SB387 Summary

• Establishes a State Board of Midwifery consisting of seven members: four certified professional midwives (NARM-credentialed), one physician, and two consumer representatives, all appointed by the Governor.

• Licenses independent midwives to provide primary care and education to women and infants during pregnancy and childbirth, defining midwifery as a normal physiologic process distinct from medical practice.

• Requires licensed midwives to disclose their credentials, provide informed consent forms to clients describing risks of out-of-hospital birth, maintain medical backup/transport plans, and maintain professional liability insurance.

• Prohibits licensed midwives from administering epidurals, spinal anesthetics, narcotic analgesics, using forceps or vacuum extractors, inducing abortion, or performing cesarean sections.

• Makes unlicensed midwifery practice a Class C misdemeanor, with exceptions for nurse midwives, trainee assistants, and gratuitous family/friend assistance at childbirth; board subject to sunset law with termination date of October 1, 2014.