State would license midwives under advancing legislation
Photo | Flickr | Ajay Suresh
The Massachusetts State House
The state Senate on Thursday signed off on the creation of a licensing system for midwives in Massachusetts, a measure supporters say will make home births more accessible and reduce racial disparities in maternal health.
"This is a maternal justice bill," Sen. Becca Rausch said before the Senate's 39-0 vote on a bill (S 2863) to establish a board of registration in midwifery that would license certified professional midwives.
Rausch said opting for a home birth with a midwife can help reduce the strain on hospitals caring for COVID-19 patients, and licensing midwives will help them access the personal protective equipment available to health care workers. Sen. Jo Comerford said midwife care has been linked to higher breastfeeding rates and lower numbers of infant deaths, pre-term births and C-sections.
The Senate also passed a separate bill aimed at addressing racial inequities in maternal health (S 2865), similar to legislation already approved by the House (H 4818). Rebecca Hart Holder, the executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts, said Black women are twice as likely to die from pregnancy-related causes as white women, and that lawmakers listened to advocates who "take meaningful action to combat maternal inequities faced by Black women."
"Reproductive freedom includes the freedom to choose to raise and parent a child," she said. "Far too many Bay State families are unable to fully exercise their reproductive freedom because of the high rate of maternal mortality and morbidity among Black communities. This is intolerable, and must change. The first step toward making that change possible is listening to the voices who matter most – those who have lost loved ones from pregnancy-related causes, those who have experienced maternal morbidity, medical professionals, public health researchers, and leaders in the Black and Brown communities."
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