North Carolina’s Certified Nurse Midwife Workforce is Growing, but the Workforce Remains Maldistributed

Authors: Brooke Lombardi, Connor Sullivan, Catherine Moore, and Erin Fraher

In 2023, section 4.3 of Senate Bill 20 / North Carolina (NC) Session Law 2023-14 (Care for Women, Children, and Families Act, 2023) removed the requirement for Certified Nurse Midwives (CNMs) to practice under the supervision of a physician if they meet specific criteria. This recent change to CNM regulation allows CNMs to practice independently and may expand access to maternal care services in NC. As such, it will be important to monitor how many CNMs practice independently and how this change in regulation impacts the geographic distribution of CNMs.

Leveraging data from the North Carolina Health Professions Data System, a new blog post provides data on the NC CNM workforce prior to implementation of SB 20 and approval of the pathway for CNM independent practice in NC.