N.Y. Education Law § 6951: Definition of practice of midwifery

§ 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.