The Alabama State Board of Midwifery will now be able to accept grants and gifts after Gov. Kay Ivey signed the permitting legislation into law, after another birthing-related bill died on the vine this legislative session.
Midwives in Alabama have for years approached the legislature to advocate for more freedom to practice under the state's heavily regulated birthing system.
This year saw little to no attention paid to last year's effort to allow midwives to collect newborn screening data for babies born outside hospitals. However, State Rep. Marilyn Lands (D-Huntsville) successfully secured passage of House Bill 128 (HB128), which allows the Alabama State Board of Midwifery to operate more efficiently, including accepting grants and gifts.
The legislature passed the bill earlier this month, and Ivey signed it into law last week.
Lands also carried a bill that did not even receive a hearing in the House Health Committee, the proverbial killing field where many midwifery bills have found their end.
Such was the case last year, when negotiations over a similar bill led to accusations of shady dealings between lawmakers and state health special interests. It eventually passed the Senate and the House Health Committee, even though the same advocates who had pushed for the bill later opposed it because of its alterations.
Currently, parents have to secure testing within 48 hours at a pediatrician, which birthing advocates claim is unrealistic and often leads to parents not doing the screenings early enough, especially in cases of home birth.
Those opposed to granting midwives the testing ability, such as the/ Alabama Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (ALAAP)
Advocates argue that midwives performing these simple tests significantly help catch potentially life-threatening issues early, noting that nurse practitioners, not pediatricians, frequently administer them in the office.
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