Core Documents, LMPA and Regulations

Core Documents

AB1308 Bonilla, which modified the licensed midwifery practice act in 2013, required the MBC to pass regulations listing diseases and conditions requiring a referral for an exam with a physician. As of 2022 those regulations have not been promulgated. Here are copies of the 2005 Standard of Care and Guidelines and the subsequent VBAC regulations, both of which are still referenced through the MBC website:

Standard of Care for California Licensed Midwives 2005

.midwives_regs_1379

Below is a link to a copy of the current “Guidelines” .  The 2005 Standard of Care was the template for the current ‘Guidelines’, which were edited to comply with AB1308 changes but did not go through rule making:

Practice Guidelines for California Licensed Midwives 2014  

The California licensed midwifery practice act was modified in 2013 by AB 1308 Bonilla to require specific disclosures at the onset of care. Two sample disclosure forms are provided here:

LM disclosure provided by the Medical Board of California

LM disclosure template created by California Association of Midwives attorney in 2013

Please inquire with CALM (info@calmidwives.org) if you would like a presentation in your hospital on best practices for improving transfers which includes this PowerPoint template. CALM Transition Slides.

In 2017, CALM adopted:

Best Practice Guidelines–Transfer from Planned Home Birth to Hospital
“We believe that collaboration within an integrated maternity care system is
essential for optimal mother-baby outcomes. All women and families planning a
home or birth center birth have a right to respectful, safe, and seamless
consultation, referral, transport and transfer of care when necessary. When
ongoing inter-professional dialogue and cooperation occur, everyone benefits.”

In 1999, The Osborn Decision, by Judge Jaime Rene Roman, established that physician supervision of licensed midwives was onerous and that midwifery is a discipline separate from the practice of medicine.

Read the Osborn Decision 

Licensed Midwifery Practice Act of 1993 amended 2014 — Business and Professions Code — Sections 2505 – 2521

California Code of Regulations, Sections 1379.1 – 1379.31 — Title 16, Division 13, Chapter 4