Tenn. Code Ann. § 63-29-101

The general assembly recognizes the need for a person to have the freedom to choose the manner, cost, and setting for giving birth. The general assembly finds that access to prenatal care and delivery services is limited by the inadequate number of providers of such services and that the practice of midwifery may help to reduce this shortage. The general assembly also recognizes the need for the safe and effective delivery of newborn babies and the health, safety, and welfare of their mothers in the delivery process. The general assembly, in the interest of public health, promotes the regulation of the practice of midwifery in this state for the purpose of protecting the health and welfare of women and infants. The general assembly recognizes that midwifery is a profession in its own right and that it is not the practice of medicine.