Your Vote Matters

Voting is crucial because it gives us an avenue to elect leaders that lift up issues important to our communities. Those leaders  decide which bills get introduced and passed, shaping the future of essential services like midwifery. Elected officials make decisions about how midwifery is recognized at the state level and how it becomes fully integrated into federal healthcare systems like Medicaid and TRICARE. When voters elect decision makers who prioritize perinatal  health and midwifery, they help grow the workforce, improve access to care, and ensure the profession’s sustainability. By voting,  we impact   the possibility of policies that support midwives and ensure quality, equitable care for families across the country. You can find your legislators and search state and federal bills that refer to midwifery at Fast Democracy’s website.

Want to stay up on womb and gendered health, perinatal and infant health, and other issues that impact or tangentially intersect with Certified Professional Midwifery? Check out these resources:

Resources for Voter Education

Policy Agenda’s from other Organizations

2025 is shaping up to be the most new midwifery licensing bills being introduced in a single year. To read more about exciting recent midwifery access bills at the federal level, see below:

Babies Act

The BABIES Act (S. 5262), reintroduced in 2024 by Senator Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM), is legislation aimed at expanding access to freestanding birth centers for Medicaid beneficiaries. This act comes in response to the growing maternal mortality crisis and the closure of many rural and urban hospital obstetric units. The BABIES Act builds on the success of the Strong Start initiative, which demonstrated that midwifery care in birth centers improves outcomes like lower rates of preterm births, low birth weight, and C-sections, while also reducing costs. The act proposes a Medicaid demonstration payment program to fund comprehensive prenatal, perinatal, and postpartum care in birth centers, especially in underserved areas.

Sponsor: Lujan, Ben Ray [Sen.-D-NM] (Introduced 09/25/2024)

Midwives for MOMS

The Midwives for Maximizing Optimal Maternity Services (MOMS) Act (H.R. 3768), reintroduced in 2023 by Representatives Ashley Hinson (R-IA) and Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), is bipartisan legislation designed to improve maternal health outcomes by increasing access to high-quality midwifery care. The act establishes two new funding streams under the Public Health Service Act (Title VII and Title VIII) to directly support accredited midwifery education programs. It aims to expand the number of midwives, particularly by focusing on increasing racial and ethnic diversity within the profession. This legislation prioritizes grant funding for midwifery programs that focus on addressing maternal health disparities impacting Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities. By investing in midwifery education, especially in Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), and increasing the number of clinical preceptors, the Midwives for MOMS Act seeks to alleviate the shortage of maternal health providers in underserved areas, ultimately improving maternal and infant health outcomes nationwide​. Sponsor: Hinson, Ashley [Rep.-R-IA-2] (Introduced 05/31/2023) Cosponsors: (16). Sponsor: Lujan, Ben Ray [Sen.-D-NM] (Introduced 06/07/2023) Cosponsors: (7)

Midwives for Servicemembers

The MIDWIVES for Service Members Act of 2024 (H.R. 9335), introduced by Representatives Derek Kilmer (D-WA), Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ), Gwen Moore (D-WI), and Marilyn Strickland (D-WA), aims to improve maternity care for service members by creating a pilot program within TRICARE that provides midwifery services to eligible beneficiaries. The five-year pilot program, overseen by the Secretary of Defense, will assess the effectiveness of using midwives, including Certified Professional Midwives (CPMs) and Certified Midwives (CMs), in improving maternal and infant outcomes. The program focuses on reducing pre-term births, low birth weights, and unnecessary cesarean sections, while also examining cost savings and patient satisfaction. If successful, the pilot could lead to a permanent program within TRICARE, enhancing access to midwifery care for service members and their families​.

Sponsor: Kilmer, Derek [Rep.-D-WA-6] (Introduced 08/09/2024) Cosponsors: (4)

Shout Out to House and Senate Midwifery Supporters

Representative Lauren Underwood (D-IL)

Representative Jen Kiggans (R-VA)

Representative Ashley Hinson (R-IA)

Representative Dave Joyce (R-OH)

Representative John Joyce (R-PA)

Representative Paul Tonko (D-NY)

Representative Frank Pallone (D-NJ)

Representative Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE)

Representative Carol Miller (R-WV)

Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL)

Representative Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)

Representative Adrian Smith (R-NE)

Representative Gwen Moore (D-WI)

Representative Robin Kelly (D-IL)

Representative Kathy Castor (D-FL)

Representative Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ)

Representative Derek Kilmer * Special thanks for your championship of the Midwives for Service Members’ bill. You will be missed!

Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA)

Senator Martin Heinrich (D-NM)

Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR)

Senator Tina Smith (D-MN)

Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH)

Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI)

Senator Bob Casey (D-PA)

Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA)

Senator Patty Murray (D-WA)

Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA)

*Special thanks to ACNM for compiling this list!