Welcome and thank you for visiting the Coalition for Illinois Midwifery!
Formed in 2000, the Coalition for Illinois Midwifery (the Coalition) seeks to ensure the availability of safe, licensed direct-entry midwifery services for families who chose to give birth at home in the state of Illinois.
The Coalition unites organizations and individuals that endorse the Illinois Midwifery Initiative to work toward change in Illinois. Our ultimate goal is to pass licensure which will enable direct-entry midwives, who carry the Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) credential to practice legally and in harmony with other Illinois maternity care providers.
The need for enabling legislation for Certified Professional Midwives has never been greater. A recent judicial decision has rendered direct-entry midwifery illegal in Illinois. In 27 other states, like Wisconsin, Minnesota, California, Florida, Virginia, Texas and Vermont, Certified Professional Midwives are licensed professionals, providing evidence-based maternity care in a collaborative environment. Though all women and their families deserve equal access to this kind of care, in Illinois, access is rapidly shrinking and quickly approaching zero.
Please browse our website for information and resources about midwifery and maternity care challenges in Illinois.
Important News and Announcements
*****AUGUST 2010 UPDATE!***** SB 3712 - HOME BIRTH SAFETY ACT
It’s been some time since we wrote, asking you all to connect with your legislators. Summer is nearly over and we still need more YES votes for the Home Birth Safety Act. Now that autumn is coming around, both the election and the veto session are only a couple of months away.
Last Spring YOU HELPED US MAKE HISTORY! Never in 30 years of trying had a midwifery licensure bill passed through an Illinois House Committee. Never before had we made it to the House floor.
BUT WE’RE THERE NOW! And once again, we need your help.
Please make a call to your state Representative today! Please ask for a commitment to a “YES vote for the Home Birth Safety Act (which is amended to SB3712) when it is called for a HOUSE floor vote during Veto Session. “ If you cannot get a solid YES, please ask for an appointment to visit your Rep next week in their local office, then let us know when and where so we can try to find other constituents to go with you (three for each meeting hopefully). Even if you’re pretty sure your rep is a solid yes already, please give them a call anyway unless they are literally a cosponsor of the bill. Please pass this along and ask EVERYONE you know in Illinois, to do the same.
And for one other action that can help our bill pass - please find a state Rep you can support (in your district or out) and volunteer for their re-election campaign. Even an hour of licking envelopes (while wearing a Got Midwife button or T-shirt ;-) can make a huge difference in our bill’s outcome. We have learned this from other states. It’s a very strong way of showing that midwifery supporters matter – that we help legislators get elected. The importance of this action cannot be understated! It matters almost more than asking for a vote for the bill. Please ask your chosen Rep’s secretary how to get in touch with their campaign office and offer to help this month!
If we wish our Certified Professional Midwives to have licensure, then we must do these things. There is no way around it. And now is the time. If we do not have enough votes gained in the next 6 – 8 weeks, we will not be able to even call the bill for a floor vote. Think of it – a floor vote - finally. Please do not let this amazing opportunity go by. We are so very close.
Please make those calls, have those meetings, and volunteer a tiny bit of your time to a campaign you feel you can support. Go to www.ilga.gov and then click on legislator lookup to find out how to contact your Rep. Please post the results of your efforts on the Illinois Families for Midwifery email list or on our Facebook group. Or you can email Jamie at
PLEASE HELP US FINISH UP THIS MANY YEARS LONG EFFORT. IT’S TIME TO LICENSE OUR CERTIFIED PROFESSIONAL MIDWIVES SO THEY CAN ATTEND OUR HOMEBIRTHS OPENLY AND THEREFORE MAKE HOME BIRTH SAFER.
