FRANKFORT, Ky. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – Kentucky is set to become the 34th state to license certified professional midwives (CPMs) after a recent vote in the Kentucky House of Representatives.
Legislators passed Senate Bill 84 (SB84), which establishes a state license for CPMs. Passage of the bill ends an eight-year legislative effort by the Kentucky Home Birth Coalition (KHBC) and 44-year effort by various groups to re-establish midwives as a state-recognized provider since the practice of issuing permits ended in 1975.
The Senate concurred with the bill, 35-1, and it now moves to Gov. Matt Bevin’s desk for signature.
“It has been a long road to seeing this bill pass. There have been families working for 44 years to get to this day, and Kentucky Home Birth Coalition is only the latest iteration of those efforts,” Mary Kathryn DeLodder, volunteer leader and spokesperson for KHBC said in a release. “This marks the end of home birth midwives being underground in our state. We are looking forward to the Governor’s signature and the CPM Advisory Council being formed to begin the important work of creating regulations.”
Currently around 20 certified professional midwives serve Kentucky. Nearly 700 babies are born at home in Kentucky per year, a rate of 1.2 percent, which is above the national average, according to KHBC.
“We are very excited to finally be here. It’s truly surreal! The road has been long but the incredible success we have here comes because of the relentless dedication of this incredible grassroots movement—the Kentucky Home Birth Coalition. Never underestimate the power of a motivated and cohesive group of consumers,” said Elizabeth Regan, president of Kentucky chapter of the National Association of Certified Professional Midwives.
Kentucky is the 18th state since 2010 to pass legislation to license CPMs, joining neighboring states Indiana, Missouri, Tennessee and Virginia. It is the first since Alabama and South Dakota passed their bills in 2017. Efforts are ongoing in other states across the nation.