Skip to main content

What is a midwife


A midwife is a licensed professional who provides primary care to clients and babies during pregnancy, labour, birth, and the postpartum period. As primary care providers, midwives may be the first point of entry to perinatal services and are fully responsible for clinical decisions and the management of care within their scope of practice. A midwife completes a four-year university program that covers a wide variety of subjects related to midwifery, ethics, and clinical skills. After graduating, and before being granted practising registration with the BC College of Nurses and Midwives (BCCNM), a national exam must be completed.

In B.C., only midwives who are registered with BCCNM can call themselves "midwives" or “registered midwives." To learn more about midwifery, visit the Midwives Association of BC.​​

900 – 200 Granville St
Vancouver, BC  V6C 1S4
Canada

info@bccnm​.ca
604.742.6200​
​Toll-free 1.866.880.7101 (within Canada only) ​


We acknowledge the rights and title of the First Nations on whose collective unceded territories encompass the land base colonially known as British Columbia. We give specific thanks to the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ speaking peoples the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) and sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations and the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh-ulh Sníchim speaking Peoples the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation), on whose unceded territories BCCNM’s office is located. We also give thanks for the medicines of these territories and recognize that laws, governance, and health systems tied to these lands and waters have existed here for over 9000 years.

We also acknowledge the unique and distinct rights, including rights to health and wellness, of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples from elsewhere in Canada who now live in British Columbia. As leaders in the settler health system, we acknowledge our responsibilities to these rights under international, national, and provincial law.​