NO Home Births by Midwives in AZ

Specialties Ob/Gyn

Published

The state I live in has unfortunately has not only introduced a bill, but managed to get it passed into the senate. This bill would take away the rights of low-risk mothers to choose midwife-assisted births at home. This bill makes me want to slam my head into the wall, because the lawmakers who are sponsoring it were the ones beating the drum about how Obamacare would take away the rights of people to choose their own health care.

Is this a few scared docs trying to block midwives in order to protect their own interests? If this has been tried in your state, what was the outcome?

Specializes in OB-Gyn/Primary Care/Ambulatory Leadership.

CPMs go in front of a board to receive certification. They must have a minimum level of training and experience before they're granted certification.

I wish politics made it easier for CNMs to attend homebirths. It's very difficult to find an OB or hospital that will collaborate with a homebirth midwife. For example, there are only TWO CNMs in all of Colorado who attend homebirths. Which means there are a lot of cowboys out there with specious experience and training who have hung their shingles.

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Specializes in Eventually Midwifery.
Arizona is one of 27 states to allow midwives to deliver babies. Midwives handle about 1 percent of births in Arizona.

Well, that is misleading, as CNM's can deliver in any state and the article does not make any distinction in this statement.

But since non-nurse midwives aren't regulated, no one could sanction the midwife in question

CPMs ARE regulated by NARM. Accountability | NARM

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Specializes in Geriatrics, Home Health.

The Massachusetts midwife was not a CPM.

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Specializes in OB-Gyn/Primary Care/Ambulatory Leadership.

I think both of us were addressing the first part of your paragraph, not the part about that particular midwife

Honestly, I've never been a fan of non-nurse midwives. CNMs have a Masters, national certification, and at least 700 hours of clinical experience. With non-nurse midwives, you really don't know what kind of training they've had, or how much.

I know of several cases of OB malpractice that resulted in fetal death, as well. Unfortunately, a degree does not cause immunity to malpractice.

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Specializes in Eventually Midwifery.

@klone- exactly. Just because a midwife is not a nurse does NOT mean that she is not educated and competent. Perhaps Hat meant non-licensed midwife?

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