Workforce Development
Expanding access to community-based perinatal care requires a strong, sustainable, and well-supported CPM workforce. NACPM’s workforce development efforts focus on strengthening the pipeline of CPMs, improving the sustainability of licensed midwifery practice, and ensuring that communities across the country have access to skilled, culturally responsive care.
NACPM advances workforce development through research, policy advocacy, and direct investment in the profession. Our national workforce and compensation reports provide the first comprehensive data on the structure, compensation, and working conditions of CPM practice. These reports help policymakers, health systems, and advocates better understand the role of community midwives in the perinatal care system and identify barriers that limit the growth and sustainability of the workforce.
At the policy level, NACPM works with state and federal partners to advance legislation and regulatory frameworks that allow CPMs to practice to the full scope of the credential. These efforts include expanding licensure, improving reimbursement pathways, and removing administrative barriers that prevent midwives from fully participating in the healthcare system.
NACPM also invests directly in the future of the profession through scholarships, grants, and other funding initiatives designed to support students, new midwives, and midwives serving historically marginalized communities. These programs help reduce financial barriers to entering the profession and support a more diverse and representative midwifery workforce.
Together, these efforts aim to build a midwifery workforce that is large enough, diverse enough, and supported enough to meet the growing demand for community-based maternity care in the United States.
2024 Workforce Compensation Survey
The NACPM Workforce and Compensation Report provides the first national analysis of the NARM-examined workforce, evaluating practice structures, compensation models, and working conditions across community birth settings. This data helps inform policy, workforce planning, and efforts to strengthen access to community-based perinatal care.
Tricare Expansion
NACPM is working to expand TRICARE recognition of CPMs and CMs so that military families can access community-based perinatal care. Expanding TRICARE coverage would increase birth options for servicemembers and their families while helping address maternity care access challenges on and near military installations.
Scholarship and Grants
NACPM supports the growth of the CPM workforce through scholarships and grants that help reduce financial barriers to midwifery education and practice. These investments support students, new midwives, and midwives serving underserved communities.
