Will AI replace Midwives?
Work in Midwives sits in the in-between: AI reaches some of it (~38% in theory) but is only measured doing about 0% today — part human, part machine.
O*NET-SOC 29-9099
How your 34 core tasks split
Top = what GPT-4 judged AI could speed up. Bottom = how much AI was actually used for these tasks (Anthropic's March 2026 report, usage from Aug & Nov 2025). The gap is the real story.
Back in 2023, GPT-4 judged AI could, in theory, assist with a moderate share of this job's tasks (~38%). By late 2025, real-world AI use had reached about 0% of its task activity (still rare). The gap between that 2023 forecast and today is the real story.
Where this job sits among 738 jobs
Each dot is one of 738 U.S. jobs. Right = AI can do more of it. Up = AI is actually used more.
The signals here line up
Theoretical reach (~38%), real-world use (~0%) and the task-level picture mostly agree — so this read is more reliable than for jobs where the signals contradict each other. Even so, AI-risk estimates shift by model (a 2026 study saw the "high-risk" share swing 2.7%–51.5%), so treat these as directional, not destiny.
See all 34 tasks, ratedBased on real task-level AI scores — click to collapse
- Maintain documentation of all patients' contacts, reviewing and updating records as necessary.
- Counsel women regarding the nutritional requirements of pregnancy.
- Provide patients with contraceptive and family planning information.
- Inform patients of how to prepare and supply birth sites.
- Recommend the use of vitamin and mineral supplements to enhance the health of patients and children.
- Identify tubal and ectopic pregnancies and refer patients for treatments.
- Conduct ongoing prenatal health assessments, tracking changes in physical and emotional health.
- Identify, monitor, or treat pregnancy-related problems such as hypertension, gestational diabetes, pre-term labor, or retarded fetal growth.
- Obtain complete health and medical histories from patients including medical, surgical, reproductive, or mental health histories.
- Evaluate patients' laboratory and medical records, requesting assistance from other practitioners when necessary.
- Assess the status of post-date pregnancies to determine treatments and interventions.
- Perform post-partum health assessments of mothers and babies at regular intervals.
- Provide information about the physical and emotional processes involved in the pregnancy, labor, birth, and postpartum periods.
- Refer patients to specialists for procedures such as ultrasounds or biophysical profiles.
- Incorporate research findings into practice as appropriate.
- Estimate patients' due dates and re-evaluate as necessary based on examination results.
- Provide, or refer patients to other providers for, education or counseling on topics such as genetic testing, newborn care, contraception, or breastfeeding.
- Provide information about community health and social resources.
- Compile and evaluate clinical practice statistics.
- Treat patients' symptoms with alternative health care methods such as herbs or hydrotherapy.
- Monitor maternal condition during labor by checking vital signs, monitoring uterine contractions, or performing physical examinations.
- Provide necessary medical care for infants at birth, including emergency care such as resuscitation.
- Monitor fetal growth and well-being through heartbeat detection, body measurement, and palpation.
- Establish and follow emergency or contingency plans for mothers and newborns.
- Set up or monitor the administration of oxygen or medications.
- Suture perineal lacerations.
- Test patients' hemoglobin, hematocrit, and blood glucose levels.
- Assist maternal patients to find physical positions that will facilitate childbirth.
- Assess birthing environments to ensure cleanliness, safety, and the availability of appropriate supplies.
- Provide comfort and relaxation measures for mothers in labor through interventions such as massage, breathing techniques, hydrotherapy, or music.
- Collect specimens for use in laboratory tests.
- Respond to breech birth presentations by applying methods such as exercises or external version.
- Perform annual gynecologic exams, including pap smears and breast exams.
- Develop, implement, or evaluate individualized plans for midwifery care.
How we measured this — and how fresh it is
AI's theoretical reach data: 2023
From GPTs-are-GPTs (Eloundou et al.), where GPT-4 rated how much of each task an AI tool could meaningfully speed up. This is the most recent open, commercially-usable occupation-level potential dataset — it dates to 2023. Newer multi-model re-runs exist but swing wildly (one 2026 study saw "high-risk" jobs range 2.7%–51.5% by model) and aren't openly licensed, so we show the stable 2023 baseline and pair it with newer real-world data.
Real-world AI use 2026 report
From the Anthropic Economic Index, which observes how real Claude conversations map onto each occupation's tasks. Published in Anthropic's March 2026 labor-market report, based on usage measured in Aug & Nov 2025 (Sonnet 4 / 4.5).
Task list & ratings O*NET 30.3
Tasks come from O*NET 30.3. Each task's "AI can do / speeds up / still on you" tier uses the real task-level exposure scores from GPTs-are-GPTs (E1 / E2 / E0) — not a guess from keywords.
Sources: O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0) · GPTs-are-GPTs (MIT, 2023) · Anthropic Economic Index (CC BY, Aug & Nov 2025). Page compiled June 2026. "O*NET" is a trademark of the U.S. Department of Labor.
This page is for general informational purposes only and is not career, financial, or employment advice. AI exposure reflects research estimates of task overlap, not predictions about any individual's job, employer, or future employment.