Make it Make Sense: NJ Legislators Pass $100,000 Media Campaign for Midwives- but Not the Bipartisan Bill to Modernize Midwifery in NJ

New Jersey legislators have had a large focus on maternal health the last 8 years with some tremendous pieces of legislation that make a difference for women and families. However, the 40 member NJ Senate and 80 member NJ General Assembly are not yet modernizing midwifery regulations in NJ: an urgent pillar for our midwifery workforce in all 21 counties in an important proposed law that has been introduced the last several years and needs immediate attention.

NJ does not have an adequate number of midwives coupled with other systemic issues that can be immediately resolved through modernizing our midwifery regulations in NJ.

"Midwives are also the barometer of the strength of health systems,” explains Paolo Salwan Daher, of Women Deliver. That barometer in NJ is broken. 

In a state that has wanted to strengthen reproductive justice, the lack of modernizing midwifery (even with previous bills submitted in the 221 and 220th NJ Legislative body) is curious. Just last week, a $100,000 media campaign to celebrate midwives in NJ got funded; and the NJ State Senate voted unanimously to pass S1097- “requiring health insurance carriers and Medicaid to provide coverage for home childbirth.”  Without the NJ Assembly version, this well meaning bill is a symptom of how little our legislators understand about the urgency to modernize the regs.  

In the month of December 2025, midwives have been listed along with physicians in several pieces of  NJ legislation that requires screening and tools for NJ consumers on postpartum depression initiatives, shared decision-making in childbirth, and lactation. But these same law makers have lacked moving a bipartisan bill A5527/S4487 to modernize NJ midwifery regulations– a key pillar for maternal safety.  

The flurry of bills passed in Trenton this month assigns responsibility for patient education to midwives and physicians, without acknowledging the structural limitations placed on midwifery practice in New Jersey. Michelle Gabriel Caldwell, PhD, doula director of The Birth Center of New Jersey explains, “Requiring midwives to provide comprehensive education on all birthing options, while the State has not granted them commensurate authority to fully practice within those options—creates a policy inconsistency and reinforces existing inequities.”

New Jersey licenses three midwifery credentials: Certified Professional Midwives, Certified Midwives, and Certified Nurse Midwives, but without modernizing our midwifery regulations, we will not be able to expand midwifery education nor open birth centers nor expand the maternity care workforce. NJ does not have the adequate workforce of midwives recommended for a strong healthcare system the way other states do and the lack of modernization of our state regulations will impair women’s health care. 

There are implications of the lack of midwifery modernization for the NJ midwifery workforce, NJ consumers and NJ birth centers. A recent journal article profiled New Jersey, a state without midwifery modernization, that is losing our workforce as midwives no longer want to work with practice restrictions that are not evidence based. The March of Dimes 2024 NJ Report Card reveals that NJ has adopted only two of the four  policies that support the growth and sustainability of the midwifery workforce. Those two other pillars were in the bipartisan A5527/S4487. Yet another report documented New Jersey’s ability to expand midwifery access compared to other states is hindered by our antiquated and outdated regulations. Another report documents modernizing midwifery for states as an essential tool within the Medicaid payment structure. These resources have been shared by midwives, consumers, advocates and families to NJ legislators, but the maternal health bills passed in lame duck did not include the bipartisan A5527/S4487. The focus on funding a media campaign for NJ midwives without an adequate workforce, instead of midwifery modernization, the last few days of this legislative body ask us to pay attention. 

The American College of Nurse Midwives and the National Association of Certified Professional Midwives have maps and data points to reveal the more than 25 other states that have modernized midwifery regulations are serving a key role in maternity care.  What are the NJ legislators waiting for? 

To note, I am writing this when most of the most tremendous advocacy organizations are on a much needed winter holiday rest.  I hope this will be revised, re-edited and re-worded with external colleagues in January 2026. But for today, we need journalists and advocates to be aware of recent movements on NJLEG.gov