NARM, in collaboration with the US Department of Education (USDE) accredited education programs and US MERA professional organizations will administer and award the Midwifery Bridge Certificate to CPMs based on completion of 50 accredited approved continuing education contact hours (CEUs/CMEs/CNEs) within the five-year period prior to application.
Required continuing education will be based upon identified areas to address emergency skills and the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) competencies. The list of approved continuing education will be maintained by NARM and regularly evaluated and updated. For as long as US MERA continues to operate, a committee from among those organizations will provide advice and consultation to NARM on this provision. NARM requires recertification for all CPMs every three years. Recertification requires 25 continuing education credit hours and 5 hours of peer review. Continuing education acquired to meet the Midwifery Bridge Certificate will also count toward CPM recertification, but not all work accepted for recertification will count toward the Midwifery Bridge Certificate. CPMs are responsible for tracking their Continuing Education credit hours, documentation, and dates to meet both the CPM recertification requirements and the Midwifery Bridge Certificate requirements.
All CEUs/CMEs/CNEs must have been completed in the past five years and must have been granted by an accrediting organization such as MEAC, ACOG, ACNM, AWHONN, AAFP, State Health Departments, Nursing or Perinatal Associations.
CEUs for the Midwifery Bridge Certificate taught by midwifery associations or non-accredited educational programs will not count unless accredited as CEUs by a third party.
For purposes of the NARM Midwifery Bridge Certificate, NARM uses the term “CEU” to refer to required continuing education, which may be documented in hours or in units. 1 contact hour is equal to 0.1 units.
The 50 contact hours leading to the Midwifery Bridge Certificate must include the following:
| Description of CEUs | Minimum CEUs necessary | Maximum CEUs allowed |
| Category 1: Emergency Skills in Pregnancy, Birth, and the Immediate Postpartum | 15 | 35 |
| Category 2: Emergency Skills for Newborn Care | 15 | 35 |
| Category 3: Specific Topics Relevant to Midwifery Care based upon identified areas to address emergency skills and the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) competencies | 0 | 20 |
At least one course in both the Maternal and Newborn categories must include a hands-on component. The remaining credits may be from on-site or on-line courses.
Courses must be accredited and listed under approved topics for each category. Where the information is available, links are provided on the individual category pages listed above. It is not necessary to only use these links, as continuing education sessions will be developed for state and national conferences as well as new on-line options in addition to those currently identified. If there is any question about a course please send an email to MBC@narm.org.
All CEUs/CMEs/CNEs must have been completed in the past five years and must have been granted by an accrediting organization such as MEAC, ACOG, ACNM, AWHONN, AAFP, State Health Departments, Nursing or Perinatal Associations.
CEUs for the Midwifery Bridge Certificate taught by midwifery associations or non-accredited educational programs will not count unless accredited as CEUs by a third party.
Continuing Education certificates must be submitted with the Midwifery Bridge Certificate application and must include the title of the course, the instructor signature, the accrediting agency, and the number of credit hours defined according to Maternal, Newborn, or Other Topics.
Note to Providers and Midwives: If you are developing a course or know of a course which meets these topic requirements and is accredited, please send us a link, and we will list it on the appropriate Category webpage. Course links, credit hours, and cost are listed where known, but may be subject to change. Send updates to MBC@narm.org.