Midwifery care respects the unique physical, emotional, social, and cultural characteristics of each individual. Midwifery care respects normal physiologic processes and uses technology, when appropriate, to ensure healthy outcomes for women and infants. Midwives empower women to assume responsibility for their health through education and counseling, thereby promoting informed decision-making.
Midwives serve as liaisons within the health care system and advocate for women and families.
Midwifery care is family-centered and strives to involve the client's significant others in the delivery of care. Individuals from a variety of educational and experiential backgrounds can be comparably prepared to enter the profession of midwifery as safe and competent beginning practitioners. Recognizing that students are adult learners who are responsible for their own learning, the faculty provides a climate that facilitates the acquisition of knowledge and skills essential to safe clinical practice while respecting individual learning styles. Professional role development at a master's level mandates an awareness of the impact of research, health care policy, community assessment, administration, and teaching on midwifery practice. Midwifery is an interdependent health discipline possessing its own special core of knowledge, skills, and competencies.