How We Advance Midwifery

History

CAM has been a champion of midwifery in California for nearly five decades. Founded in 1978 as the California Midwives Association, we became a leading voice for rational maternity care policy in the aftermath of the 1949 repeal of California's 1917 midwifery statute, which criminalized the practice.

During an era in which midwives were routinely subject to sting operations, arrests, and criminal prosecution for serving the families who called them, CAM became a guide star for those who recognized culturally-rooted midwifery care as an essential tool for ensuring the best possible maternal and infant health outcomes.

During the decades-long period in which state policy makers and law enforcement focused on suppressing midwifery and denying Californians birth choices, CAM developed its own professional standards though a rigorous, state-of-the-art midwifery education credential. In partnership with midwifery educators nationwide, CAM's credentialing process would inform and shape the development of the certified professional midwife credential, which was adopted as the national standard for community midwives in 1994.

CAM has consistently advocated for needed policy reforms, provided continuing education for midwives, offered scholarships to aspiring midwives, and supported the launch of our successor professional association, the California Association of Licensed Midwives (CALM). CAM is uniquely positioned as one of the primary and most longstanding organizations in California specifically focused on elevating and strengthening community midwifery care provided outside hospital settings in homes and freestanding birth centers.

Despite operating with a small budget and an all-volunteer staff, CAM has leveraged our expertise, dedication, and strategic partnerships to achieve significant impact in advancing midwifery in California.

For more on the history of midwifery in California see the research brief CALM commissioned with support from CAM.

Accomplishments

Pioneering Midwifery Education Innovation. We've formed partnerships with the California Healthcare Foundation, state agencies, and educational institutions to fund and implement a groundbreaking California Community College education program for Licensed Midwives, the first of its kind in the state. Incorporating both hybrid learning and statewide clinical training sites, CAM's community college program is intentionally designed to make midwifery education more accessible and affordable.

Providing Leadership in Policy and Advocacy. We've served as the primary champion of legislative advocacy for community midwifery and the principal provider of continuing education for Licensed Midwives for over forty years, maintaining this critical work despite limited resources and an all-volunteer structure.

Advancing Equity in the Midwifery Profession. We've established scholarship programs for Black student midwives and provided financial support for California Association of Licensed Midwives (CALM) diversity initiatives, including board development and membership honoraria to midwives of color.

Expanding Healthcare Access Through Medi-Cal Advocacy. We've played a leadership role advocating for community midwifery care under Medi-Cal, working in partnership with California Association of Licensed Midwives, California Nurse Midwives Association, and Midwifery Access California to ensure more families—particularly those with lower incomes—can access midwifery care.

Our work has directly strengthened the midwifery and maternal health care field through multiple pathways:

• Professional Infrastructure: We established CALM as the successor professional association for Licensed Midwives, creating a sustainable structure for professional advancement.
• Regulatory Relationships: We’ve represented Licensed Midwives in liaison with multiple state agencies, including the Medical Board of California, the California Department of Public Health, California Department of Health Care Services, and Department of Health Care Access and Information.

• Quality Improvement: We were an early advocate of the need to bring a community birth transfer program to California, and we've since provided grant support for the development of a broad range of quality improvement initiatives under CALM, raising the standard of care across the profession.

• Preserving Birth Choices: Through our education, advocacy, and policy work, we've helped our partners defeat hostile midwifery legislation and have worked with state agencies to recognize community midwifery during increasing maternal health crises and growing maternity care deserts.

• Addressing Disparities: Our work has specifically centered on addressing racial disparities in both the midwifery workforce and maternal health outcomes.

These accomplishments demonstrate CAM's ability to create meaningful impact with limited resources, positioning us well to expand our influence with increased funding support.

CAM actively participates in the broader maternal health ecosystem through strategic partnerships that amplify our impact:

• California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative: We collaborate with CMQCC on the Community Birth Partnership Initiative, funded by Skyline Foundation. This partnership helps bridge the gap between community birth settings and hospitals to improve maternal outcomes.
• California Nurse-Midwives Association: We partner with CNMA on legislation and policy issues to present a unified voice for midwifery across different practice settings and credentials.
• Midwifery Access California: MACa is a multi-stakeholder collaboration between midwifery practices, Medi-Cal health plans, community advocacy organizations, and state and local agencies. Their goal is to fully integrate midwife-led care and amplify and expand community midwifery as a key strategy for improving reproductive health care access and outcomes in California.
• California Families for Access to Midwives: We have maintained an ongoing partnership with CFAM since their founding in 2013, collaborating to ensure that birthing peoples' voices and experience inform our advocacy work.

• California Healthcare Foundation: Our partnership with CHCF was key in our successful research, feasibility study, proposal, and subsequent partnership with Cerro Coso Community College. Together we secured a $500,000 grant from HCAI to develop, launch, and support the first community college AS degree program for Licensed Midwives in California, which will enroll its first class in Fall 2026.
• California Association of Licensed Midwives: CAM financially supports CALM initiatives such as professional memberships honoraria to midwives of color, continuing education focused on quality improvement, and advocacy for the AB 55, the Freedom to Birth Act 2025, which will remove unnecessary and obstructive barriers to licensing birth centers. In turn, CALM supports CAM through lending their expertise in maternal health policy.

These partnerships demonstrate our collaborative approach and ability to work effectively with other organizations to advance shared goals for maternal health improvement and midwifery access in California.