House Resolution 227
By: Representative Mobley of the 58th

A RESOLUTION

Creating the Joint Study Committee on Certified Professional Midwifery; and for other purposes.

WHEREAS, pregnancy and childbirth are normal life events; and

WHEREAS, the citizens of Georgia want access to midwives who provide maternity care and attend births in homes and freestanding birth centers; and

WHEREAS, there are no longer any "granny midwives" authorized to attend women in childbirth in this state; and

WHEREAS, the Georgia Board of Nursing authorizes certified nurse midwives (CNM's) to attend women in childbirth, but those so certified must be registered professional nurses who have graduated from an ACNM accredited program; and

WHEREAS, at this time no CNM's or medical doctors in this state regularly attend births outside the hospital setting except in the one freestanding birth center in the state; and

WHEREAS, there exists a shortage of maternity care in certain areas of the state and a shortage of consumer choices for maternity care throughout the state; and

WHEREAS, 33 other states currently allow direct-entry midwives to practice in out-of-hospital settings; and

WHEREAS, the large majority of home-based births that occur in the United States are attended by direct-entry midwives; and

WHEREAS, the Certified Professional Midwife, a national certification recognized in a number of states, is now available to midwives who meet the standardized requirements for knowledge, skills, and experience for entry level practice; and

WHEREAS, out-of-hospital births can be achieved with comparable safety and at significantly lower costs than hospital births; and

WHEREAS, a study needs to be conducted to determine whether certified professional midwives could safely provide such obstetrical care.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY that there is created the Joint Study Committee on Certified Professional Midwifery to be composed of five members of the House of Representatives to be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives and five members of the Senate to be appointed by the Senate Committee on Assignments. The Speaker shall designate a member of House and the Senate Committee on Assignments shall designate a member of the Senate who shall serve as chairpersons of the committee. The committee shall meet at the call of the co-chairpersons.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the committee shall undertake a study of the conditions, needs, issues, and problems mentioned above or related thereto and recommend any actions or legislation which the committee deems necessary or appropriate. The committee may conduct such meetings at such places and at such times as it may deem necessary or convenient to enable it to exercise fully and effectively its powers, perform its duties, and accomplish the objectives and purposes of this resolution. The members of the committee shall receive the allowances authorized for legislative members of interim legislative committees but shall receive the same for not more than five days unless additional days are authorized. The funds necessary to carry out the provisions of this resolution shall come from the funds appropriated to the House of Representatives and Senate. In the event the committee makes a report of its findings and recommendations, with suggestions for proposed legislation, if any, such report shall be made on or before December 1, 2003. The committee shall stand abolished on December 1, 2003.