Learn, learn, learn.

BetterBirth University

Click here to see what our students are saying about us.

BetterBirth's student program is now being operated by Two Leaves Midwifery.  If you are a student looking for a clinical placement, please contact Two Leaves at 801-225-5668 or twoleaves@betterbirth.com.

BetterBirth does continue to offer CEU courses for students and midwives:

Fetal Heart Monitoring for Out-of-Hospital Midwives  .3 CEUs (3 hours)  $60

This online course is designed to teach midwives and students to effectively monitor the fetal heart using intermittent auscultation in the out-of-hospital setting.  Make sure you’re up-to-date with current terminology and guidelines, your documentation is defensible and your babies are safe!  As part of this program you will be granted access to a free, online tool to record the fetal heart monitoring you do at the labors you attend.  This program meets the requirements for 2 contact hours of continuing education in Fetal Heart Monitoring required to renew licensure as a Direct-Entry Midwife in the state of Utah.

Taught by Suzanne Smith, CPM LDEM.  Suzanne has practiced midwifery in the out-of-hospital setting since 1994.  She served several years as the Academic Dean for the Midwives College of Utah, and ran a short-term clinical training program for midwifery students from across the US and Canada.  She developed this course after intensively researching fetal heart monitoring and struggling to apply guidelines designed to be used in-hospital with a continuous electronic fetal monitor to her out-of-hospital practice using intermittent monitoring, and developing a tool to both record and analyze intermittent monitoring data.

Register for the Course

BetterBirth offers high intensity, accelerated programs that will help you become an excellent doula or midwife.  Midwife programs are based on the North American Registry of Midwives requirements to obtain the Certified Professional Midwife credential.  In addition to the prenatal, labor and delivery, postpartum, and newborn experiences required for NARM, we teach, assess, and sign off skills in the Practical Skills Guide for Midwifery and NARM's Comprehensive Skills, Knowledge, and Abilities Essential for Competent Midwifery Practice Verification Form 201.

We offer three programs through which students may receive training: Workshops, Clinical Placements and Second Verification of Skills.  We also offer CPR (via American Red Cross) and neonatal resuscitation (via the Helping Babies Breathe course of the American Academy of Pediatrics) classes.  Our CPR classes are accepted by the State of Utah for licensure as a Direct-Entry Midwife, but not by the North American Registry of Midwives (NARM) for the Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) credential.  Please direct questions to carrie@betterbirth.com.

Workshops
This program is designed for midwifery students who want to learn and sign off skills, but do not want (or are not able) to stay longer and obtain clinical experiences.  It includes several learning modules to complete at home followed by a 12-hr (one day) skills training on the most often-requested and difficult-to-acquire skills for student midwives.

View Workshop Classes

After you satisfactorily complete Workshop, we can sign off many skills on your NARM Form 201 or Practical Skills Guide.  School-specific skills forms may also be signed.  Please keep in mind that the pre-attendance modules are required to be completed prior to the in-person training.  If you have not completed the modules, you can still come to the training but nothing will be signed off.

During Workshops you and the other students will be practicing skills (including vaginal exams, venipuncture, IV placement, etc.) on each other.  This is a requirement.  We know it's not fun to have a midwifery student practice her first IV on you.  She feels the same way about you practicing on her.  But neither of you will master your skills if you don't allow the other to practice.  It is also important to understand how clients feel when you are performing skills on them.  You really get a good sense of it when it's your turn to receive those procedures.  If you are unwilling to practice on other students or have them practice on you, please e-mail us at carrie@betterbirth.com before you apply.

We have limited housing available at the training site on a first-come first-served basis for Workshop students, including kitchen facilities.  Cook your own meals and save!  There is no need to rent a car (unless you are staying off-site).  If you are flying in, we recommend you contact Express Shuttle for transportation to and from the airport.

We accept a maximum of 6 students for any Workshop.  See our Calendar to see Workshop  dates, and use our Application to apply.  For cost and refund information, see our Tuition page.

Clinical Placements
In our clinical placement program you will gain experience in both the home and birth center settings under the tutelage of several outstanding midwives.  We practice according to the midwives model of care, and our goal is to make every birth a great experience for the family involved.  We express our gratitude to the families who are willing to help our students by keeping their quality of care our number one priority.

We offer midwife and doula clinical placements to enable students to practice the skills they have learned and to obtain clinical experiences required for DONA, CAPPA and NARM certification.  During placements we try to get you signed off on as many skills as possible.  There are three placement tracks: Doula, Midwife Assistant Under Supervision (AUS) and Midwife Primary Under Supervision (PUS). Students in the Doula Track attend births as a doula for clients who have chosen to have that service. Students in the Midwife Assistant Under Supervision (AUS) Track attend clinic and assist with prenatal and postpartum visits, and assist at births in our birth centers as well as at home.  Students in the Midwife Primary Under Supervision (PUS) Track attend clinic where they assist with and lead prenatal and postpartum visits, and assist at and manage births in our birth centers as well as at home.  About half of our deliveries are for clients on our midwife program, and primary track students should not expect to serve in the role of primary at these births (or at their associated prenatal and postpartum visits), although they are expected to assist even if they don't "need" the experience for NARM.  Our primary track students serve as primary under supervision for the other half of our clients who have signed up for our student program.  (We reserve the right to change primary assignments depending on our client load and the qualifications of the students.)  Midwifery Track (not Doula Track) students must have completed a Workshop Weekend prior to their placement.

The number of clients who deliver with us varies from month to month.  In addition, the number of clients who transfer for one reason or another also varies.  Therefore, we do not guarantee any particular number or types of experiences during your stay, but we will try very hard to get you what you need.

Limited housing is available at our Orem location on a first-come first-served basis for students only (not for families).

See our calendar for the dates on which clinical placements and workshop weekends are scheduled, and use our Midwifery Track Application or Doula Track Application to apply.  For cost and refund information, see our Tuition page.

Things You Should Know

Keeping Up With The Schedule:  Our program is intensive, and designed to get you skills and experiences as quickly as possible while making you an outstanding doula or midwife.  You must be prepared to work very hard while you are here, and are expected to attend every clinic schedule and birth to which you are called.  We reserve the right to not sign off skills, workshops, or experiences we do not feel you have satisfactorily completed.  Once your clinical placement begins, you will be on-call 24/7 until it ends.

Bringing Families:  If you are coming from out of town and intend to bring your family with you during your clinical placement, be aware that you must arrange housing for them.  We can help you, but ultimately finding and paying for it are your responsibility.  We are happy to recommend Silver Mountain Suites in Provo.  We will expect you to make your program responsibilities top priority while you are here.

Personal Transportation:  If you enroll in our Clinical Program, you must have a car at your disposal at all times during your placement.  You can expect to travel an average of 75 miles per day, although this can vary.

Coming Back:  You must attend a Workshop Weekend prior to your first midwifery placement (assistant or primary) at BetterBirth.  If you choose to return for more clinical experience, you need not repeat Workshop Weekend.

Do we break for holidays?  We do not hold Workshop Weekends over major U.S. holidays, but clinical terms are held regardless of holidays.  While we do not generally see clients for routine visits on holidays, babies are born every day of the year.  Because of the tight nature of our schedules, postponements for holidays would negatively affect other placements and result in the loss of important birth experiences for you.  Be sure to check the calendar carefully before applying for a placement that occurs over holidays that you must be absent for, and do not apply for that placement.

FAQ about BetterBirth University

"Thank you for this amazing experience these past few weeks--you are a gifted teacher and have a talent for explaining things in an understandable way.  I’m grateful for the time I was able to spend at your birth center learning from you and getting to know you.  It’s obvious how much you love what you do--in every aspect--and that was wonderful to see.  I hope we can work together again soon. Thank you for your dedication and for going above and beyond to help me reach my goals."

- LS