AB 1308, as introduced, Bonilla. Midwifery.
Existing law, the Licensed Midwifery Practice Act of 1993, provides for the licensing and regulation of midwives by the Board of Licensing of the Medical Board of California. The license to practice midwifery authorizes the holder, under the supervision of a licensed physician and surgeon, as specified, to attend cases of normal childbirth and to provide prenatal, intrapartum, and postpartum care, including family-planning care, for the mother, and immediate care for the newborn. A violation of the act is a crime.
This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation to remove barriers to care in order to provide a more efficient and safer delivery method for mother and infant by allowing licensed midwives to practice in a manner originally intended in prior legislation.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
(a) The Legislature finds and declares the
2following:
3(1) Licensed midwives have been authorized to practice since
41993 under Senate Bill 350 (Chapter 1280 of the Statutes of 1993),
P2 1which was authored by Senator Killea. Additional legislation,
2Senate Bill 1950 (Chapter 1085 of the Statutes of 2002), which
3was authored by Senator Figueroa, was needed in 2002 to clarify
4certain practice issues. While the midwifery license does not
5specify or limit the practice setting in which licensed midwives
6may provide care, the reality is that the majority of births delivered
7by licensed midwives are planned as home births.
8(2) Planned home births are safer when
care is provided as part
9of an integrated delivery model. For a variety of reasons, this
10integration rarely occurs, and creates a barrier to the best and safest
11care possible. This is due, in part, to the attempt to fit a midwifery
12model of care into a medical model of care.
13(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that
14would systematically remove unnecessary barriers to care in order
15to provide a more efficient and safer delivery for mother and infant
16by allowing licensed midwives to practice in a manner originally
17intended in the authorizing legislation.
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