My name is Maryann Long. I am a certified nurse-midwife (CNM), now retired after 35+ years of work as a midwifery clinician and educator. I am still an active participant on the Accreditation Commission for Midwifery Education (ACME), which is the body that accredits education programs for CNMs and Certified Midwives (CMs) in the United States.

I am writing to strongly support the promulgation of regulations governing the practice of Certified Midwives in Virginia. We must increase the number of midwives in the healthcare workforce to meet the demand for maternity care. Midwifery care results in better maternal and newborn outcomes, while reducing healthcare costs. In addition, in Virginia there are many rural areas where there are no maternity care providers at all, a shocking source of inequity that must not be ignored. 

Recognizing the CM credential, as Virginia has wisely chosen to do, is a means of increasing our maternity care workforce without imposing the barrier of requiring nursing education as a prerequisite. When I review a program as an ACME site visitor, I verify that every CM graduate demonstrates the very same knowledge and competencies as every CNM who completes an ACME-accredited midwifery education program. Now we in Virginia must make it possible for CMs to practice to the full scope of their education by generating the regulations that will enable them to do so. Our Virginia families and communities will thus be far better served.

Thank you.