National Midwifery Week

As noted in the Institute of Medicine report, The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health, many states have not made changes to their scope-of-practice regulations to allow certified nurse midwives to see patients and prescribe medications without a physician's collaboration or supervision.

In honor of the IOM committee's recommendation to remove scope-of-practice barriers, we celebrate National Midwifery Week this week.

This event was created by the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM) to celebrate and recognize its members. This year, ACNM is using a new public awareness initiative, Our Moment of Truth™: A New Understanding of Midwifery Care, to build the midwife brand across the country.

Click here for a list of actions you can take this week to commemorate the event. 

Massachusetts Expands Scope of Practice For Nurse-Midwives

Yesterday, Rachel Zimmerman, of WBUR Boston, reported House Bill 3815 was signed into law by Governor Deval Patrick. The bill, “An Act Relative to Enhancing the Practice of Nurse-Midwives", authorizes nurse-midwives to issue written prescriptions and order tests, directly aligning with the first recommendation made in the IOM's Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health report. The article also included a letter from the Massachusetts Medical Society seeking to have the bill rejected. This letter brings up the contentious issue of expanding nurse-midwives' scope of practice as it partially erodes the autonomy the physicians currently have.

How do you feel on this issue?

Click here to read the article.

Click here to read other blogposts relating to the IOM's report.

Nurse Midwives Empower Patients With Delivery Options

Yesterday, Linda Friedel, reporting for Kansas City Community News, detailed the strong bonds nurse midwives foster with patients. The article, which included personal reflections of different certified nurse midwives experiences, discussed the varying roles midwives play throughout their patients' pregnancy and how this role contributes to patient empowerment and autonomy.

Click here to read the full article.