AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION HOUSE OF DELEGATES
Resolution: 205
(A-08)
Introduced by: American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
Subject: Home Deliveries
Referred to: Reference Committee B
(Craig W. Anderson, MD, Chair)
Whereas, Twenty-one states currently license midwives to attend home
births, all using the certified professional midwife (CPM) credential (CPM
or “lay” midwives), not the certified midwives (CM) credential which both
the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and American
College of Nurse Midwives (ACNM) recognize[1] and
Whereas, There has been much attention in the media by celebrities having
home deliveries, with recent *Today Show* headings such as *”Ricki Lake
takes on baby birthing industry: Actress and former talk show host shares
her at-home delivery in new film”* [2] and
Whereas, An apparently uncomplicated pregnancy or delivery can quickly
become very complicated in the setting of maternal hemorrhage, shoulder
dystocia, eclampsia or other obstetric emergencies, necessitating the need
for rigorous standards, appropriate oversight of obstetric providers, and
the availability of emergency care, for the health of both the mother and
the baby during a delivery; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That our American Medical Association support the recent American
College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) statement that “*the
safest setting for labor, delivery, and the immediate post-partum period is
in the hospital, or a birthing center within a hospital complex, that meets
standards jointly outlined by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and
ACOG, or in a freestanding birthing center that meets the standards of the
Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care, The Joint Commission,
or the American Association of Birth Centers”* [3] (New HOD
Policy); and be it further
RESOLVED, That our AMA develop model legislation in support of the concept
that the safest setting for labor, delivery, and the immediate post-partum
period is in the hospital, or a birthing center within a hospital complex,
that meets standards jointly outlined by the AAP and ACOG, or in a
freestanding birthing center that meets the standards of the Accreditation
Association for Ambulatory Health Care, The Joint Commission, or the
American Association of Birth Centers.” (Directive to Take Action)
[1] <#_ednref1>
http://www.acog. org/departments/ stateleg/ MidwiferyYearinR eview2007. pdf,
accessed March 18, 2008
[2] <#_ednref2> www.today.msnbc. msn.com/id/ 22592397, accessed March 18, 2008
[3] <#_ednref3> www.acog.org/ from_home/ publications
press_releases/ nr02-06-06- 2.cfm<http://www.acog. org/from_ home/publication spress_releases/ nr02-06-06- 2.cfm>,
accessed March 18,2008
