Meeting Public Comments

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 evidence based 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. Thirty seven 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