Share:
Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2025 - 2026
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | December 4, 2024 03:11 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Senator Rosemary M. Brown |
| To: | All Senate members |
| Subject: | Midwifery Modernization in Pennsylvania |
| In the very near future, I intend to re-introduce legislation similiar to Senate Bill 1262 of 2023-2024 Legislative Session, providing for updates to the practice of midwifery known as the “Midwifery Modernization Act.” This bill impacts only those midwives that are licensed to practice in Pennsylvania under the Medical Practice Act of 1985. A licensed midwife is an integral part of our healthcare provider workforce. Midwives care for individuals during pregnancy, childbirth, postpartum, and the first 28-days of a newborn’s life, and many also provide other routine women’s reproductive care. Midwives also provide full prenatal care, clinical examinations, and screening. Other responsibilities include: · identify high-risk pregnancies. · monitor women and support them during labor and the birthing process. · teach new and expectant mothers how to care for their babies. Gaps in maternal health care are one of the most concerning issues for young families. There has been a significant shortage of physicians choosing to be generalist OB-GYNs. There are numerous counties who have no obstetricians or licensed midwives, and struggle to recruit and retain them. Passage of this legislation would result in expanded access to maternal health care and ensure high quality of care and professionalism within the midwifery practice in the Commonwealth. Board-certified nurse midwives (CNM) are an essential part of the current women’s health workforce in Pennsylvania, leading to greater access to care and improved health care outcomes. However, in Pennsylvania the practice needs regulation modernization to fully utilize all midwives, including certified midwives (CM) who may have entered the profession without being a nurse prior. It is important to note that all midwives attend the same schooling and pass the same national exam before becoming certified. OB-GYNs and midwives work well together and are strong partners in providing maternal care. This legislation is not a replacement of current practice, rather it is building access to high-quality care and the ability to utilize midwives to their potential. Current cooperative working relationships exist between the professional associations of the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM) and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), leading to integration of midwifery providers into the education of resident physicians and midwifery staffing of labor and delivery units and birth centers across the entire state. This legislation will further integrate midwives into all types of locales and practices in Pennsylvania, not just academic health centers. Specifically, this legislation amends the Medical Practice Act of 1985 by:
It is important to note that this legislation only removes a collaborative agreement when a CNM or CM is employed by a multidisciplinary professional group, licensed freestanding birth center or a hospital system. A midwife without those employment parameters would still require a formal collaborative agreement. Every midwife must have an emergency transfer plan which includes a physician’s group or hospital system. Please join me in sponsoring this important legislation. If you have any questions or suggestions regarding this legislation, please contact Christine Zubeck in my office at 717-787-6123 or czubeck@pasen.gov. Thank you for your consideration. |