ยง 6951. Definition of practice of midwifery. 1. The practice of the
profession of midwifery is defined as the management of normal
pregnancies, child birth and postpartum care as well as primary
preventive reproductive health care of essentially healthy women, and
shall include newborn evaluation, resuscitation and referral for
infants. A midwife shall have collaborative relationships with (i) a
licensed physician who is board certified as an
obstetrician-gynecologist by a national certifying body or (ii) a
licensed physician who practices obstetrics and has obstetric privileges
at a general hospital licensed under article twenty-eight of the public
health law or (iii) a hospital, licensed under article twenty-eight of
the public health law, that provides obstetrics through a licensed
physician having obstetrical privileges at such institution, that
provide for consultation, collaborative management and referral to
address the health status and risks of his or her patients and that
include plans for emergency medical gynecological and/or obstetrical
coverage. A midwife shall maintain documentation of such collaborative
relationships and shall make information about such collaborative
relationships available to his or her patients. Failure to comply with
the requirements found in this subdivision shall be subject to
professional misconduct provisions as set forth in article one hundred
thirty of this title.
2. A licensed midwife shall have the authority, as necessary, and
limited to the practice of midwifery, to prescribe and administer drugs,
immunizing agents, diagnostic tests and devices, and to order laboratory
tests, as established by the board in accordance with the commissioner's
regulations. A midwife shall obtain a certificate from the department
upon successfully completing a program including a pharmacology
component, or its equivalent, as established by the commissioner's
regulations prior to prescribing under this section.
3. Any reference to midwifery, midwife, certified nurse-midwifery or
certified nurse-midwife, nurse-midwifery or nurse-midwife under the
provisions of this article, this chapter or any other law, shall refer
to and include the profession of midwifery and a licensed midwife,
unless the context clearly requires otherwise.