“The Midwife” oil on linen, by Loren Entz

Our mission here at  Via Vita School of Midwifery is to develop midwives with active and creative minds, a sense of compassion and understanding of others, and the courage to act on their beliefs. We set a standard to be honest, fair, thorough, caring and attentive to each and every student. We stress the complete and total development of each student, intellectually, socially, ethically, spiritually and morally.

From antiquity, midwives have assisted women in childbirth and mothering. Knowledge about the science and art of midwifery was passed on from midwife to apprentice. Eventually, traditional midwifery education via the apprenticeship model became very hard to find.

Thanks to the efforts of midwives from Midwives Alliance of North America (MANA), North American Registry of Midwives(NARM) and Midwifery Education Accreditation Council (MEAC), the preservation of midwifery was finally realized in the United States. The grassroots efforts of midwives, midwifery advocates, consumers and organizations such as Citizens for Midwifery (CfM) have helped families to secure access to midwives far into the future.

Since its creation in 1984, Via Vita continues to provide state-of-the-art, up-to-date academic midwifery education that encompasses the MANA Core Competencies and meets NARM’s General Education Requirements for Certification. Via Vita is a comprehensive, self-paced (two-year equivalent), distance-education program based in Texas and is recognized as an Approved Course of Study by Alaska’s Board of Certified Direct-Entry Midwives. Please check your own state regulations to determine if this program qualifies for your academic midwifery education. Generally, if your state allows non-MEAC-approved schools, this program will meet educational requirements. Depending on the state, there may be additional studies needed to become certified.

The Via Vita Difference
Via Vita is a correspondence program with an instructor that cares about your success, is accessible, and is eager to answer questions. You will be working directly with the administrative director of the school, Darlene Dorries Scrivner a Texas Licensed Midwife of over two decades.
Via Vita is based on a proven, high-quality curriculum combined with your preceptorship (practical experience with a mentor) and enriched by small, local study groups (as available) to discuss your learning experiences.

Via Vita’s tuition is a fraction of the cost of others to keep our tuition affordable for students. We did not seek MEAC-accreditation, which saved thousands of dollars passing on that savings to you.

Whether or not your school is MEAC-accredited should in no way affect your job prospects, or ability to practice as a midwife, as long as your education complies with state and national standards. Although we fully support the mission of the organization, we also acknowledge that MEAC-accreditation does not guarantee a program or school is any higher in quality than one that is not MEAC-accredited.