As a midwife in the Commonwealth, I am grateful for the privilage of licensure, and to be able to serve women in my community in this important way.  Having read thru the comments, I agree that these additions to the regulations are redundant, our regulations already demand Informed Consent.  The proposed additions do provide an opportunity for evidence-based informed consent to be required of all health care providers in the State, especially in regards to maternity care providers.  It is also an opportunity to clarify, that even in unusual or difficult circumstances, clients need to be provided with the information that they need in order to make the best decision for them and their family.  Women should be free to pursue their options regarding their health care and to make the best choice for themselves.  Care providers should continue to provide solid evidence based information from reliable sources thru out the decision making process.   I encourage the Board to refrain from issuing cookie-cutter standardized statements that become rote and therefore lose their impetus.  Formulating our own keeps them current.  Again, it can't be emphasized enough, that true choice for women in the Commonwealth will only occur when all maternity care providers are required to provide evidence based informed consent to those seeking care.

Vickie Liguori, CPM