Midwives of Kentucky
Midwives of Kentucky houses the efforts of the Kentucky Midwifery Learning Collaborative, a multi-stakeholder group united by a shared vision: fostering high-quality healthcare and enhancing midwifery integration across the state. This is also the home of the Kentucky Affiliate of A.C.N.M., the state-wide advocacy group affiliated with the American College of Nurse Midwives.
We aspire to highlight and amplify the integral role Kentucky midwives play in improving health equity and access.
Our mission is to strengthen Kentucky families by advancing community-based solutions and expanding access to midwife-led care. Through these efforts, we aim to improve health outcomes and make quality healthcare accessible to every Kentuckian, in every community.
Check out the Blog
Stories, insights, and updates on how midwives are improving reproductive health, empowering communities, and shaping the future of accessible, compassionate care across the Commonwealth and beyond!
Kentucky Midwifery Advocacy
Midwifery Awareness Campaign ​
Our Goal
To conduct a multi-media, equity-focused educational campaign targeted to the general public–with a focus on Medicaid recipients, healthcare administrators, and legislators to improve Kentucky's overall awareness of the midwifery-led model of care’s impact on birth outcomes, equity in healthcare, reduction of disparities and ultimately the opportunity to improve the status of maternal health in the Commonwealth.
Efforts to address this goal have included establishing this website for consumer outreach and developing two presentations that can be downloaded and utilized by anyone seeking to communicate the value of midwifery to legislators or healthcare professionals.
Advancing Midwifery with Policy and Advocacy Work
Call to Action (January 7, 2025): Kentucky Legislatures are in session. Connect with MLC partner organization KY Birth Coalition to register for Lobby Day in Frankfort, KY on 2/12/2025 and to keep abreast of bills related to midwifery.
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Midwives of Kentucky partners with community organizations to educate policymakers on midwifery, maternity and reproductive health care issues.
We are committed to these priority legislative actions:​
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Eliminating the certificate of need requirement for birth centers.
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Payment parity for midwives which includes supporting coverage for CPMs under medicaid, and CNM reimbursement at 100% the physician fee schedule for providing the same service.
Grow the Midwifery Workforce and Education Pipeline​
Kentucky needs to train a minimum of 100 more midwives in the next 5 years to help address maternity care shortages and increase access to quality care. Expanding midwifery education opportunities for both CNM and CPM pathways is imperative. We need more dedicated preceptors for clinical placements of midwifery students. Innovative approaches to helping hospitals build successful physican-midwifery practice partnerships are essential to keep new midwives in Kentucky after graduation.