guidelines

The Idaho Midwifery Council has adopted the NACPM Standards for Practice as guidelines for practice of responsible midwifery in Idaho. The Essential Documents of the National Association of Midwives include the following:

Philosophy and Principles of Practice
Scope of Practice for the National Association of Certified Professional Midwives
The Standards of Practice for NACPM Members
- The NACPM member works in partnership with each woman she serves.
- Midwifery actions are prioritized to optimize well-being and minimize risk, with attention to the individual needs of each woman and baby.
- The midwife supports each woman's right to plan her care according to her needs and desires.
- The midwife concludes the caregiving partnership with each woman responsibly.
- The NACPM member collects and records the woman’s and baby's health data, problems, decisions and plans comprehensively throughout the caregiving partnership.
- The midwife continuously evaluates and improves her knowledge, skills and practice in her endeavor to provide the best possible care.

The entire document may be viewed at http://nacpm.org/Resources/nacpm-standards.pdf or may be accessed by from the "Standards for Practice & Archives" page by selecting "NACPM Standards for Practice.

The Midwives Alliance of North America has also published practice guidelines, as reflected in the MANA Core Competencies for Basic Midwifery Practice. This document details the guiding principles of practice; the general knowledge and skills a midwife must possess; care to be given to the woman during pregnancy, labor, birth, and postpartum; care to be given to the newborn infant; professional legal, and other aspects of midwifery; and well woman care and family planning.

The entire document may be found at http://mana.org/manacore.html. Other "essential documents" on standards and qualifications and the like may be viewed at http://mana.org/essential.html.