More and more women are giving birth at home and choosing a midwife as their care provider. Currently in Mississippi, lack of regulation allows the practice of midwifery without ANY training or skills assessment.  Because surrounding states have licensed midwives, Mississippi is now and is becoming more attractive as a "safe haven" for unlicensed and possibly unqualified midwives, who cannot legally attend births in their home states.

Furthermore, the medical lobby is working in Mississippi to make direct entry midwives illegal. The physicians' and nurses' professional associations are opposed to out of hospital birth and are working to criminalize it.

Families are choosing to give birth at home and they have a right to do so. The state of Mississippi has a responsibility to provide a system for verifying competency and filing a grievance. Mississippi lawmakers must address this public safety issue by requiring midwives to be trained and experienced in out of hospital birth.

Currently, 27 states require that midwives attending out of hospital birth obtain the Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) credential and Mississippi needs to do the same. CPMs undergo rigorous educational and training process including a clinical internship and a national board exam. It is the only certification that requires training in out of hospital birth.

Mississippi Friends of Midwives is a grass roots consumer organization dedicated to supporting and promoting midwifery as a safe and legal childbirth option for women and families throughout the state of Mississippi.