Safeguarding modern midwifery
Uniting clinical expertise and legal perspective to reveal how midwifery is interpreted—and often misinterpreted—across courts and hospitals.
Martha has led CNM practice across private, Indian Health Service, hospitalist, and critical access settings while litigating personal injury and professional malpractice cases.
Today she researches verdict trends, policy shifts, and licensure actions from the Rocky Mountains—equipping midwives, patients, and counsel with grounded legal insight.
Back to AboutWhy midwives & counsel read
Dual license perspective
Decades of private, IHS, hospitalist, and critical access CNM practice pair with JD work representing both plaintiffs and defendants in professional malpractice.
Where I've practiced
Licensed across Colorado, Montana, Nebraska, Iowa, New Mexico, California, and beyond—spanning CNM hospitalist teams, Indian Health Service care, and cardiology/critical care nursing roots in Vermont and Maine.
Today I research verdicts, legal seminars, and policy shifts from the Rocky Mountains.
What Martha hopes readers gain
Articles
Legal insight, real-world lessons, and grounded guidance for everyone involved in CNM/CM practice.
EMTALA is the Federal Statute, enacted in 1986, that eliminated the historic, common-law precept of “no duty to treat”
Explore the full story from Midwives On Trial.
Experienced support and availability for competent breech birth providers is a sticking point in many hospital review processes. Clearly, those who support breech delivery must convene a dedicated team who are willing to be available at all times. For medical-legal purposes, availability means that there are experienced OB’s, midwives, neonatal nurse-practitioners, neonatologists, and labor and delivery RN’s who are trained and experienced in vaginal breech delivery.
Advertising for clients to bring claims following vaginal breech birth (VBB) mishaps is easy to find, just check billboards, phone directories, TV, and online articles. Although distasteful, directing some attention to these advertisements is important for your practice. Breech deliveries are regaining support and acceptance in the obstetrical/midwifery community.
For good reason, experienced midwives and obstetricians emphasize a hands-off approach during breech delivery. “Sit on your hands, if necessary”.
For about 1 in 30 women with term pregnancies, a baby will present as breech. Although varying degrees of panic have been associated with the discovery of breech babies, those preferring to enter the world bottom first are absolutely normal.
For hospital maternity care in America, effective teamwork and best outcomes for mothers and babies have proven quite difficult due to historical precedents attached to a persisting and antiquated hierarchy of care.
According to the New York Times, the Trump administration is trying to figure out how to get women to have more babies. They are exploring options like reserving 30 percent of Fullbright scholarchips to applicants who are parents and/or married, giving mothers that $5,000 “baby bonus” that Trump had promised during the campaign season.
Legal Foundations for practice
CNMs and CMs must demonstrate compliance with the Core Competencies for Basic Midwifery Practice of the American College of Nurse-Midwifery (ACNM) upon completion of their midwifery education programs and must practice according to the ACNM Standards for the Practice of Nurse-Midwifery.
Chain of command (COC) is a familiar concept to many, particularly individuals with backgrounds in the military, law enforcement, firefighting, and those who have been employed in healthcare settings.
Beginning April 1st, various communities are being stripped of $35 million dollars from the Trump Administration in the form of attacks on Title X, a well-known program that serves as an access point for basic preventative health care. These cuts will impact at least 20 States.
What happened to midwifery in America? Part 2
The 19th century began an era of modern childbearing that transformed birthing from a family-centered occurrence to an isolating, anxious experience for laboring mothers.
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