BILL NUMBER: S5542
SPONSOR: SALAZAR
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the education law and the public health law, in relation
to the practice of certified professional midwifery
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To create the profession of licensed certified professional midwife.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends Title 8 of the Education Law by adding a new Article
140-a to establish the profession of certified professional midwifery.
§ 2 amends Education Law § 6953 to add that only individuals authorized
under Article 140a may use the title "certified professional midwife."
§ 3 amends Education law § 6954 to add three seats for licensed certi-
fied professional midwives to the board of midwifery.
§ 4 amends the article heading of Education law Article 140 to read
"Midwifery," aligning it with other Title 8 article headings.
§ 5 and § 6 amends Public Health Law § 571 (6) to add "certified profes-
sional midwife" to the list of qualified health care professionals
authorized to order clinical lab work.
§ 7 provides the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Midwives have played a vital role in the health and wellbeing of women
and have assisted in the birth of babies for millennia. New York
currently licenses nurse-midwives and, since 1994, midwives, both of
which involve extensive education and training in hospital settings.
There is a third path to certification, however, that 34 other states
recognize, but New York does not. The certified professional midwife
(CPM) specializes in community birth, including in homes and birth
centers. Where they are allowed to practice, CPMs are an integral part
of the women's health and birth care continuum. They are able to offer
a level of culturally sensitive care and comfort that women and birthing
parents often struggle to find in the hospital birth system.
Midwives approach pregnancy and childbearing as a normal and natural
physiological process, and they are well-trained in identifying risk or
complications that will require a medical intervention. National
evidence shows that when midwives are integrated in a state's health
care system, outcomes improve for birthing parents and babies. This
includes fewer cesarean deliveries; more vaginal births, including after
cesareans; higher breastfeeding rates; and higher satisfaction with
care.
New York is experiencing a severe maternal mortality and morbidity
crisis, and the COVID-19 pandemic only exacerbated the pre-existing
racial inequities in our health care system. More and more birthing
parents are looking for alternatives to hospital birth, and they deserve
to have access to the quality care they are looking for. Licensing CPMs
is an important step in addressing birth equity, birth justice, and an
individual's right to choose the care that is most appropriate for them.
 
GENDER JUSTICE AND RACIAL JUSTICE IMPACT:
Pregnancy related deaths are 3-4 times greater in Black people than
white people. Multiple studies indicate that diverse and highly trained
Certified Nurse Midwives and Certified Midwives will contribute to
reducing maternal mortality as a whole.' Licensing certified profes-
sional midwives is an important step in addressing birth equity, birth
justice, and an individual's right to choose the most appropriate care.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
SENATE:
2024: S310A (Salazar) - Referred to Higher Education
2023: S310A (Salazar) - Referred to Higher Education, amended
2022: S7078A (Salazar) - Amended, referred to Higher Education
2021: S7078 (Salazar) - Referred to Higher Education
ASSEMBLY:
2024: A4819A(Paulin) - Referred to Higher Education
2023: A4819(Paulin) - Referred to Higher Education, amended
2022: A7898A(Gottfried) - Amended, referred to Higher Education
2021: A7898(Gottfried) - Referred to Higher Education
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect eighteen months after it becomes a law.
Effective immediately, the commissioner of education shall make regu-
lations and take other actions reasonably necessary to implement this
act on that date.

Statutes affected:
S5542: 6953 education law, 571 public health law, 571(6) public health law