A midwife performs a newborn exam after a home birth while the mother observes.
The Kentucky Home Birth Coalition is a consumer led grass-roots organization working to license Certified Professional Midwives (CPM) in Kentucky.
We pursue this goal in order to:
- ensure the health and well-being of Kentucky families that choose out-of-hospital birth
- expand access to the evidence-based, quality maternity care provided by CPMs
- protect the rights of Kentucky women to choose their place of birth and birth attendants
- support all midwives as autonomous care providers in all settings
Why do we need to license Certified Professional Midwives in Kentucky?
According to a CDC report issued in 2013 the percentage of home births in Kentucky grew from 0.69% in 2004 to 1.0% in 2011 . This is above the national average of 0.79%. Kentucky families choose home birth for many diverse religious, cultural and ideological reasons. These families have the right to a qualified and competent midwife to attend them. Certified Professional Midwives (CPMs) are nationally credentialed midwives who provide primary maternity care. CPMs are the only maternity care provider specifically trained to attend births outside the hospital. CPMs are trained to provide health-promoting and preventative care that is evidence based and avoids unnecessary use of drugs and interventions. CPMs are licensed in 28 states but not yet licensed in Kentucky. Licensing Certified Professional Midwives is the best way to ensure that those families who choose out-of-hospital birth will have access to quality maternity care.