Add Art 140-A §§6960 - 6965, amd §§6953 & 6954, Art 140 Art Head, Ed L; amd §571, Pub Health L
Establishes the professional practice of community midwifery; defines as the management in the home, birth center, or community setting, of normal pregnancies, child birth, and postpartum care, including newborn evaluation, resuscitation and referral for infants; sets requirements for license and practice.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A1125
SPONSOR: Paulin TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the education law and the public health law, in relation
to the practice of certified professional midwifery
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To create the profession of licensed certified professional midwife.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends Title 8 of the Education Law by adding a new Article
140-a to establish the profession of certified professional midwifery.
§ 2 amends Education Law § 6953 to add that only individuals authorized
under Article 140a may use the title "certified professional midwife."
§ 3 amends Education law § 6954 to add three seats for licensed certi-
fied professional midwives to the board of midwifery.
§ 4 amends the article heading of Education law Article 140 to read
"Midwifery," aligning it with other Title 8 article headings.
§ 5 and § 6 amends Public Health Law § 571 (6) to add "certified profes-
sional midwife" to the list of qualified health care professionals
authorized to order clinical lab work.
§ 7 provides the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Midwives have played a vital role in the health and wellbeing of women
and have assisted in the birth Of babies for millennia. New York
currently licenses nurse-midwives and, since 1994, midwives, both, of
which involve extensive education and training in hospital settings.
There is a third path to certification, however, that 34 other states
recognize, but New York does not. The certified professional midwife
(CPM) specializes in community birth, including in homes and birth
centers. Where they are allowed to practice, CPMs are an integral part
of the women's health and birth care continuum. They are able to offer a
level of culturally sensitive care and comfort that women and birthing
parents often struggle to find in a hospital birth system.
Midwives approach pregnancy and childbearing as a normal and natural
physiological process, and they are well-trained in identifying risk or
complications that will require medical intervention. National evidence
shows that when midwives are integrated in a state's health care system
outcomes improve for birthing parents and babies. This includes fewer
cesarean deliveries; more vaginal births, including after cesareans;
higher breastfeeding rates; and higher satisfaction with care.
New York is experiencing a severe maternal mortality and morbidity.
crisis, and the COVID-19 pandemic only exacerbated the pre-existing
racial inequities in our healthcare system. More and more birthing
parents are looking for alternatives to hospital birth, and they deserve
to have access to the quality care they are looking for.
Licensing CPMs is an important step in addressing birth equity, birth
justice, and an individual's right to choose the care that is most
appropriate for them.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
A4819A of 2023 and 2024, referred to higher education. Same as S310A,
referred to higher education
A.7898a of 2021 and 2022, referred to higher education. Same as S.7078a,
referred to higher education.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect eighteen months after it becomes a law.
Effective immediately, the commissioner of education shall make regu-
lations and take other actions reasonably necessary to implement this
act on that date.
