Alabama Licenses Midwives for the First Time in Decades

 ========= Old Image Removed =========Array
(
    [_wp_attached_file] => Array
        (
            [0] => 2019/01/LaylaBrown.jpg
        )

    [_wp_attachment_metadata] => Array
        (
            [0] => a:5:{s:5:"width";i:720;s:6:"height";i:405;s:4:"file";s:22:"2019/01/LaylaBrown.jpg";s:5:"sizes";a:10:{s:6:"medium";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:22:"LaylaBrown-336x189.jpg";s:5:"width";i:336;s:6:"height";i:189;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:9:"thumbnail";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:22:"LaylaBrown-140x140.jpg";s:5:"width";i:140;s:6:"height";i:140;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:9:"wbhm-icon";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:20:"LaylaBrown-80x80.jpg";s:5:"width";i:80;s:6:"height";i:80;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:13:"wbhm-featured";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:22:"LaylaBrown-600x338.jpg";s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:338;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:20:"wbhm-featured-square";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:22:"LaylaBrown-600x405.jpg";s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:405;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:18:"wbhm-featured-home";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:22:"LaylaBrown-553x311.jpg";s:5:"width";i:553;s:6:"height";i:311;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:22:"wbhm-featured-carousel";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:22:"LaylaBrown-470x265.jpg";s:5:"width";i:470;s:6:"height";i:265;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:28:"ab-block-post-grid-landscape";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:22:"LaylaBrown-600x400.jpg";s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:400;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:25:"ab-block-post-grid-square";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:22:"LaylaBrown-600x405.jpg";s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:405;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:14:"post-thumbnail";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:22:"LaylaBrown-125x125.jpg";s:5:"width";i:125;s:6:"height";i:125;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}}s:10:"image_meta";a:12:{s:8:"aperture";s:1:"0";s:6:"credit";s:0:"";s:6:"camera";s:0:"";s:7:"caption";s:0:"";s:17:"created_timestamp";s:1:"0";s:9:"copyright";s:0:"";s:12:"focal_length";s:1:"0";s:3:"iso";s:1:"0";s:13:"shutter_speed";s:1:"0";s:5:"title";s:0:"";s:11:"orientation";s:1:"0";s:8:"keywords";a:0:{}}}
        )

    [_imagify_data] => Array
        (
            [0] => a:2:{s:5:"sizes";a:1:{s:4:"full";a:2:{s:7:"success";b:0;s:5:"error";s:37:"The backup directory is not writable.";}}s:5:"stats";a:3:{s:13:"original_size";i:0;s:14:"optimized_size";i:0;s:7:"percent";i:0;}}
        )

    [_imagify_status] => Array
        (
            [0] => error
        )

    [_imagify_optimization_level] => Array
        (
            [0] => 0
        )

    [_media_credit] => Array
        (
            [0] => Christen Thach Photography
        )

    [_navis_media_credit_org] => Array
        (
            [0] => 
        )

    [_navis_media_can_distribute] => Array
        (
            [0] => 
        )

)
1654634385 
1548234815

For the first time in more than 40 years, Alabama has licensed professional midwives. Last week, the newly formed Alabama State Board of Midwifery issued credentials to five women, who can now legally attend home births in the state. But some say there is more work to be done.

Layla Brown, a midwife from Fultondale, is one of five women who recently received a license to practice in Alabama. Before that, Brown says she still attended home births, but it was risky. Without a license, she could have faced criminal charges for delivering babies at home.

“I’m happy because I don’t have to be fearful of going in to a hospital when I need care,” Brown says. “I can go in and say, ‘Hey I’m legitimate. I’m a licensed midwife,’ and hopefully be treated with respect.”

The new licensing process comes after years of lobbying and regulation passed in 2017 that laid the groundwork for midwives to legally attend home births. To gain the credential, a midwife must be a Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) and buy liability insurance. The law also limits the scope of what midwives can do and the types of pregnancies they can attend. Brown says it is not perfect. 

“Yes, celebrate that we have licensed midwives in Alabama,” Brown says, “but know that this law, the way it’s written, is not in the best interest of mothers and babies, and we’re going to have to go back to the table.”

Licenses are administered by the Alabama State Board of Midwifery. The group plans to meet May 3rd to review the next round of licensing applications.

 

Coco Gauff wins the French Open to claim her 2nd Grand Slam title

The 21-year-old American star battled back over three sets to defeat the world's top-ranked player, Aryna Sabalenka. Gauff is the first American to win at Roland-Garros since Serena Williams in 2015.

Israel says it has retrieved the body of a Thai hostage in Gaza

Israel said it had retrieved the body of Nattapong Pinta, who was abducted during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that sparked the war. He had come to Israel to work in agriculture.

A former police chief who escaped from an Arkansas prison is captured

A former police chief and convicted killer known as the "Devil in the Ozarks" was captured by law enforcement 1.5 miles from the prison he escaped from following a nearly two-week-long manhunt.

Should federal rental aid come with a time limit? Here’s how it works in one place

The Trump administration wants to allow a cutoff date for housing subsidies. The plan is deeply controversial, but Delaware offers a potential model for success.

4 takeaways from Erin Patterson’s testimony at her toxic mushroom triple murder trial

Patterson is accused of putting death cap mushrooms in a meal she served her estranged husband's relatives in July 2023, killing three. She took the stand in Week 6 of the trial gripping Australia.

Torture and treason trials: what’s happening in Tanzania?

Tanzania's government is facing growing accusations of repression after prominent human rights defenders say they were beaten and sexually assaulted while in custody.

More Front Page Coverage