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Who We Are
Nebraska Friends of Midwives came together in the fall of
2004 as a loosely organized, small group of women who were
concerned about the lack of access to midwifery care in the
state and alarmed by trends in women’s health such as
skyrocketing c-section rates and increasingly interventive
hospital care. These women wanted to spread the message about
the Midwives
Model of Care to families in Nebraska and to see that
women had access to this type of care.
The legal climate in Nebraska has been historically problematic
for midwives. It was only in 1984 that Certified Nurse Midwives
even became a legal option for women in hospitals. The law
passed was extremely restrictive for CNMs as they were limited
in their scope of practice to a role far more narrow than
what their education and training is designed to prepare them
for. The law specifically forbids CNMs from attending home
births. Independent Midwives (Certified Professional Midwives,
direct-entry or lay midwives) are not specifically prohibited
from practicing by legal statute or judicial interpretation,
but one midwife was prosecuted (and acquitted) in the early
1990s and more recently many Midwives were issued “Cease
and Desist” orders from the state. The practice of Midwives
is legally perilous, at best.
While homebirth is certainly an important issue for this
group, we would like to see that the Midwives Model of Care
is available to any Nebraska woman in the setting of her choice,
be it hospital, birth center (the only one which exists in our state is unable to open because its owner cannot find a doctor to sign on)
or home. One of our primary missions is to educate women about
this model of health care. Women who employ midwives enjoy
personalized care from pregnancy through postpartum with less
risk of interventions and unwanted outcomes such as instrument
assisted delivery and c-section. Groups such as the American
Public Health Association and the Maternity
Center Association, support the principles of the Midwives
Model of Care.
In 2005, two pieces of legislation were presented to the
Health and Human Services Committee of the Nebraska Unicameral.
One bill sought to expand the scope of practice for Certified
Nurse Midwives. The second bill would have established a legal
framework of licensure and regulation under which non-nurse
midwives could openly practice. Members of our organization testified in support of the
proposals at public hearings. Unfortunately, the legislation
faced stiff opposition from the Nebraska medical establishment
and did not make it any further than the committee.
In the winter of 2005, our small group became more formally
organized at a successful and productive meeting in Kearney,
Nebraska. Kearney was chosen as a central location to hold
statewide meetings on a semi-annual basis. At the meeting,
we elected officers, formed committees and discussed ideas
for regional groups and local advocacy efforts.
Currently we are focusing on increasing membership, establishing regional
groups and organizing our committees. We are optimistic about
the direction of our group and the future of midwifery in
our state! Please check our Updates and Call to Action for the latest in legislation.
Meet the NFoM Board
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