N.Y. Educ. Law § 6951

§ 6951. Definition of practice of midwifery. 1. The practice of the\nprofession of midwifery is defined as the management of normal\npregnancies, child birth and postpartum care as well as primary\npreventive reproductive health care of essentially healthy women, and\nshall include newborn evaluation, resuscitation and referral for\ninfants. A midwife shall have collaborative relationships with (i) a\nlicensed physician who is board certified as an\nobstetrician-gynecologist by a national certifying body or (ii) a\nlicensed physician who practices obstetrics and has obstetric privileges\nat a general hospital licensed under article twenty-eight of the public\nhealth law or (iii) a hospital, licensed under article twenty-eight of\nthe public health law, that provides obstetrics through a licensed\nphysician having obstetrical privileges at such institution, that\nprovide for consultation, collaborative management and referral to\naddress the health status and risks of his or her patients and that\ninclude plans for emergency medical gynecological and/or obstetrical\ncoverage. A midwife shall maintain documentation of such collaborative\nrelationships and shall make information about such collaborative\nrelationships available to his or her patients. Failure to comply with\nthe requirements found in this subdivision shall be subject to\nprofessional misconduct provisions as set forth in article one hundred\nthirty of this title.\n 2. A licensed midwife shall have the authority, as necessary, and\nlimited to the practice of midwifery, to prescribe and administer drugs,\nimmunizing agents, diagnostic tests and devices, and to order laboratory\ntests, as established by the board in accordance with the commissioner's\nregulations. A midwife shall obtain a certificate from the department\nupon successfully completing a program including a pharmacology\ncomponent, or its equivalent, as established by the commissioner's\nregulations prior to prescribing under this section.\n 3. Any reference to midwifery, midwife, certified nurse-midwifery or\ncertified nurse-midwife, nurse-midwifery or nurse-midwife under the\nprovisions of this article, this chapter or any other law, shall refer\nto and include the profession of midwifery and a licensed midwife,\nunless the context clearly requires otherwise.\n