House Reintroduces Legislation to Invest in Midwifery Education

ACNM applauds Congress on the reintroduction of the Midwives for Maximizing Optimal Maternity Services (MOMS) Act (H.R. 3768).

SILVER SPRING, MD, UNITED STATES, June 5, 2023/EINPresswire.com/ -- The American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM) applauds Representatives Ashley Hinson (R-IA) and Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ) on the reintroduction of the Midwives for Maximizing Optimal Maternity Services (MOMS) Act (H.R. 3768). This bipartisan, legislation seeks to improve maternal health outcomes by increasing access to high-quality, evidence-based midwifery care and all nationally certified midwives.

Introduced in the United States House of Representatives on Thursday, June 1, the Midwives for MOMS Act establishes two new funding streams under Title VII (Health Professions and Training Programs) and Title VIII (Nursing Workforce Development Programs) of the Public Health Service Act specifically for accredited midwifery education programs. The legislation aims to increase the number of midwives educated by accredited midwifery programs through a Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) administered grant program that will directly support student midwives, establish and expand midwifery programs, including establishing midwifery programs within Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and ensure support for increasing the number of preceptors at clinical sites to mentor students training to become CNMs, CMs or CPMs. The legislation takes deliberate steps to address the maternal health disparities that disproportionately impact Black, Brown and Indigenous people by prioritizing grant funding to midwifery programs that effectively demonstrate a focus on strengthening and increasing racial and ethnic representation with the goal of creating a more diverse and equitable midwifery workforce.

“The American College of Nurse-Midwives thanks members of Congress for recognizing the critical role that all nationally certified midwives can play in providing high-quality maternal health care,” stated ACNM Interim CEO Michelle Munroe, DNP, APRN, CNM, FACNM, FAAN. “Targeting federal grant funding for accredited midwifery education programs is crucial to improving racial and ethnic representation within our nation’s midwifery workforce. The Midwives for MOMS Act takes important steps to alleviate significant pressures U.S. communities and health systems are experiencing due to the shortage of trained maternal health care providers, particularly in high need rural and urban areas. By improving access to full scope and culturally appropriate midwifery care provided by CNMs and CMs, we will be able to better address the considerable disparities in maternal and infant health outcomes found in far too many of our communities.”

ACNM commends the champions behind the Midwives for MOMS Act and looks forward to getting this critical legislation through 118th Congress and signed into law.

Amy Kohl
American College of Nurse-Midwives
+1 240-485-1806
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