I am a concerned Virginia parent and voter. My wife and I had a traumatic birth experience at a hospital prior to covid. We felt more like we were being sent through a General Motors assembly line than receiving care as human beings. Since then, covid has made hospital experiences worse with increased regulations and rules. With our second child we received care from a certified professional midwife both pre and post birth. This last birth experience far surpasses the hospital experience. At our child's birth the midwife had to use an AMBU bag. Her next option was oxygen, which this ridiculous law prevents her from using. Every human being has a right to oxygen which is essential for life. My wife also would need the RhoGam shot if it weren't for my blood type, which of course, this law prevents the midwife from administering. Politics and greed for money and control now governs our healthcare providers and this ridiculous law needs to be abolished immediately for the safety of the citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Not allowing these professionally trained midwives exercise the skills they are trained in is like not allowing an EMT/Firefighter to administer CPR.

Furthermore I also agree with the following statement.

"A flaw in our regulations prevents Virginia midwives from serving the public health and safety of Virginians to the best of their training, skills, and abilities. Training at a national level for Certified Professional Midwives includes the carrying and administering of certain medications, which are often required or requested at the time of birth. Furthermore, state laws require that a newborn be administered certain drugs within 24 hours of birth. Every Licensed Midwife is certified at the national level to carry and administer these medications, but the current midwifery laws prevent them from carrying or administering them.

Situations that are low risk and manageable within the home or community are, as a result, made into ordeals that at best inconvenience and at worst endanger the wellbeing of mothers and babies. Unnecessary exposure of infants to the public, and further overburdening of our healthcare systems, means that this inconsistency negatively affects the entire community. However, if the barrier to the resources for which they are trained is removed, midwives could relieve the maternity care desert status affecting nearly half of Virginians, who live outside a reasonable driving distance from a well stocked medical facility.

Prioritizing public safety means allowing trained health professionals to use all of their resources and skills. The demand for midwifery care will increase as uncertainty rises. Strong, self reliant communities are built on skilled individuals like our midwives. To reiterate, our LMs are already trained and certified to administer these medications; only the law prevents their acting on it.”