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Rohno Geppert,
Program Manager
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Division of Licensing
150 N. 18th Avenue,
4th Floor
Phoenix, AZ 85007
(602) 364-2079
(602) 364-4769 Fax
Office of Special Licensing  
Midwife Licensing Program News and Updates
Authorized by Arizona Revised Statutes 36-751-760 et seq. and Arizona Administrative Code R9-16-191 et seq., the Midwife Licensing Program licenses and regulates midwife services in Arizona. 

Midwifery Rules under revision:  View the Draft
 
For information on how to become a Licensed Midwife or to contact a midwife to attend a birth, call the Midwife Licensing Program at
602-364-2536 and request a copy of the Midwife Consumer Listing.
 
Note:  A listing of licensed midwives may also be viewed from our Searchable Listing or downloaded in three formats from our Facilities/Provider Information page.

New - Required Documentation of Citizenship or Immigration Status of All Licensees and/or Certification Holders - view details


What is a Midwife?
en español
 A midwife is a person who attends a woman in childbirth, but who is not a physician. Midwifery (being "with woman") focuses on providing care to normal childbearing women and their newborns. 
 
In Arizona, there are two types of midwives who may legally assist a woman with childbirth: a certified nurse midwife and a licensed midwife. The midwifery model of care provides quality, personalized services to women seeking low-intervention pregnancy and birth services while still providing access to technical services through appropriate referral when the mother’s condition changes. The midwifery model of care is also cost effective, providing affordable services, decreasing the incidence of low birth weight, and reducing complications and the need for cesarean births.
Training/Licensing
 Licensed Midwives - Educated in Midwifery: 
  1. Licensed to practice in Arizona by the Office of Special Licensure, Arizona Department of Health Services, on the basis of a state administered examination. 

  2. Practices under Rules promulgated by the Arizona Department of Health Services. 

  3. Practices the independent management of care for healthy, low risk women, and their infants during pregnancy, labor and birth, and in the first few weeks after birth. Generally delivers babies in the home. 

  4. Consults with a physician and refers for medical care if any unusual or abnormal condition arises before, during or after delivery.

  5. There are approximately 54 Arizona licensed midwives. Midwives currently practice in 7 counties in Arizona. 

  6. There is no state approved program of midwifery training in Arizona at this time.

*Requires geographically close Level I Centers to receive phone consultation, write orders and accept transport. Also uses the High Risk Perinatal Program, Arizona Department of Health Services, Section on Consultation, Case Management and Transport. Through the High Risk Perinatal Program, transport may be arranged, for example.

 Certified Nurse-Midwife (C.N.M.) - Educated as a Registered Nurse (R.N.) and in Midwifery:
  1. Certified by the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM) on the basis of a national certification examination.

  2. Standards and qualifications for nurse-midwifery practice are defined by the ACNM.

  3. Licensed to practice in Arizona by the State Board of Nursing.

  4. Practices in the independent management of care of essentially normal women and newborns, providing antepartum, intrapartum, postpartum, gynecological and newborn care within a health care system that provides for medical consultation, collaborative management or referral.

  5. Approximately 150 CNMs practice in various settings in Arizona. These settings include Indian Health Services hospitals, county hospitals in Maricopa, Pima and Pinal counties, Neighborhood Health Centers, private hospitals, private physicians' offices, birthing centers and in their own private practices.

  6. There is no program of nurse-midwifery training in Arizona at this time.

 In order to download the PDF files, Acrobat Reader™ is required.
 
Rules/Regulations
 Arizona Department of Health Services Administrative Rules Office
 Arizona Administrative Code: Requirements for Licensing
Enforcement/Complaints
 Complaint Form [PDF 8KB]
 ADHS Enforcement Actions
Forms
 Licensing Application [PDF 32K]
 Midwives Quarterly Report [PDF 1085K]
 Consumer Midwife Listing [PDF 14K]
 Apprenticeship Form [PDF 16K]
Provider Information
 Certified Nurse Midwives:

American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM)
818 Connecticut Avenue, NW; Suite 900
Washington, D.C. 20006
Telephone: (202) 728-9860
Fax: (202) 728-9897
 
The Arizona State Board of Nursing
4747 North 7th Street, Suite 200
Phoenix, Arizona 85014-3653
Telephone: (602) 889-5150
Fax: (602) 889-5155

 Licensed Midwives:

Arizona Association of Midwives
PO Box 5562
Glendale, Arizona 85312
Telephone: (602) 942-0900

 

Arizona Midwifery Institute
P O Box 37062, Phoenix, AZ  85069
Telephone: (602) 864-6240
Toll Free: (888) 864-6240


Midwives Alliance of North America (MANA)
4805 Lawrenceville Hwy, Suite 116-279
Lilburn, GA 30047
Telephone:  1-888-923-6262
Fax:  (801) 720-3026
E-mail:  info@mana.org
 
Midwifery Education Accreditation Council
P.O. Box 984
La Conner, WA 98257
Telephone: (360) 466-2080
 
North American Registry of Midwives (NARM)
P O Box 7703
Little Rock, AK 72217-7703

Telephone: 1-888-353-7089

E-mail: NARMCPM@aol.com

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