Home birth & midwifery

The bill would adopt the Licensed Midwives Practice Act. Families should have access to licensed midwives and the freedom to choose how and where to give birth.

The Accessing Certified Professional Midwives Act. In the Senate Rules Committee. Families should be free to choose a certified professional midwife and home birth.

Addresses expanded access to doulas and midwives and birth center licensure. In the Senate Rules Committee. More birth options give families real choice.

Would require Medical Assistance to cover birth services provided at home. Mothers should be able to choose home birth regardless of income.

Promotes and enhances the sustainability of birth centers and the midwifery workforce, including coverage of birth centers. Families should have real access to midwives and birth centers.

Allows a licensed midwife with the requisite education, training, and experience to obtain and administer medication for maternal or neonatal care. Families choosing home birth deserve midwives equipped to care for mother and baby.

Creates a Certified Community Midwife Board with licensure and regulation of community midwives. A related bill adds a grant program for midwife-led birth centers. Families should have access to qualified midwives and the birth setting of their choice.

Sets up licensing for certified midwives and certified professional midwives under the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs and re-establishes the home birth task force. Families should have access to qualified midwives and the freedom to give birth at home.

Establishes a task force on perinatal mental health care, a report card for birth centers and hospitals providing maternity care, and an advisory committee study. Report cards on birth centers could inform families or add burdens on out-of-hospital birth, so CODR is watching.

Authorizes midwives to administer certain newborn screening tests. Families who choose home birth should be able to get standard newborn care from their midwife.