Section 1345.40  Midwife Assistant

a)         A midwife assistant performs basic administrative, clerical, and supportive services under the supervision of a certified professional midwife. (Section 10 of the Act)

b)         "Midwife supportive services" means simple routine medical tasks and procedures that may be safely performed by a midwife assistant pre-labor and during labor, delivery, and postpartum, including, but not limited to, collecting patient information, drawing blood, providing medications, administering medication by injection, assisting in newborn delivery, assisting in immediate newborn care, assisting in patient daily living care, and labor support in accordance with Section 70 of the Act.  All services must be delegated by the supervising licensed certified professional midwife and must be within the training and education received by the midwife assistant.  Supervision requires the on-premises presence of the licensed certified professional midwife for administering medications by injection, assisting in newborn delivery, and assisting in immediate newborn care, except in instances of emergency deliveries.  If the supervising licensed certified professional midwife is not on premise, the licensed certified professional midwife must be accessible to the midwife assistant and provide supervision by telephone, cellular phone, or text for all other services or tasks performed by the midwife assistant.  An "emergency delivery" is an unplanned delivery performed by a midwife assistant prior to the arrival of the licensed certified professional midwife at the intended birth location.

c)         The licensed certified professional midwife is responsible for ensuring that the midwife assistant has been properly trained to provide the services delegated to the midwife assistant by the licensed certified professional midwife.  Training received shall be documented and kept on file as required by Section 1345.60.