What does it cost to be a student midwife?

The cost of being a student midwife can add up fast. How much money it takes to go through midwifery school/apprenticeship varies greatly by many factors including gas, fees, school costs, food, etc.

Midwifery school and apprenticeship takes up a lot of time and money

So before you enroll in school or start to apprentice do the math and make sure you can start at this point in time.

Personally, when I started school I had no idea what I was getting into when it came to the cost so hopefully you will be a little better prepared.

School

Have you looked into what school you would like to attend? The cost of schooling varies greatly (from $10,000 to $60,000) depending on if they are MEAC certified, state schools, etc. Most schools have a scholarship application and a limited few accept financial aid from FASFA and other sources. You may have to limit your school choice by cost and distance (online or in person schooling is a big factor). Also consider the cost of textbooks, internet and other school expenses. 

Workshops

What does your school require of you in person? Do you have to drive or fly to get there? What about meals? Are you going to stay at a place with a kitchen so you can save money on cooking and eating instead of eating out every meal? Are you going to stay with other students to share hotel cost, rent an AirBnB or at their homes close by?

My school ATM has 8 modules (comparable to semesters) and while the school is mostly distance learning we do have to meet up for 2 to 3 days for a workshop at the end of every module. These workshops are held all over Texas so I drove down to San Antonio and Houston a few times. This meant I had to pay for housing and food while I was there and don’t forget the cost of gas to drive down there. When the workshops were in DFW where I live, I did not have to pay for housing and chose if I wanted to eat out with my classmates or go home to eat.

Transportation

There is no way around having reliable transportation in midwifery. You HAVE to have a working, reliable vehicle. Driving to births and appointment days cost money. You have to pay for your gas, the increased frequency of oil changes, tune ups, etc. due to driving more miles.

Keep in mind the distance to your apprenticeship. Is the birth center 1 mile from your home with mostly birth center births? Awesome! You’ll have less wear and tear on your car. Is your apprenticeship 63 miles (or 1 hour) away from your home WITH home visits and births happening within a 2 hour radius of that midwife – which means up to 3 hours from your home? You’re lucky, like me – HA! Looks like you will be adding on the miles, gas and oil changes!  

For reference, I budget $200-400 a month for gas but other students who apprentice closer to home might only budget and extra $50-100.

I work with several different preceptors, all in different directions. This includes practices up to 1.5 hours from my house and births up to 3 hours from my house. In a busy month with 5 primaries due I put 5,000 miles on my car. That is not typical, but it can happen!

Don’t forget the tolls

One thing we may overlook is the cost of toll roads in the area. Even if you can avoid them on a normal day, there may be high volume times where you want to bypass the traffic. This could mean the difference between making it to a fast birth before baby arrives. In my area, avoiding parts of the toll road means adding on an hour of drive time.

Plan for car related expenses!

What happens if your car breaks down? Did you get a flat tire? Did your radiator give up? Do you have the money or skill to fix your car? Are you in primaries where you cannot miss your client’s birth or are you observing where you might not be needed? Are you the only student midwife or the only person there to assist that midwife where you have to be at a birth? These are things to think about.

In a practice where there are 4 students and you are on call to assist at a birth, not primary it, you might have some wiggle room to call and say your car is broke and you need a day or two off to get it fixed. If it is just you and your preceptor and you have a primary client due you need to get your car fixed ASAP or use your husbands, a family member’s, rent a car (added expense), whatever you need to do to get to that birth.

I’ve had reliable vehicles in my apprenticeship but when it rains, it pours right? In one month I had a completely flat tire on a Saturday night leaving a birth 2 hours from home and had to call my family for a ride at midnight and a ride back to my car the next morning to get it. Then I had to schedule repairs on a Sunday.

A week earlier, my tail light went out which was an easy $5 and 30 minutes of time fix. A week later, my alternator went out in the evening. I had to hunt around for a shop that had my part and an open time as early as possible the next morning. Lucky for me, no clients went into labor while I had my car being worked on.

Phone

You HAVE to have a phone that is on at all times unless you have approved time off. There is no way around it. You can purchase a disposable phone at Walmart if you do not have one already and cannot afford a monthly contract. If you get called by your preceptor or a client and you do not answer in a reasonable amount of time or they cannot get ahold of you for days you probably will not be in that apprenticeship for long.

 Apprenticeship fees

This is one of those expenses that you may not have. Some preceptors require that you pay them a one-time fee or monthly fee for your apprenticeship with them. That is something that you would find out when you interview prospective preceptors.

Food

It can become expensive quickly in an apprenticeship if you are constantly eating out all of the time. Can you pack a lunch for yourself? What about those extremely long prenatal days where you haven’t ate as much as you should and as you get ready to leave you get called to a birth? Always keep quick snacks in your car for these situations.

In one of my apprenticeships I have access to a fully stocked kitchen at the birth center. I would often bring my lunch prepared already or ready to cook there. I save food in the fridge for those long births where I need something to eat as well. This saves me money on eating out. In another apprenticeship that is strictly home care based sometimes I bring my lunch and other times we eat out. If I’ve been busy all day and skipped lunch but then get called out to a birth before getting something to eat I might stop at a fast food place, This is only if I know there is time or I might grab a quick snack from the supply I keep in my car.

Equipment

This expense is different for everyone and varies by preceptor. Some preceptors want you to have a few items of your own to bring to births and appointments. Some do not require that you purchase any item. Your preceptor may require that you purchase equipment as you advance. This is so you are not having to buy it all at once when you graduate.

Also, you might have to purchase certain clothing depending on the preceptor and their practice. Depending on where you shop, used vs. new, high end vs. low end, clothing you already own, you could spend a little or a lot of money on a new wardrobe. Some midwives like you to wear scrubs to appointments and births. While others like you to look business professional to appointments and wear scrubs to births, some are okay with you wearing t-shirts and yoga pants to appointments and births. You’ll find this out when you interview your preceptor.

Other

Then there are the other expenses such as child care. If you have children who is watching them while you are away for scheduled (clinic days) and non-scheduled (births) time? Is your childcare free or does it cost money?

Are you relocating to another city or have extra living expenses that you did not have before?

There will be expenses specific to you so go ahead and add those too. Find out what your monthly expenses will be and if they are realistic for your budget. You can also find ways to supplement your income but they may not cover all of your expenses.

What expenses were you not aware of? Current students, what expenses have you run into?