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HR 32 - House Study Committee on Certified Professional Midwifery; create

Mobley, Barbara J (69th)	Hegstrom, June (66th)	Pelote, Dorothy B (149th)
Bunn, Barbara Jean (74th)	Ragas, Arnold M (64th)	McClinton, JoAnn (68th)

Status Summary	HC:	Rules	SC:		FR:	01/15/99	LA:	02/14/00	H - Passed/Adopted

First Reader Summary

A RESOLUTION creating the House Study Committee on Certified Professional Midwifery; and for other purposes.

HR 32                                            LC 11 9621/1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                             A RESOLUTION 
 
  1- 1  Creating the House Study Committee on Certified Professional 
  1- 2  Midwifery; and for other purposes. 
 
  1- 3  WHEREAS, pregnancy and childbirth are normal life events; 
  1- 4  and 
 
  1- 5  WHEREAS, the citizens of Georgia want access to midwives who 
  1- 6  provide maternity care and attend births in homes and 
  1- 7  freestanding birth centers; and 
 
  1- 8  WHEREAS, there are no longer any "granny midwives" 
  1- 9  authorized to attend women in childbirth in this state; and 
 
  1-10  WHEREAS, the Georgia Board of Nursing authorizes certified 
  1-11  nurse midwives (CNM's) to attend women in childbirth, but 
  1-12  those so certified must be registered professional nurses 
  1-13  who have graduated from an ACNM accredited program; and 
 
  1-14  WHEREAS, at this time no CNM's or medical doctors in this 
  1-15  state regularly attend births outside the hospital setting 
  1-16  except in the one freestanding birth center in the state; 
  1-17  and 
 
  1-18  WHEREAS, there exists a shortage of maternity care in 
  1-19  certain areas of the state and a shortage of consumer 
  1-20  choices for maternity care throughout the state; and 
 
  1-21  WHEREAS, 33 other states currently allow direct-entry 
  1-22  midwives to practice in out-of-hospital settings; and 
 
  1-23  WHEREAS, the large majority of home-based births that occur 
  1-24  in the United States are attended by direct-entry midwives; 
  1-25  and 
 
  1-26  WHEREAS, the Certified Professional Midwife, a national 
  1-27  certification recognized in a number of states, is now 
  1-28  available to midwives who meet the standardized requirements 
  1-29  for knowledge, skills, and experience for entry level 
  1-30  practice; and 
 
  1-31  WHEREAS, out-of-hospital births can be achieved with 
  1-32  comparable safety and at significantly lower costs than 
  1-33  hospital births; and 
 
 
 
 
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  2- 1  WHEREAS, a study needs to be conducted to determine whether 
  2- 2  certified professional midwives could safely provide such 
  2- 3  obstetrical care. 
 
  2- 4  NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF 
  2- 5  REPRESENTATIVES that there is created the House Study 
  2- 6  Committee on Certified Professional Midwifery to be composed 
  2- 7  of five members of the House of Representatives to be 
  2- 8  appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives. 
  2- 9  The Speaker shall designate a member of the committee as 
  2-10  chairperson of the committee.  The chairperson shall call 
  2-11  all meetings of the committee. 
 
  2-12  BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the committee shall undertake a 
  2-13  study of the conditions, needs, issues, and problems 
  2-14  mentioned above or related thereto and recommend any actions 
  2-15  or legislation which the committee deems necessary or 
  2-16  appropriate.  The committee may conduct such meetings at 
  2-17  such places and at such times as it may deem necessary or 
  2-18  convenient to enable it to exercise fully and effectively 
  2-19  its powers, perform its duties, and accomplish the 
  2-20  objectives and purposes of this resolution.  The members of 
  2-21  the committee shall receive the allowances authorized for 
  2-22  legislative members of interim legislative committees but 
  2-23  shall receive the same for not more than five days unless 
  2-24  additional days are authorized.  The funds necessary to 
  2-25  carry out the provisions of this resolution shall come from 
  2-26  the funds appropriated to the House of Representatives.  In 
  2-27  the event the committee makes a report of its findings and 
  2-28  recommendations, with suggestions for proposed legislation, 
  2-29  if any, such report shall be made on or before December 1, 
  2-30  1999.  The committee shall stand abolished on December 1, 
  2-31  1999. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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