Beginning the Journey: Why I’m Choosing the CPM Path

This year marks the beginning of a journey I’ve felt called toward for a long time. I’m officially stepping onto the path to becoming a Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) through the NARM Portfolio Evaluation Process (PEP), and I wanted to take a moment to share why this path feels like the right one for me.

Midwifery is not a one-size-fits-all calling. It is deeply shaped by place, community, and tradition. Living in Virginia, I’ve learned quickly that the road to midwifery can look very different from state to state — legally, culturally, and practically. Understanding that variability has been humbling and grounding. It has reinforced for me that midwifery is not just a credential, but a relationship with the land and people you serve.

After much reflection, listening, and learning, the CPM path aligns with me the most.

I am drawn to the traditional midwife scope — the roots of midwifery that center physiological birth, continuity of care, deep listening, and trust in the birthing body. The CPM credential honors midwifery as it has been practiced for generations: hands-on, community-based, and grounded in experience as much as formal study. This feels honest to who I am and how I want to show up in this work.

The PEP route allows for apprenticeship-style learning, which I value deeply. Learning directly from experienced midwives, observing real births, assisting families through pregnancy, birth, and postpartum — this is where knowledge becomes embodied. This is where midwifery lives.

I am incredibly honored to be observing and assisting under midwife Dominique Clothiaux, CPM, in Charlottesville, Virginia. To learn in her presence and under her guidance is a privilege I don’t take lightly. Being welcomed into birth spaces as a student is sacred work, and I hold immense gratitude for the trust placed in me — by families and by the midwives guiding me.

This is not an announcement of arrival, but of beginning.

There is so much to learn. So much responsibility. So much reverence required. Choosing this path is not about speed or titles — it’s about alignment. About choosing a way of learning that honors tradition, experience, and community wisdom. About committing to lifelong humility and service.

I step into this journey with respect for the midwives who came before me, for those who continue to practice with integrity, and for the families who allow learners into some of the most powerful moments of their lives.

Here’s to the slow path.

The rooted path.

The one that feels like coming home.

Thanks for being here,

Ellie