About NCFOM
North Carolina Friends of Midwives is a grassroots organization of midwifery advocates dedicated to promoting, supporting, and protecting midwifery in North Carolina. We advocate the preservation of midwife-attended births, in accordance with the Midwives Model of Care™ including those at home and in freestanding birth centers.
Many North Carolina counties offer no obstetrical care to its residents. Women in remote areas are therefore left with neither an obstetrician to assist her in birth nor a nearby hospital in which to birth her baby. Midwives often provide care where there is no other care available. In North Carolina midwives offer care in urban as well as rural areas and to all socioeconomic groups. Midwives are highly trained and experienced in assisting pregnant and birthing women. Many studies have shown midwifery and homebirth to be at least as safe as doctor assisted birthing in hospitals for the vast majority of mothers and babies.
It is essential that midwives be free to practice openly and without harassment in the state of North Carolina. It is also essential that the community recognizes the benefits offered by midwifery care and the services midwives offer to North Carolina families.
We represent families seeking access to independent midwives and work together with the North Carolina Midwives Alliance to promote legislative issues important to midwives and the families they serve.
Our members are comprised of families, midwives, students and out-of-hospital birth advocates.
In 1997 a group of midwifery advocates recognized a need for public endorsement of the midwife and out-of-hospital birth and so formed North Carolina Friends of Midwives. Since then we have organized efforts to pass a Certified Professional Midwife bill, held numerous talks, and educated the public with our printed materials.
Our Goals:
- Educate the public on the availability of alternative birth options
- Promote the safety of midwifery care
- Legalize Certified Professional Midwives
- Publish a newsletter
- Establish a statewide database of midwifery and home birth supporters
- Establish statewide celebration of International Day of the Midwife in May
Endorsements
- North Carolina Midwives Alliance
- North Carolina Physicians for Midwives
- North Carolina Chiropractic Association
- International Pediatric Chiropractic Association
- Asheville Area Birth Network
- Birth Network of Western North Carolina
- Piedmont Area Doulas Association
- Charlotte Doulas
- Doulas of the Charlotte Area
- Childbirth Connection
NCFOM Bylaws
Our bylaws are available in pdf format here.
NCFOM Legislative Mission Statement
The North Carolina Friends of Midwives recognize a woman’s right to choose the setting and care provider for birth, the validity and safety of a planned home birth attended by a trained midwife, the need to assure that the standards of care are maintained and that care providers are held accountable for their actions, and the need for licensed midwives to be seamlessly integrated into the healthcare system as the primary care provider for home births.
The North Carolina Friends of Midwives shall seek the introduction and passage of legislation to license Certified Professional Midwives to address these issues, shall continue to be present to prevent legislation to the contrary, and shall insist on the correction of the statutory and regulatory deficiencies.