Iowa Midwifery

The Des Moines Register reports a move to gain greater hospital privileges for Certified Nurse-Midwives:

[Clara] Dugan said hospitals are denying independent admitting privileges for advanced practice midwives. Hospitals, she said, require that independent nurse midwives practice dependently under the sponsorship of two physicians who agree to take responsibility for the midwife's actions.

"If you're required to have two supervisors, you have to do it their way," Dugan said.

Dr. Rebecca Shaw, medical director for Midwife Services of Iowa Health-Des Moines, said the hospital, which has three employed midwives, does require independent midwives to have two co-admitting physicians, who are able to provide for obstetrical emergencies and complications, because it "enhances patient safety and communication between midwives and physicians at the hospital and it improves care when communication is best."

A new advocacy group, Mothers And Others for Midwives, has been formed, and last night's meeting featured speakers such as Susan Hodges, president of the national advocacy group Citizens for Midwifery, and the famous midwife and author Ina May Gaskin.

**12/19/05 Edited to add this news link: Midwives Fight Hospital Rules