Factsheets
Educational Requirements for the Certified Professional Midwife (pdf)
The Certified Professional Midwife: A National Certification You Can Trust (pdf)
Separating Midwifery Claims from Reality (pdf)
What Do Leading Health Organizations Say About Certified Professional Midwives? (pdf)
CPM Clinical Skills Chart (pdf)
BMJ Study: Home Births Are Safe (pdf)
The Wax Paper: Home Birth Science or Propaganda? (pdf)
Did You Know? (pdf)
Annotated Bibliography - Home Birth Research (pdf)
The Certified Professional Midwife: A National Certification You Can Trust (pdf)
Separating Midwifery Claims from Reality (pdf)
What Do Leading Health Organizations Say About Certified Professional Midwives? (pdf)
CPM Clinical Skills Chart (pdf)
BMJ Study: Home Births Are Safe (pdf)
The Wax Paper: Home Birth Science or Propaganda? (pdf)
Did You Know? (pdf)
Annotated Bibliography - Home Birth Research (pdf)
DID YOU KNOW...
OUT-OF-HOSPITAL BIRTH IS A REALITY IN IOWA
• Approximately 400-500 women give birth at home every year in Iowa (1), and demand for out of-hospital maternity care is growing.
• It is in the interest of public safety to regulate midwives who practice out-of-hospital through licensure, rather than attempting to stop their activities through litigation.
• Certified Professional Midwives are the only birth attendants whose education requires clinical experience and training in the skills necessary for safe out-of-hospital birth.
OUT-OF-HOSPITAL BIRTH IS SAFE WITH TRAINED MIDWIVES
• Planned, midwife-attended out-of-hospital birth results in outcomes equal to those for low risk women giving birth in hospitals, with far lower rates of costly medical interventions. (2)
• The American Public Health Association and World Health Organization support increased access to out-of-hospital maternity care. (3, 4)
• Certified Professional Midwives must meet rigorous requirements for the demonstration of knowledge and skills to attend healthy women in out-of-hospital settings. CPMs are trained in risk assessment and in transferring care to a hospital when necessary.
MANY IOWANS LACK ACCESS TO MATERNITY CARE
• Only 32 of Iowa’s 99 counties have practicing OB/GYNs. The ratio of women of childbearing age to OB/GYNs in Iowa is 2,882:1. This especially affects rural women. (5)
• Certified Professional Midwives provide in-home care to women across the state. Licensing CPMs can help Iowa increase rural Iowans’ access to a high-quality maternity care option.
THE MIDWIVES MODEL OF CARE IS COST EFFECTIVE
• Iowa’s current rate of cesarean surgeries is a staggering 30.2% -- more than 1 in 3 births, twice the rate that the World Health Organization identifies as safe. In contrast, Certified Professional Midwives refer fewer than 5% of mothers for cesarean sections. (6, 7)
• An economic analysis of Washington State’s licensed midwife program estimates that the cost savings to the health care system is ten times the cost of the program. (8)
• Certified Professional Midwives help lower health care costs when they are an integrated part of the health care system.
IOWA’S FAMILIES DESERVE LICENSED MIDWIVES
• Certified Professional Midwives are licensed to practice in 27 states. The fact that Iowa does not yet license CPMs discourages both midwives and families from making their homes in this state. Iowans should not have to cross the border to Minnesota, Wisconsin, or Missouri to access safe out-of-hospital maternity care with legal midwives.
References
(1) Iowa Department of Public Health, "Obstetrical and Gynecological Care in Iowa: A Report on Health Care Access to Iowa Legislature -- Year 2009."
(2) Johnson, K.C., Daviss, B.A, “Outcomes of Planned Home Births with Certified Professional Midwives: Large Prospective Study in North America,” British Medical Journal 2005; 330: 1416.
(3) APHA Resolution, “Increasing Access To Out-Of-Hospital Maternity Care Services Through State-Regulated and Nationally-Certified Direct-Entry Midwives” October 24, 2001.
(4) Maternal and Newborn Health/Safe Motherhood Unit of the World Health Organization, Care in Normal Birth: A practical guide. World Health Organization, 1996.
(5) Iowa Department of Public Health, "Obstetrical and Gynecological Care in Iowa: A Report on Health Care Access to Iowa Legislature -- Year 2009."
(6) National Center for Health Statistics
(7) Johnson, K.C., Daviss, B.A, “Outcomes of Planned Home Births with Certified Professional Midwives: Large Prospective Study in North America,” British Medical Journal 2005; 330: 1416.
(8) Health Management Associates, "Midwifery Licensure and Discipline Program in Washington State: Economic Costs and Benefits, A report to the Washington Department of Health," October, 2007.
OUT-OF-HOSPITAL BIRTH IS A REALITY IN IOWA
• Approximately 400-500 women give birth at home every year in Iowa (1), and demand for out of-hospital maternity care is growing.
• It is in the interest of public safety to regulate midwives who practice out-of-hospital through licensure, rather than attempting to stop their activities through litigation.
• Certified Professional Midwives are the only birth attendants whose education requires clinical experience and training in the skills necessary for safe out-of-hospital birth.
OUT-OF-HOSPITAL BIRTH IS SAFE WITH TRAINED MIDWIVES
• Planned, midwife-attended out-of-hospital birth results in outcomes equal to those for low risk women giving birth in hospitals, with far lower rates of costly medical interventions. (2)
• The American Public Health Association and World Health Organization support increased access to out-of-hospital maternity care. (3, 4)
• Certified Professional Midwives must meet rigorous requirements for the demonstration of knowledge and skills to attend healthy women in out-of-hospital settings. CPMs are trained in risk assessment and in transferring care to a hospital when necessary.
MANY IOWANS LACK ACCESS TO MATERNITY CARE
• Only 32 of Iowa’s 99 counties have practicing OB/GYNs. The ratio of women of childbearing age to OB/GYNs in Iowa is 2,882:1. This especially affects rural women. (5)
• Certified Professional Midwives provide in-home care to women across the state. Licensing CPMs can help Iowa increase rural Iowans’ access to a high-quality maternity care option.
THE MIDWIVES MODEL OF CARE IS COST EFFECTIVE
• Iowa’s current rate of cesarean surgeries is a staggering 30.2% -- more than 1 in 3 births, twice the rate that the World Health Organization identifies as safe. In contrast, Certified Professional Midwives refer fewer than 5% of mothers for cesarean sections. (6, 7)
• An economic analysis of Washington State’s licensed midwife program estimates that the cost savings to the health care system is ten times the cost of the program. (8)
• Certified Professional Midwives help lower health care costs when they are an integrated part of the health care system.
IOWA’S FAMILIES DESERVE LICENSED MIDWIVES
• Certified Professional Midwives are licensed to practice in 27 states. The fact that Iowa does not yet license CPMs discourages both midwives and families from making their homes in this state. Iowans should not have to cross the border to Minnesota, Wisconsin, or Missouri to access safe out-of-hospital maternity care with legal midwives.
References
(1) Iowa Department of Public Health, "Obstetrical and Gynecological Care in Iowa: A Report on Health Care Access to Iowa Legislature -- Year 2009."
(2) Johnson, K.C., Daviss, B.A, “Outcomes of Planned Home Births with Certified Professional Midwives: Large Prospective Study in North America,” British Medical Journal 2005; 330: 1416.
(3) APHA Resolution, “Increasing Access To Out-Of-Hospital Maternity Care Services Through State-Regulated and Nationally-Certified Direct-Entry Midwives” October 24, 2001.
(4) Maternal and Newborn Health/Safe Motherhood Unit of the World Health Organization, Care in Normal Birth: A practical guide. World Health Organization, 1996.
(5) Iowa Department of Public Health, "Obstetrical and Gynecological Care in Iowa: A Report on Health Care Access to Iowa Legislature -- Year 2009."
(6) National Center for Health Statistics
(7) Johnson, K.C., Daviss, B.A, “Outcomes of Planned Home Births with Certified Professional Midwives: Large Prospective Study in North America,” British Medical Journal 2005; 330: 1416.
(8) Health Management Associates, "Midwifery Licensure and Discipline Program in Washington State: Economic Costs and Benefits, A report to the Washington Department of Health," October, 2007.
