Share and intensity of work current AI systems can materially affect.
SOC 29-1161
Nurse Midwives AI displacement risk
Nurse midwives provide prenatal care, attend births, and manage postpartum and newborn care. Fetal-monitoring AI now flags tracing patterns earlier, assisting surveillance — but labor is an unfolding physical event, and the decision to escalate to a physician is a bedside judgment with two lives attached.
Likely potential for exposed tasks to move to software after workflow integration.
Monitoring algorithms augment vigilance; they do not catch babies. Midwifery demand grows on outcomes data and maternity-care deserts, and the role's continuous presence during labor is the product itself.
Distribution
Where Nurse Midwives sits across 620 tracked roles
Displacement pressure 14 — higher than 8% of the 620 occupations tracked on displacement.ai.
Score version
This page uses Seed model v0.4 (seed-v0.4-2026-05), last reviewed 2026-08-15. Directional occupation-level planning model using hand-reviewed public research, task exposure estimates, wage context, and transition-pathway assumptions.
21 O*NET task statements matched to SOC 29-1161. The displayed task profile combines these official task statements with the current public score model.
Median wage context: $134,040 (May 2025, US national). The latest BLS row matched SOC 29-1161.
Scores are planning signals, not forecasts. Local hiring demand, employer-specific workflows, licensing, and credentials must be validated before making career decisions.
2030 economic stress test
How Anthropic's scenarios classify Nurse Midwives
SOC 29-1161 places this role in the paper's cognitive occupation group. These group-level outcomes do not change the 14/100 role score and are not an occupation forecast.
+0.4% group wage
-0.5% cognitive employment since mid-2026; 2.9% cognitive unemployment.
Economy-wide: +1.6% GDP and 3.9% unemployment.
-0.3% group wage
-3.9% cognitive employment since mid-2026; 4.5% cognitive unemployment.
Economy-wide: +8.3% GDP and 4.6% unemployment.
-11.5% group wage
-21.5% cognitive employment since mid-2026; 17.9% cognitive unemployment.
Economy-wide: +32.4% GDP and 11.9% unemployment.
Compare the assumptions and limitations across all three scenarios. Source: The Anthropic Institute Working Paper No. 2026-02.
Official task evidence
O*NET task matches for Nurse Midwives
The current evidence import matched 21 task statements from Task Statements 31.0 (August 2026). These rows are used as a grounding layer for judging which parts of the occupation are repeatable, language-heavy, analytical, social, physical, or compliance-sensitive.
Dataset31.0 (August 2026)
Matched tasks21
SOC29-1161
- Core task / ID 18442
Provide prenatal, intrapartum, postpartum, or newborn care to patients.
- Core task / ID 18444
Monitor fetal development by listening to fetal heartbeat, taking external uterine measurements, identifying fetal position, or estimating fetal size and weight.
- Core task / ID 18443
Document patients' health histories, symptoms, physical conditions, or other diagnostic information.
- Core task / ID 18455
Provide patients with direct family planning services, such as inserting intrauterine devices, dispensing oral contraceptives, and fitting cervical barriers, including cervical caps or diaphragms.
- Core task / ID 18454
Prescribe medications as permitted by state regulations.
- Core task / ID 18447
Develop and implement individualized plans for health care management.
Source: O*NET Resource Center, Task Statements. Raw import target: data/raw/onet/task-statements-31-0.txt.
Task profile
Where AI changes the work
Provide prenatal, intrapartum, and postpartum care
Exposure 18, automation 6%, augmentation 44%.
O*NET evidence: Provide prenatal, intrapartum, postpartum, or newborn care to patients. (ID 18442)
Monitor fetal development and estimate fetal status
Exposure 32, automation 14%, augmentation 54%.
O*NET evidence: Monitor fetal development by listening to fetal heartbeat, taking external uterine meas... (ID 18444)
Develop and implement individualized care plans
Exposure 34, automation 14%, augmentation 56%.
O*NET evidence: Develop and implement individualized plans for health care management. (ID 18447)
Document health histories and diagnostic information
Exposure 52, automation 28%, augmentation 62%.
O*NET evidence: Document patients' health histories, symptoms, physical conditions, or other diagnostic... (ID 18443)
TaskExposureAutomationAugmentation
Provide prenatal, intrapartum, and postpartum care186%44%
Monitor fetal development and estimate fetal status3214%54%
Develop and implement individualized care plans3414%56%
Document health histories and diagnostic information5228%62%
Transition pathways
Adjacent moves that preserve existing skills
role redesign
LowMidwifery Practice Director
Training horizon: 6-12 months. Skill overlap 64. Wage preservation signal 116.
- Lead midwifery teams
- Own quality outcomes
- Manage physician collaboration
credentialed transition
LowWomen's Health Nurse Practitioner
Training horizon: 12-24 months. Skill overlap 62. Wage preservation signal 108.
- Add WHNP certification
- Broaden primary-care scope
- Serve clinic populations
Comparison guides
Compare the next move before you commit
6-12 months
Nurse Midwives to Midwifery Practice Director
Compare AI displacement pressure, wage preservation, skill overlap, training time, and first proof project for moving from Nurse Midwives into Midwifery Practice Director.
12-24 months
Nurse Midwives to Women's Health Nurse Practitioner
Compare AI displacement pressure, wage preservation, skill overlap, training time, and first proof project for moving from Nurse Midwives into Women's Health Nurse Practitioner.
What the AI risk score means for Nurse Midwives
The displacement pressure score for Nurse Midwives is 14. That score blends task exposure, automation pressure, augmentation potential, wage vulnerability, transition feasibility, and source confidence. It is designed to help workers and workforce teams decide where to act first, not to claim a specific date when a job will disappear.
For this role, the clearest risk pattern is visible at the task level. Document health histories and diagnostic information carries 28% automation pressure, while Document health histories and diagnostic information carries 62% augmentation potential. That means the best response is usually a targeted redesign of work: move away from repeatable production tasks and toward judgment, exception handling, coordination, stakeholder context, and accountable use of AI tools.
Labor-market context and wage risk
Median wage: $134,040 (May 2025, US national). Employment context: Birth-attendance role with monitoring-AI assists. Typical education: Master degree in nurse-midwifery plus certification.
Wage vulnerability is 20, while transition feasibility is 64. A high wage-vulnerability score means workers should pay close attention to salary preservation before making a move. A high transition-feasibility score means there are adjacent paths that can reuse existing skills without requiring a complete career reset.
- Low displacement pressure
- Monitoring AI flags tracings earlier
- Birth attendance is the product
Upskilling priorities
Skills that make this role more resilient
The safest upskilling plan starts with skills already close to the work. For Nurse Midwives, the strongest near-term skill priorities are listed below. These are useful whether the goal is to stay in the role, move to a redesigned version of the role, or transition into an adjacent occupation.
Intrapartum patient care
Build proof of this skill through a work sample, checklist, dashboard, case note, workflow map, or portfolio artifact tied to the transition paths on this page.
Fetal monitoring
Build proof of this skill through a work sample, checklist, dashboard, case note, workflow map, or portfolio artifact tied to the transition paths on this page.
Care planning
Build proof of this skill through a work sample, checklist, dashboard, case note, workflow map, or portfolio artifact tied to the transition paths on this page.
Patient counseling
Build proof of this skill through a work sample, checklist, dashboard, case note, workflow map, or portfolio artifact tied to the transition paths on this page.
90-day transition plan
The most practical next step is not to wait for a layoff or a full role redesign. Use the next 90 days to create evidence that you can operate in a safer, more AI-augmented version of the work.
- In the first 30 days, document the repetitive tasks in your current work and identify where AI can reduce drafting, lookup, classification, or reporting time.
- By 60 days, complete one small project connected to Midwifery Practice Director, such as lead midwifery teams.
- By 90 days, compare internal openings and external postings for Midwifery Practice Director or Women's Health Nurse Practitioner and update your resume around measurable workflow outcomes.
FAQ
Questions about AI and Nurse Midwives
Will AI replace Nurse Midwives?
Nurse midwives provide prenatal care, attend births, and manage postpartum and newborn care. Fetal-monitoring AI now flags tracing patterns earlier, assisting surveillance — but labor is an unfolding physical event, and the decision to escalate to a physician is a bedside judgment with two lives attached. The better planning signal is not full replacement, but which tasks become automated, which tasks become AI-assisted, and which responsibilities still need human judgment.
Which parts of Nurse Midwives work are most exposed to AI?
Document health histories and diagnostic information and Monitor fetal development and estimate fetal status show the strongest automation pressure in this model. Document health histories and diagnostic information and Develop and implement individualized care plans are better treated as AI-augmented work.
What should Nurse Midwives learn next?
Start with Intrapartum patient care, Fetal monitoring, Care planning. The most practical adjacent paths in this model are Midwifery Practice Director and Women's Health Nurse Practitioner.
How should this score be used?
Use it as a planning signal, not a prediction. Confirm local hiring demand, wages, licensing, credentials, and employer adoption before making a career move.
Sources
Evidence trail
OECD / 11 July 2023OECD Employment Outlook 2023: Artificial Intelligence and the Labour MarketO*NET Resource Center / Database 31.0 (August 2026)Occupation, Task, Skill, and Work-Activity DataUS Bureau of Labor Statistics / May 2025 estimates (released 15 May 2026)Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics