Getting Started as a PEP Midwifery Student

Hi, my name is Anne Elliott, and I am a certified childbirth educator with more than 25 years of teaching experience. I am also the mother of seven children, with experience in hospital birth, birth-center birth, home birth, and cesarean birth.

I am now a midwifery student, using PEP to prepare to take the NARM exam and become a CPM.

I am also a curriculum developer and the owner of a homeschooling publishing company, which we started in 2013. I have been a published author since 2005.

I’ve been reading midwifery textbooks for over 28 years, and it has been a lifelong dream to become a midwife. However, as a business owner, pastor’s wife, and generally busy woman — but with a lot of real-world experience creating curriculum — I have chosen to study on my own rather than attend school. Part of this is financial as well. I don’t have a lot of extra money, so I have chosen to use any extra money to purchase textbooks and midwifery supplies, plus maintain my car! 🙂

I am not offering this as a course where I give advice, because I’m simply on the same path you are. However, I do know good study techniques. I’m just going to document how I study and learn. If you want to study along with me, you are welcome!

Before You Begin

Be sure to download the most recent information on becoming a midwife. I recommend putting a reminder on your calendar once a year to check everything again. Things change!

Textbooks on My Shelf

I use the current NARM textbook list (see p. 46). Purchase books as you’re able. I recommend buying one every 2-4 weeks. This is approximately the order in which I bought them:

Weaver – Practical Skills Guide for Midwives
Coad – Anatomy and Physiology for Midwives
Davis – Heart and Hands
Gaskin – Spiritual Midwifery
Varney – Midwifery
Myles – Textbook for Midwifery
Frye – Holistic Midwifery, Vol I
Frye – Holistic Midwifery, Vol II
Oxhorn and Foote – Human Labor and Birth
William’s Obstetrics
Sinclair – A Midwife’s Handbook
Frye – Healing Passage
Frye – Understanding Diagnostic Tests in the Childbearing Year
Gruenberg – Birth Emergency Skills Training
American Academy of Pediatrics – Neonatal Resuscitation Textbook
Mohrbacher – Breastfeeding Answers Made Simple
Snell – Care of the Well Newborn
Foster – Professional Ethics in Midwifery Practice

Here are other books on my shelf that I have found useful. Check back as I add more to the list occasionally.

Birthsong Midwifery Workbook – highly recommended
A used microbiology textbook
Bates – Guide to Physical Examination and History Taking
Tharpe, Farley, Jordan – Clinical Practice Guidelines for Midwifery and Women’s Health
Johnson, Taylor – Skills for Midwifery Practice
Weschler – Taking Charge of Your Fertility
Barnes – The Ministry of Midwifery
Staras – Communication in Midwifery
Kitzinger – The Complete Book of Pregnancy and Childbirth
Hoffman – Medical Herbalism
Parker – The Naturally Healthy Pregnancy
Simkin – The Birth Partner
Dekker – Babies Are Not Pizzas
Thurow – The First 1000 Days
Placksin – Mothering the New Mother
Heustis, Jenkins – Companioning at a Time of Perinatal Loss
Birth Models That Work
Gaskin – Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth
Gaskin – Ina May’s Guide to Breastfeeding
Nichols – Real Food for Pregnancy
Nichols – Real Food for Fertility
Nichols – Real Food for Gestational Diabetes
Why Not Me? The Story of Gladys Milton, Midwife
Breastfeeding and Natural Child Spacing
Obstetric Myths Versus Research Realities
Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way
The First Forty Days
Romm – The Natural Pregnancy Book
Romm – Adrenal Thyroid Revolution
White – The Herbal Doula

Recommended Study Methods

Make flashcards.
It sounds old-fashioned, but writing a term on one side and a definition on the other side is a proven way to learn! You could use a digital app, but if you write out cards by hand, you will stimulate a different part of your brain and remember things longer.
Build a Midwifery Compendium.
A compendium is a collected reference of all the essential midwifery knowledge you will be gaining. I recommend that you organize your notes by topic. Click here for the topics I use.
If you want to keep track of everything on paper, then purchase file folders to hold them, or a BIG binder with dividers. If you prefer to keep track of everything digitally, I recommend Evernote‘s paid version. Make a “notebook” for each topic. One thing I love about Evernote is that I can install their extension on my web browser and save everything I find online by topic as well. Evernote can read my handwriting, and its search feature is awesome.
Create Quick Reference Cards.
These are concise, practical summaries of important clinical topics. Each card gathers key signs, assessment points, immediate actions, precautions, and referral or transport considerations in a format that can be reviewed quickly during study or practice. I use 4 x 6 cards. I purchased a box to hold them all, plus divider cards to keep them organized. I use the same topics as my compendium.
Write Care Plans and Case Studies.
It’s really important to apply what you’re learning to specific situations. I like to read birth stories and watch birth videos (even Call the Midwife), then write up a plan for what I would do. I like Ina May Gaskin’s books for this. Learn how to do differential diagnosis. Save these in your compendium.
Study with Others.
Have a study partner (or more) and set up a weekly time to discuss what you’ve learned. Review flashcards and quiz each other. Talk about care plans and case studies. Share research. Discuss ethical dilemmas and emergency scenarios. Take notes on how others would do things, even if you disagree.
Find a Midwife Preceptor Sooner Than Later.
Becoming an apprentice is key to learning, because you need to develop real midwifery thinking. Be brave! Meet midwives and ask if you can be one of their students.
Create a Study Spot and a Consistent Study Time.
Put study time on your calendar and treat it like an important appointment you cannot break. Three hours a day is a good place to start, but consistency is the most important thing, even if you have less time.

Getting Started as a PEP Midwifery Student

Before You Begin

Textbooks on My Shelf

Recommended Study Methods

Suggested Topics:

Advocacy

Labor/Birth

Midwifery Practice

Newborn

Postpartum

Prenatal