Newsletter — December 2025

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Like so many of you, I was drawn to NACPM because it reflects my deepest commitments to protecting direct-entry midwifery and expanding access to a model of care that is not only truly life-changing, but life-saving. I joined the NACPM Board in 2018 with a full heart, believing deeply that Certified Professional Midwives deserve to be well resourced, nationally recognized, and fully supported to serve our communities with excellence and integrity.

Over these past six years, it has been an incredible blessing to witness and help grow NACPM’s presence within national maternity care leadership. Our collective work has captured the attention of policy influencers, educators, nonprofit leaders, and changemakers across the country. Most powerfully, our Board has continued to reflect the communities we serve and aspire to reach, grounding our focus in lived experience, vision, and quality care.

After six years of supporting NACPM’s sustainability and expansion, the time has come for me to pass the honor of leading this progressive organization to a new and ambitious team. I am filled with excitement and trust as I announce our incoming President-Elect, Tigist Ejeta, and I look forward to working alongside her through my transition and resignation this coming spring.

As this year draws to a close, I am holding deep gratitude for what we have built together. NACPM has grown in all the ways that matter. Our membership has expanded, our staff has grown, and our programming has deepened to meet the real and evolving needs of CPMs across the country.

With the collaborative leadership of our Executive Director, Cassaundra, we have carefully and intentionally advanced our strategic plans strengthening our infrastructure, elevating our national voice, and positioning our profession for the future we know is possible. And still, this work continues.

Growth requires investment. Long-term sustainability depends on shared commitment. As midwives, birthers, and supporters, we understand what it means to continually close resource gaps so that essential services can remain accessible.

As we move toward 2026, I invite you to support NACPM in any of the following ways:

Make the Birth by Birth Pledge — donate $10 for every birth you attend
Participate in the NACPM Silent Auction — A monthly auction in celebration of our 25th year!
Give to The Bigger Table Fund — supporting our quarterly grant program to increase the number of CPMs nationwide
Make a tax-deductible donation to strengthen NACPM’s operational capacity and support our work to:
- Advance federal recognition for Certified Professional Midwives
- Expand and strengthen midwifery education pathways
- Grow and diversify the CPM workforce
- Advocate for equitable, culturally affirming care in every community
- Sustain a strong, connected professional home for midwives through our chapters

If NACPM’s work supports your local efforts, and if our commitments reflect your values and vision for what midwifery can be, I invite you, personally, to make a year end gift today. Give what you can. Give in honor of the births you have attended, the communities you love, and the future midwives who are counting on us.

With deep appreciation and solidarity,
Kiki Jordan, LM, CPM

Hinson and Gray Reintroduce Bipartisan Bill to Expand Midwifery Training

December 3, 2025 — United States Congresswoman Ashley Hinson (R-IA-02) reintroduced the bipartisan Midwives for MOMS Act alongside Congressman Adam Gray (D-CA-13) to expand the education and training pipeline for credentialed midwives and nurse-midwives, ensuring more providers can serve the communities that urgently need their care. Specifically, the bill authorizes funding for nurse and Certified Professional Midwifery programs to support students, establish or expand accredited schools or programs, and prepare preceptors.

“I am on a mission to ensure women in rural Iowa have access to the best possible maternal care while they’re expecting and taking care of a newborn. Increasing midwifery services is a proven way to help expecting moms get the care they need during one of the most pivotal times in their lives and will help us address significant gaps in maternal care. The bipartisan Midwives for MOMS Act will help bring more trained midwives to rural and underserved areas so we have more healthy moms and healthy babies.” – Congresswoman Ashley Hinson

“Many expectant mothers in the Valley don’t have access to dependable maternity care. But it’s not a unique problem: across rural America, women are forced to travel long distances just to receive the essential care they need for a safe pregnancy. I’m proud to partner with my colleague Representative Hinson on this bipartisan commonsense bill to ensure that mothers have reliable access to health care and bring resources home for mothers across the Valley.” – Congressman Adam Gray

"Across the U.S., gaps in maternity care are widening, and credentialed midwives are a proven part of the solution. Representatives Hinson and Gray’s introduction of the Midwives for MOMS Act takes an important, evidence-informed step toward strengthening the pipeline for midwifery education and expanding access to high-quality care in communities that urgently need more options. The National Association of Certified Professional Midwives is grateful for their leadership." – Cassaundra Jah, Executive Director, National Association of Certified Professional Midwives

December’s Silent Auction is Ending Today!

Auction items are brought to you by Farrah Ka'healani Rivera, MSM, CPM, LM

Many midwives cultivate creative hobbies to balance the intensity of our work, and although I am no longer attending births, creating jewelry inspired by birth life remains a creative outlet for me. By bidding on the earrings and the one labradorite necklace I’ve designed, you directly support the sustainability and mission of NACPM. (Bids start at $25.) And if your bid wins, you’ll look good while doing it.

I’ve also included “Placenta: the Forgotten Chakra” by Robin Lin as part of the auction with a starting bid of $30. This book blends respect for culture and respect for nature, while standing firmly on scientific research that confirms what midwives have long known: The most gentle, time-honored, least-invasive birth protocols are best. Because peace begins with each child, it makes perfect sense to practice birth without violence.

PLACE YOUR BID & SUPPORT MIDWIFERY NOW!

Dear Community,

NACPM is requesting public comment on two draft documents developed in response to growing questions from state leaders and midwifery organizations about Certified Professional Midwives’ access to medications and scope-specific prescriptive authority.

We are releasing two separate documents for review:

1. Issue Brief: Scope-Specific Prescriptive Authority

A short policy document outlining NACPM’s perspective on CPM access to medications and devices needed for safe, regulated midwifery care.

2. Practice Resource: CPM Pharmacology Competencies

A practical guidance tool describing recommended competencies and documentation expectations for CPMs who seek to expand their pharmacology training beyond entry-level scope.

These documents serve different purposes—one offering policy context, the other supporting implementation—and both are open for public comment. We invite you to review the drafts and share any feedback, suggestions, or questions by January 14, 2026.

Thank you for contributing to the clarity, safety, and advancement of CPM practice nationwide.

Comment on the Issue Brief

Comment on the Practice Resource

New Issue Brief

NACPM has released a new brief to articulate our position on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ (ACIP) updated guidance regarding hepatitis B vaccination for newborns born to parents who screen negative for hepatitis B during pregnancy. ACIP’s updated recommendation eliminates the automatic hepatitis B vaccination at birth in cases where prenatal screening is negative, shifting the focus to shared decision-making between families and the infant’s healthcare provider.

The National Association of Certified Professional Midwives (NACPM) affirms that hepatitis B is a serious illness with well-documented risks to both birthing people and infants. Universal newborn vaccination has been highly effective as a population-level intervention, dramatically reducing perinatal transmission and preventing nearly all cases of infant infection. However, population-wide success does not negate the ethical obligation to ensure that individual families are supported in making informed, context-specific decisions about their care. Read the full brief here.

How many births have you done in 2025? Will you take the pledge and donate $10 per birth? NACPM uses these funds to advocate for reimbursement parity, Medicaid reimbursement, licensing, statute revisions, and so much more!

Take the Birth by Birth Pledge Now

New CPM Degree Program in Illinois!

Black Midwifery Collective and Kennedy King College announced that their proposal for the first Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) degree program in Illinois has been approved by the Joint Curriculum Development Council (JCDC) of the City Colleges of Chicago. The program is on track to begin enrolling students for the Fall 2026 semester!

The Black Midwifery Collective was charged with the mission of diversifying the perinatal workforce and establishing “a midwife in every neighborhood,” and they delivered! The South Side Chicago neighborhood that will host the program is designated as a “perinatal care desert.”…something something something. State-of-the-art midwifery simulation classrooms are currently in development and the college already has dedicated staff, enthusiastic faculty, and financial support. Students will earn their doula and lactation consultant certification while completing their midwifery training.

“This collaboration is what real impact looks like—it is a powerful blueprint for directing our efforts where they are most needed, and driving true systems change,” said Star August, founder and executive director of the Black Midwifery Collective. “This historic installation of the first accredited direct-entry midwifery program within an urban public college creates a pipeline for those who want to serve as community midwives.”

Learn more about the curriculum. Interested students can also take the accompanying survey.

VIEW OUR EVENT CALENDAR HERE

If you or people in your network/community are hosting relevant events, or events that offer CEUs to midwives, please share this form with them so that we can feature their event on our calendar.

SUBMIT YOUR EVENT HERE

Thank you for helping us showcase the incredible work happening in the midwifery community!

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