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A bill for an act relating to midwife licensure, providing for fees, and making penalties applicable. (Formerly HSB 80.) Effective date: 07/01/2023.
Subcommittee members: Webster-CH, Jochum, Schultz
Date: Tuesday, March 28, 2023
Time: 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Location: Room G15
Comments Submitted:
Download CommentsThe purpose of comments is to provide information to members of the subcommittee.
Names and comments are public records. Remaining information is considered a confidential record.
03-27-2023
Rachel Bruns []
Please vote yes to HF265 to license Certified Professional Midwives. This bill will improve access to quality maternal health care options in Iowa. Homebirth is on the rise in Iowa and across the country and research demonstrates it is safe with similar or better outcomes compared to hospitals for healthy pregnancies. Based on other states, when the state provides licensure, more midwives follow. With Iowa ranking 11th as a maternal health care desert and 49th for a shortage of OBGYNs, we need more options for evidencebased health care, especially in more rural settings. Iowa ranks 42nd (in the top 10 worst states) for midwifery integration. The integration of midwives, which includes licensure for Certified Professional Midwives, is associated with improved outcomes. Currently, we have Certified Professional Midwives practicing in our state and they are unable to access the lifesaving medications within their scope of practice. Thirtyseven states and DC already regulate CPMs. Our neighbors in MN, SD, WI, IL, MO all have licensure. As a volunteer chapter leader for the International Cesarean Awareness Network (ICAN) of Central Iowa, we are one of 100 chapters around the world that support midwifery integration and licensure for Certified Professional Midwives. You can read ICAN's statement on licensure here: https://www.icanonline.org/wpcontent/uploads/2020/08/ICANMidwiferyPositionStatement.pdf. In my role as an ICAN chapter leader, I provide support to pregnant people across the state and know this bill will improve access to care for many Iowa families. See this recent report from the Maternal Health Hub, an initiative of the Health Care Transformation Task Force, which emphasizes the importance of having access to all provider types including CPMs and providing Medicaid reimbursement for CPMs as one of several strategies to address inequities in maternal mortality and morbidity: https://maternalhealthhub.org/wpcontent/uploads/2023/02/MHHRoundtableIssueBriefFinal.pdf
03-28-2023
Monica Basile []
Please support this vitally important bill to license CPMs. I am a Certified Professional Midwife, and a researcher in the area of maternity care. I've been providing care to birthing families since I moved to Iowa in 2003. Iowa is one of only 14 states that does not license CPMs. Across Iowa, hospitals are closing their OB/GYN practices, and many rural parts of our state have no access to maternity care. Black women experience extreme disparities in maternal health outcomes. CPMs are poised to be a part of the solution to these problems. CPMs are an essential part of the maternity care workforce. We undergo 4 to 5 years of training and education similar to that of Certified Nurse Midwives, must pass a rigorous 8 hour board exam, and rectify every 3 years. We need to be integrated into the existing health care system in Iowa through licensure, so that we can provide essential care to women and families, and collaborate seamlessly with physicians when needed. There are those who claim that care provided by midwives is not safe, despite ample evidence that care from CPMs leads to excellent outcomes for lowrisk mothers and babies, and that integration of midwives into existing health care structures is the key to assuring safe community birth experiences. I have served many hundreds of families in Iowa, with excellent outcomes. As a registered preceptor, I have also trained several midwives. Unfortunately, they have all chosen to leave Iowa to practice in states with licensure. This bill would greatly advance Iowans' ability to access safe, supportive maternity care from qualified providers, bolster the health care workforce, and expand access to quality health care in our state.
03-28-2023
Violet Ahrenholtz []
Support this bill! Iowa would be wise to license CPM Midwives. It would benefit our current children being born and future generations of women who will choose a more natural birth experience. Certified Nurse Midwives are already licensed in Iowa but they hold key differences from Certified professional midwives. Both are safe options. Both are different. CNM's are under the thumbprint of a MD, some women do not like that because certain doctors will not allow a woman to go past 40 weeks of pregnancy. I for one would have possibly had to be induced for all 4 of my birth experiences if I had chosen to go the CNM route. Since 40 weeks is an average of women's pregnancy duration there are some that always come early and some who always come later. I always have later births than my due dates. CPM's have allowed me to safely monitor my baby and respect my body and its natural rhythm. Allowing CPM's to have licensure will allow them to better serve their charges if there is a transfer to a hospital because the fear of persecution will be removed.