physiological birth—birth that unfolds with support for the body’s natural processes of labor, birth, and breastfeeding—is fundamental to safe and healthy outcomes. The midwifery model of care, and home birth in particular, are uniquely designed to protect these physiological processes.

Families planning home birth with midwives are more likely to experience practices that support mobility, individualized care, immediate bonding, and breastfeeding, all of which contribute to long-term health and resilience.

Risk assessment is a vital part of home birth preparation and includes consideration of population-level statistics, but also each family’s personal health, medical and birth history, values, accountability, and safety.

This requires midwives with excellent training and a commitment to respectful, collaborative care, along with systems that support smooth referral and safe transfer when needed.

References

• Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group. Midwife-led continuity models versus other models of care for childbearing women. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2024.

• Renfrew, M.J., et al. Midwifery and quality care: findings from a new evidence-informed framework for maternal and newborn care. The Lancet, 2014.

• World Health Organization. 2021 State of the World’s Midwifery Report. WHO, 2021.

We primarily serve families in a one-hour radius from our office in Oswego, Illinois.

Our practice supports families throughout Greater Fox Valley and Greater Chicago, including:

Kendall, Will, Kane, DuPage, Grundy, DeKalb and parts of Cook.

We attend births up to 90 minutes from our office. An additional travel fee will apply for families who live outside of our standard service area.

Reach out to inquire about our availability.

The majority of appointments will occur at our office in Oswego, Illinois:

155 Chicago Road First Fl, Oswego, IL 60543

Beginning at 36 weeks, your appointments will transition into home visits. All postpartum visits during the first month are provided in the comfort of your home. Families return to our office for a 6-week visit, which marks the completion of care.

Yes, we do accept families who are later in their pregnancy, depending on our availability.

We understand that plans can change, and we’re always happy to explore whether we’re the right fit for your care, even if you’re further along!

Reach out to inquire about our availability.