For those interested in Academics at a Distance: 

Distance Learning can be completed in your own time frame; average is 12-18 months:

Mercy In Action also offers distance learning academics for midwifery education, which can be used to prepare for the the NARM PEP process toward becoming a Certified Professional Midwife, or for independent study regardless of where you will practice. This is something prospective midwife students or doulas can do at home in your spare time, and is a program especially beneficial to mothers with small children. You order the modules to work on as you have time, paying as you go; there is never a deadline. There are 18 modules covering the foundational academic knowledge necessary for midwifery practice, from fetal development through postpartum; normal first and then complications in each area. A quiz follows the completion of each module.  A certificate of Completion for Academic Midwifery is awarded at the successful completion of all 18 modules with a score of 80% or above.

Optional: For those that wish, upon successful completion of all 18 modules, we will give you two more modules free of charge for learning about midwifery and newborn issues in the under-developed areas of the world.

Assignments are graded, and written comments given, by Certified Professional Midwives.

Description of Distance Academics

 This course can be completed in 18 months by completing one Module per month, or doubled up to complete it in 9 months, or completed faster or slower, in any timeframe you choose. There is no time limit.  Main topic headings are listed below. Each Module will guide you through study questions, which you will answer using at least three textbooks and any other resources you choose. In each Module you will read and write-up one book-report book, and make vocabulary cards. Time spent on each assignment will vary, but in general it should take 10-12 hours per Module, with reading time extra, depending on how fast you read.  A new module or bundle of modules can be paid for online at any time you are ready to begin a new Module.  An experienced  CPM midwife preceptor will grade your assignment and quiz, and then give you written feedback and a Module grade. A passing grade is  80% or higher. Expect to receive your new Module within 5 business days when you pay online for a new Module, and when you turn a Module in to be graded, it may take us up to 14 business days. However, there is nothing to stop you from beginning a the next Module while you are waiting for one to be graded.

A  frameable Certificate of Completion will be issued upon successful completion.

Cost per module in US dollars:

$150 each if purchased individually

$130 each if purchased 6 at a time, a savings of 360

$110 each if purchased all at once, a savings of $720   BEST DEAL

 

 

Refund policy
In the distance midwifery academic program there are no refunds for any reason. Students who pay for the modules are financially expressing their commitment to complete the modules they ordered from the distance academic program. If an emergency arises and you feel unable to complete the modules, you may write and ask for your unused payments to be converted into a donation to Mercy In Action. In this case, you will receive a tax reciept at the end of the calendar year for the IRS. However, be advised that if you make that choice, you will not be able to submit any unfinished modules for grading unless you pay for them again in the future.
 

 

Outline of Course Subjects:

1. Module One – Fertilization & Beginning Pregnancy

2. Module Two – Pregnancy Changes & Comfort Measures 

3. Module Three – Nutrition and Prenatal Care 

4. Module Four – Prenatal Testing & Risk Screening

5. Module Five – First Stage of Labor & Management

6. Module Six – Normal Labor & Pain Management

7. Module Seven – Second & Third Stage Labor

8. Module Eight – Fourth Stage of Labor & Postpartum Care

9. Module Nine – Newborn Care & Breastfeeding

10. Module Ten – Prenatal Complications

11. Module Eleven – Labor Complications

12. Module Twelve – Birth Complications & Variations of Normal

13. Module Thirteen – Hemorrhage & Related Complications

14. Module Fourteen - Postpartum Complications

15. Module Fifteen – Newborn Complications

16. Module Sixteen – Family Planning

17. Module Seventeen – Initial Pregnancy History and Exam with Pelvimitry

18. Module Eighteen – Well Woman and Inter-conceptual Care

You are allowed to do the  modules out of order if desired.  You can also read the book-report books in any order.
Occasionally we have requests from students who are in an apprenticeship and would like to begin work on the labor and birth modules before completing the first modules on pregnancy, and if that is the case for you, please feel free to do so. Or if you are in an active apprenticeship, and especially if you are acting as primary under supervision already, you may need to do some of the complications and emergencies modules right away.  Or sometimes you want to start with normal labor and birth, rather than embryology, just to get your mind around what you are most interested in studying first. It is up to you!
Of course if you are going for the diploma program, you will eventually have to complete all 18 modules, to have a well-rounded academic education, but you can get there in any order that works for you. And we do highly recommend that you do the normal module on a section before the complicated module on that same topic, just so that you get grounded in normal first. 

 

 

Click on the file names below to download more information:

At-A-Distance Academics Midwifery Course Application 

At-A-Distance Book List

NARM text books

Sample Module

 

HERE IS THE LIST OF TEXTBOOKS YOU NEED TO BUY OR BORROW BEFORE BEGINNING THE COURSE:

Heart and Hands: A Midwife's Guide to Pregnancy and Birth
by Elizabeth Davis
http://www.amazon.com/Heart-Hands-Fifth-Edition-Pregnancy/dp/1607742438

 

Varney's Midwifery, Fourth Edition
by Helen Varney
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0763718564

 

The Labor Progress Handbook: Early Interventions to Prevent and Treat Dystocia
by Penny Simkin, Ruth Ancheta
http://www.amazon.com/The-Labor-Progress-Handbook-Interventions/dp/140512217X

 

Holistic Midwifery: A Comprehensive Textbook for Midwives in Homebirth Practice, Vol. 2: Care of the Mother and Baby from the Onset of Labor Through the First Hours After Birth
by Anne Frye
http://www.amazon.com/Holistic-Midwifery-Comprehensive-Textbook-Homebirth/dp/1891145606

 

Holistic Midwifery: A Comprehensive Textbook for Midwives in Homebirth Practice, Vol. 1: Care During Pregnancy
by Anne Frye
http://www.amazon.com/Holistic-Midwifery-Comprehensive-Homebirth-Pregnancy/dp/189114555X

 

Textbook for Midwives, 14th edition
by Margaret Myles  (also available on Kindle)
http://www.amazon.com/Myles-Textbook-Midwives-Diane-Fraser/dp/0443072345

 

Human Labor and Birth, 5th edition
by Oxhorn and Foote
http://www.amazon.com/Oxorn-Foote-Human-Labor-Birth-Harry/dp/0838576656

 

Anatomy & Physiology for Midwives
by Jane Coad
http://www.amazon.com/Anatomy-Physiology-Midwives-Pageburst-online/dp/0702034894/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1347287145&sr=1-1&keywords=jane+coad

 

 

Questions about Distance Academics?

Email us:  

DistanceAcademics@mercyinaction.com