1. It is much safer to have a home birth with a midwife (CPM or CNM) than to have an unattended home birth or to travel out of state to have the help of a midwife.
2. Home birth with a CPM is safe for low risk women and involves far fewer interventions than similar births in hospitals. (CPM 2000 Study)
3. Midwives provide excellent prenatal care preventing many complications during birth.
4. Mothers in South Dakota deserve qualified birth attendants.
5. The CPM credential has worked in every state that has used it to license midwives. (currently 22)
6. South Dakota needs a full range of birth options to bring us in line with what is currently available in the rest of the country. This will help us attract young professionals to our state.
7. Access to birth services is limited in South Dakota at this time for many mothers due to lack of essential birth services near their homes. Midwives traditionally provide services where hospitals are impractical due to low populations.