Bill
SB 2741
Mississippi licenses and regulates professional midwives to expand access to community birth care, with standards, oversight, and collaboration with higher‑level providers.
Status: Approved by Governor (April 10, 2025)
Introduced: March 13, 2025
Companion: HB 5072
Overview
- SB 2741 establishes the "Mississippi Midwifery Licensure Law," creating a statutory framework to recognize, license, regulate, and integrate professional (community‑based) midwives into Mississippi’s maternity care system.
- Note: earlier language in the bill relating to licensure of professional music therapists was removed by amendment; the enacted legislation creates a midwifery licensure regime.
Legislative purpose (key points)
- Recognizes midwifery as a distinct profession focused on a patient‑centered, evidence‑based model that treats pregnancy and birth as normal physiologic processes while seeking medical intervention when warranted.
- Aims to increase access to professional midwifery care (especially in community settings), preserve parental choice about birthplace and attendant, and improve maternal/infant health outcomes through better integration across maternity care settings.
- Seeks oversight, accountability, informed consent protections, and mechanisms to integrate community midwives into regional maternity care systems.
Key provisions (sections summarized)
- Short title: The act is cited as the "Mississippi Midwifery Licensure Law."
- Definitions: The bill defines terms such as antepartum, intrapartum, postpartum, neonate, neonatal period, apprentice, client (preferred over “patient”), licensed midwife, certified nurse midwife (CNM), physician, “normal” (as to pregnancy/birth, to be defined by board rule), and professional midwifery.
- Board creation and rulemaking: The bill creates the Mississippi State Board of Licensed Midwifery (referenced in Section 6) and authorizes it to promulgate implementing rules and licensing requirements.
- Applicability / exemptions: The law does not apply to CNMs, physicians, other licensed health professionals practicing within their scope, student midwives under supervised clinical training, doulas/lay birth support persons, or emergency childbirth assistance.
- Scope of practice: Licensed midwives may provide primary maternity care to low‑risk women and their neonates during normal antepartum, intrapartum, and postpartum periods; nonprescriptive family‑planning and basic well‑woman services (e.g., Pap tests, STI screening, preconception screening); and must consult/collaborate and refer to higher levels of care when conditions fall outside “normal” as defined by the board.
- Apprenticeship: The bill recognizes an apprenticeship level (apprentice midwife) providing clinical experience under supervision of a qualified licensed midwife.
- Oversight and standards: Licensing, practice parameters, mandatory procedures, prohibitions, and anti‑discrimination protections are addressed, with details to be set by board rule (some text in the posted excerpt is truncated).
Who is affected
- Community‑based midwives seeking licensure and their apprentices.
- Pregnant people and families choosing community births — increased access and formal protections.
- CNMs, physicians, and other providers who will interact with licensed midwives through consultation and referral pathways.
- Health systems and policymakers concerned with maternal/infant outcomes and rural access to birthing options.
Procedural timeline (selected actions)
- Introduced/Filed: March 13, 2025
- Passed/Amended in Legislature: March 2025 (conference reports adopted March 28–April 1)
- Enrolled Bill Signed: April 7, 2025
- Approved by Governor: April 10, 2025
Notes and next steps
- The bill text excerpt provided is truncated; for full implementation details (licensure criteria, board composition, fees, education/experience requirements, disciplinary processes, effective date), consult the enacted statute and board rules once published.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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