Midwives
SOC: 29-9099.01 · Job Zone: 5
Key Takeaways
- ●AI Impact Score: 42/100 — Partial Automation Likely. Partial automation is likely for key tasks in this occupation.
- ●37K workers currently employed.
- ●Mean annual wage: $64,030.
- ●2 of 15 key tasks can already be performed by AI tools today.
What Midwives Do
Provide prenatal care and childbirth assistance.
Also known as
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AI Impact Analysis
Current State of Midwifery Practice
The midwifery profession employs 36,970 workers nationwide with a mean annual wage of $64,030. This specialized healthcare role requires extensive training (Job Zone 5/5) and combines clinical expertise with intimate patient care during one of life's most critical moments. Midwives perform complex medical assessments, emergency interventions, and provide continuous emotional support throughout pregnancy, labor, and postpartum care.
AI Automation of Core Tasks
AI is rapidly automating several critical midwifery functions. Documentation tasks like "Maintain documentation of all patients' contacts, reviewing and updating records" are being handled by AI scribes like Abridge and Nuance Dragon Medical One, which automatically transcribe patient interactions. Laboratory analysis tasks such as "Test patients' hemoglobin, hematocrit, and blood glucose levels" are enhanced by AI diagnostic tools like IBM Watson Health and Google's DeepMind, which can interpret results faster than human analysis. Patient monitoring activities, including "Monitor fetal growth and well-being through heartbeat detection," are being augmented by AI-powered fetal monitoring systems like Philips Avalon CL and GE Healthcare's Monica AN24, which provide continuous automated analysis of fetal heart patterns.
Human-Essential Elements
The most critical midwifery tasks remain fundamentally human. "Provide necessary medical care for infants at birth, including emergency care such as resuscitation" requires split-second physical intervention and clinical judgment that AI cannot replicate. The top-ranked skill of Social Perceptiveness (4.12/5) and tasks like "Conduct ongoing prenatal health assessments, tracking changes in physical and emotional health" demand the nuanced human ability to read non-verbal cues, provide emotional support, and make complex decisions based on subtle patient changes that current AI cannot detect.
Timeline and Trajectory
Within 1-3 years, expect widespread adoption of AI documentation tools and enhanced diagnostic support systems in midwifery practices. The 3-5 year horizon will bring more sophisticated AI monitoring systems and predictive analytics for pregnancy complications. However, the hands-on clinical care, emergency interventions, and emotional support that define midwifery will remain human-centered, supporting our 42/100 moderate automation score.
Industry Adoption
Major healthcare systems like Kaiser Permanente and Cleveland Clinic are already implementing AI-powered EMR systems with Epic's AI tools for automated documentation. Telehealth platforms like Babyscripts use AI to monitor high-risk pregnancies remotely, while companies like Ovia Health deploy AI chatbots for routine prenatal education and triage, reducing administrative burden on midwives while preserving the essential human elements of care.
Task-by-Task AI Analysis
| Task | AI Status |
|---|---|
Monitor maternal condition during labor by checking vital signs, monitoring uterine contractions, or performing physical examinations. AI enhances continuous monitoring but requires human interpretation for critical decisions. | AI Assists Now |
Identify tubal and ectopic pregnancies and refer patients for treatments. AI assists in diagnostic imaging analysis but clinical judgment remains essential. | AI Assists 1-2 years |
Provide necessary medical care for infants at birth, including emergency care such as resuscitation. Requires immediate physical intervention and split-second clinical decisions. | Human Essential 5+ years |
Conduct ongoing prenatal health assessments, tracking changes in physical and emotional health. AI can track data trends but human assessment of emotional health is irreplaceable. | AI Assists Now |
Monitor fetal growth and well-being through heartbeat detection, body measurement, and palpation. AI provides continuous monitoring but physical examination skills remain human. | AI Assists Now |
Establish and follow emergency or contingency plans for mothers and newborns. AI can suggest protocols but emergency planning requires human clinical judgment. | AI Assists 1-2 years |
Identify, monitor, or treat pregnancy-related problems such as hypertension, gestational diabetes, pre-term labor, or retarded fetal growth. AI enhances pattern recognition but treatment decisions require human expertise. | AI Assists 1-2 years |
Obtain complete health and medical histories from patients including medical, surgical, reproductive, or mental health histories. AI can automate documentation but gathering sensitive histories requires human interaction. | AI Assists Now |
Evaluate patients' laboratory and medical records, requesting assistance from other practitioners when necessary. AI accelerates record analysis but clinical correlation requires human judgment. | AI Assists Now |
Maintain documentation of all patients' contacts, reviewing and updating records as necessary. AI can fully automate routine documentation and record updates. | AI Can Do This Now |
Assess the status of post-date pregnancies to determine treatments and interventions. AI provides risk assessment but intervention decisions require human clinical expertise. | AI Assists 1-2 years |
Set up or monitor the administration of oxygen or medications. AI can assist with dosing calculations but setup requires human verification. | AI Assists Now |
Suture perineal lacerations. Requires precise manual dexterity and real-time tissue assessment. | Human Essential 5+ years |
Perform post-partum health assessments of mothers and babies at regular intervals. AI can track metrics but physical assessment and emotional support remain human. | AI Assists Now |
Test patients' hemoglobin, hematocrit, and blood glucose levels. AI can fully automate laboratory testing and initial result interpretation. | AI Can Do This Now |
AI Tools Disrupting Midwives
Key Skills
Key Tasks
- •Monitor maternal condition during labor by checking vital signs, monitoring uterine contractions, or performing physical examinations.
- •Identify tubal and ectopic pregnancies and refer patients for treatments.
- •Provide necessary medical care for infants at birth, including emergency care such as resuscitation.
- •Conduct ongoing prenatal health assessments, tracking changes in physical and emotional health.
- •Monitor fetal growth and well-being through heartbeat detection, body measurement, and palpation.
- •Establish and follow emergency or contingency plans for mothers and newborns.
- •Identify, monitor, or treat pregnancy-related problems such as hypertension, gestational diabetes, pre-term labor, or retarded fetal growth.
- •Obtain complete health and medical histories from patients including medical, surgical, reproductive, or mental health histories.
- •Evaluate patients' laboratory and medical records, requesting assistance from other practitioners when necessary.
- •Maintain documentation of all patients' contacts, reviewing and updating records as necessary.
- •Assess the status of post-date pregnancies to determine treatments and interventions.
- •Set up or monitor the administration of oxygen or medications.
Technology Skills Used
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Salary Range
Career Transition Guidance
Career Transition Pathways for Midwives
Midwives possess highly transferable skills that position them well for advancement within healthcare. The most natural progression is to Nurse Midwives (29-1161.00) or Nurse Practitioners (29-1171.00), which leverage existing clinical expertise while expanding scope of practice. Your Social Perceptiveness (4.12/5) and Critical Thinking (4.0/5) skills directly transfer to these advanced practice roles. Additional training typically requires a Master's degree in nursing, taking 2-3 years for practicing midwives.
Specialized Medical Transitions
For those seeking medical specialization, transitioning to Obstetricians and Gynecologists (29-1218.00) or Family Medicine Physicians (29-1215.00) represents a significant but achievable career evolution. Your extensive experience in prenatal care, labor management, and patient assessment provides a strong foundation. This path requires medical school (4 years) plus residency (3-4 years), but offers substantially higher earning potential and expanded clinical authority. Alternatively, Emergency Medicine Physicians (29-1214.00) value your emergency intervention skills and ability to make rapid clinical decisions under pressure.
Related Occupations
Frequently Asked Questions
Will AI replace Midwives?
No, AI will not replace midwives entirely. With an AI impact score of 42/100, midwifery faces moderate automation risk over 5-10 years. The 36,970 midwives currently employed will see their documentation and monitoring tasks automated, but the essential human elements of emergency care, emotional support, and complex clinical decision-making cannot be replicated by AI.
What AI tools are used in Midwives roles?
Midwives currently use Epic Systems with AI features, Abridge for medical documentation, Philips Avalon CL for fetal monitoring, and IBM Watson Health for diagnostic support. Emerging tools include Babyscripts for remote pregnancy monitoring and Nuance Dragon Medical One for automated transcription.
What is the salary outlook for Midwives with AI?
The current mean annual wage of $64,030 for midwives is likely to remain stable or increase as AI handles routine tasks, allowing midwives to focus on higher-value patient care. While employment data shows no projected change, AI augmentation may actually increase demand for skilled midwives who can work alongside these technologies.
What skills should Midwives develop for the AI era?
Midwives should focus on developing their Social Perceptiveness (currently rated 4.12/5), Critical Thinking (4.0/5), and Complex Problem Solving (3.38/5) skills, as these human-centered capabilities cannot be automated. Additionally, learning to work with AI diagnostic tools and electronic health record systems will be essential.
How many Midwives jobs are there in the US?
There are currently 36,970 midwives employed in the United States with no projected change in employment levels. This stability suggests that while AI will transform how midwives work, it will not eliminate the need for human midwifery professionals.