Midwifery Information

This information if from the previous VirginiaMom.org site:

Virginia MOMs is a group of midwives, mothers and childbirth activists that formed out of concern over the lack of birth options and the barriers to midwife practice in our state. When we first began our dialogue in early 2001, we identified a few problems.

The mothers of Virginia noted that it was extremely difficult to find any alternative to a routine, medically-managed birth with a doctor in a hospital. Finding a doctor who would support a natural, low-intervention approach to birth in the hospital was hard enough. Finding a midwife who could legally attend a home birth, finding a birth center not attached to a hospital, or even finding a midwife with her own practice were nearly impossible in most areas of the state.

The midwives gave their perspective as well. There were Certified Professional Midwives (CPM's), who are not able to legally practice under Virginia law, despite their documented experience, safety, and credentialing by independent national midwives' groups. These midwives have the ability and skills to meet many of the homebirth needs of Virginia families, yet every time they attend a birth, they must do so illegally. These midwives have difficulty in obtaining support or help from doctors and hospitals when it is needed, such a lab work, emergency medicines, or medical advice when questions arise with a pregnancy or labor.

Certified Nurse Midwives (CNM's), who are legally licensed in Virginia, reported a different set of problems. Virginia is one of only 12 states with a law requiring “physician supervision” of CNM practice. Thus, a CNM with a legal home birth practice, a birth center, or even a hospital practice, is dependent upon having an OB-GYN "supervisor". Lack of satisfactory "physician supervision" has caused a number of birth centers and home birth services to close, and remains an ongoing concern for the CNM's who do remain in practice. CNM's with hospital practices are dependent upon the OB-GYN as well, since hospitals refuse the midwife privileges unless she is employed by or contracted with a doctor, and the midwife may not admit her own patients under this arrangement. Midwives fully recognize the need to cooperate and consult with doctors for problems outside the normal scope of midwifery practice; but requiring this type of supervision only limits the practice of normal birth and decreases safety.

The answer to the problems, as we identified them, became clear: to improve birth options, to increase safety, to improve midwife practice in our state, we need to:
1.) Legalize Certified Professional Midwives… and
2.) Remove Physician Supervision from Virginia midwifery law.