The Community Midwifery Bill A7898 & S7078 currently resides with the Higher Education committee. We ask that you petition this committee to vote to move this bill to the floor so that our legislators have a chance to review and vote on the bill. The committee is led by Deborah Glick, and we have sent them data, packets of education, repeated requests to hear the bill, and has been sitting in this committee since May 2021.

Midwifery, nearly eradicated by the medical establishment in the US in the early 1900s, has evolved greatly in the United States and in the 21st century has reached professional stature. Standards and criteria for midwifery education and certification have been created, agreed upon and formalized by the Midwifery organizations responsible for the education and certification of the profession. The practice of midwifery is broad by nature, with the educational paths to credentialing being specific to where and how midwives intend to provide care. The Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) focuses on the childbearing years, maternity and general well-person care in the community setting of birth centers and homes. Homebirths are up by 20% since 2019 and experiencing their highest since 1990, which we also see a first in history reduction in maternal and neonatal mortalities since the introduction of handwashing. We see a link in more midwives and less cesareans, more midwives and more VBACs, more midwives and more breastfeeding, more midwives and less trauma. New York families deserve ACCESS to Certified Professional Midwives (CPMs) to deliver this level of care. A foundational tenet and key unifying thread of midwifery is to preserve the normalcy of physiologic birth as well as to provide safe, culturally competent care throughout the lifespan.

As of January 1st, 2022, CPMs are licensed in 37 states and DC. Iowa has a new bill that has now passed the house, North Carolina and Ohio also have bills on the floor this session. New York people deserve to have access to Certified Professional Midwives.

In summary, two midwifery credentials exist in the US, the CPM, and the CNM/CM. While the CNM/CM may provide community care, the majority remain hospital-based providers. CPMs provide care in homes and birth centers, and their training focusses specifically on the normal, physiological, safe, low risk, home birth.  All major health organizations agree birth out of the hospital is safest when attended by a professional trained in community care. Birthing people have the right to choose their place of birth, yet they do not have access to enough providers adept specifically in community birth. New York is in dire need of more maternity care providers. Due to lack of culturally competent community providers, marginalized communities experience increased challenges in access to care for birthing families. These challenges can extend beyond access to care and include obstetric violence, increased short term and long term morbidities, rising mortality rates, and cascades of public health risks for generations to come.

It is essential to increase access to licensed midwives for all communities to increase safety and provide respectful, culturally matched care.

Community based midwifery practices are proven to be safe, cost-effective, and are needed to fill the gap in maternity care. In addition, communities are demanding access to licensed providers. National and international studies demonstrate that community birth is safe with qualified providers as noted in the Midwifery and Women's Health landmark study. And Listening to Mothers Study

CPMs residing in and around New York who are licensed in other states stepped up during the Covid-19 pandemic, temporarily providing midwifery care under the Governor’s Executive Order 202.11 which was extended for over a year. CPMs managed hundreds of clients through their prenatal, birth and postpartum periods being as valuable additions to the maternity care workforce in a time of need.

Licensure of the CPM is not only imperative to the vulnerable populations who are experiencing the greatest disparities but for all New York families. Those who seek community midwifery care should then have access to providers who specialize in community midwifery care as a basic human right.

PETITION: To move the community midwifery bill to the floor, as is the right and natural design of our judicial system, we petition the higher education committee to vote yes on The Community Midwifery Bill A7898 & S7078.