§ 54.1-2957.9 — Regulation of the practice of midwifery

Virginia § 54.1-2957.9

• Jurisdiction: Virginia
• Title 54.1: Professions and Occupations
• Subtitle III: Professions and Occupations Regulated by Boards Within the Department of Health Professions
• Ch. 29: Medicine and Other Healing Arts
• Art. 4: Licensure and Certification of Other Practitioners of the Healing Arts

Text

The Board shall adopt regulations governing the practice of midwifery, upon consultation with the Advisory Board on Midwifery. The regulations shall (i) address the requirements for licensure to practice midwifery, including the establishment of standards of care, (ii) be consistent with the North American Registry of Midwives' current job description for the profession and the National Association of Certified Professional Midwives' standards of practice, except that prescriptive authority shall be prohibited, (iii) ensure independent practice, (iv) require midwives to disclose to their patients, when appropriate, options for consultation and referral to a physician and evidence-based information on health risks associated with birth of a child outside of a hospital or birthing center, as defined in § 54.1-2957.03, including risks associated with vaginal births after a prior cesarean section, breech births, births by women experiencing high-risk pregnancies, and births involving multiple gestation, (v) provide for an appropriate license fee, and (vi) include requirements for licensure renewal and continuing education. Such regulations shall not (a) require any agreement, written or otherwise, with another health care professional or (b) require the assessment of a woman who is seeking midwifery services by another health care professional. A licensed midwife may obtain, possess, and administer drugs and devices that are used within the licensed midwife's scope of practice as determined by the North American Registry of Midwives Job Analysis. The Board of Medicine shall develop and publish best practice and standards of care guidance for all such drugs. The formulary shall not include any drug, as defined in § 54.1-3401, in Schedule I through V of the Drug Control Act. A licensed midwife may obtain medications and devices to treat conditions within the licensed midwife's scope of practice from entities including a pharmacy, as defined in § 54.1-3300, or a manufacturer, medical equipment supplier, outsourcing facility, warehouser, or wholesale distributor, as these terms are defined in § 54.1-3401. An entity that provides a medication to a licensed midwife in accordance with this section, and who relies in good faith upon the license information provided by the licensed midwife, is not subject to liability for providing the medication.

Completing all Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health patient safety bundles advanced by the Virginia Neonatal Perinatal Collaborative shall be required of any licensed midwife who obtains, possesses, and administers drugs and devices within the scope of his practice.

License renewal shall be contingent upon maintaining a Certified Professional Midwife certification.

Legislative History

2005, cc. 719, 917; 2009, c. 646; 2016, c. 495; 2023, cc. 673, 674.