HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 2000-4753, by Representatives Fortunato, Ruderman, DeBolt, Stensen, Carrell, Santos, McMorris, Grant, Campbell, O'Brien, Mulliken, Ogden, B. Chandler, Edmonds, Lambert, Romero, Hankins, Regala, Esser, Linville, Thomas, Keiser, Cox, Reardon, Schindler, Kenney, Wensman, Rockefeller, Parlette, Lantz, Bush, Lovick, Talcott, Haigh, Mielke, Conway, Skinner, Anderson, D. Sommers, Doumit, Dunn, Dickerson, Woods, Fisher, Clements, Hatfield, Cairnes, Gombosky, Koster, Tokuda, Barlean, Eickmeyer, Edwards, Kastama, Schual‑Berke, Quall, Morris, Wood, Kagi, Miloscia, Dunshee, Veloria, Wolfe, Poulsen, Kessler, Murray, McIntire, Cooper, McDonald and D. Schmidt

       WHEREAS, The birth of a child marks one of the greatest events of life in any culture; and

       WHEREAS, The time-honored profession of midwifery provides safe, effective, and personalized care for mothers and babies resulting in excellent birth outcomes as well as deeply meaningful and satisfying family birth experiences; and

       WHEREAS, All of our nation's presidents, except the last two, and many of our nation's most revered scientists and clergy of the last century were delivered at home, mainly by midwives; and

       WHEREAS, Midwives are acknowledged as being highly influential in establishing and advancing the modern-day practice of nursing and the surgical discipline of obstetrics by giving us a comprehensive and specialized understanding of normal labor and birth; and

       WHEREAS, According to a recent study at John Hopkins University, midwives are the most cost-effective and appropriate primary caregivers for childbearing women, and $13 billion to $20 billion a year could be saved in health care costs by developing midwifery care; and

       WHEREAS, Research shows conclusively that for most women a planned midwife-attended birth at home or in a birth center is at least as safe as birth in a hospital; and

       WHEREAS, The practice of midwifery has many benefits including lower costs, lower rates of premature births, lower incidence of medical interventions during the birthing process including routine episiotomies and cesarean sections, reduced incidence of birth injury, higher rates of breast-feeding, and greater satisfaction with the birthing experience; and

       WHEREAS, Midwives are licensed in Washington State and must successfully complete rigorous theoretical instruction as well as extensive supervised clinical experience in all aspects of the birthing process; and

       WHEREAS, The cooperative work of the Midwives Association of Washington State and national midwifery organizations to increase women's access to midwifery and community awareness of childbirth, pregnancy, and early parenting choices will result in more healthy outcomes for babies being born in our state;

       NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives recognize and honor the many significant contributions midwives have made to the health and well-being of our citizens; and

       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be immediately transmitted by the Co-Chief Clerks of the House of Representatives to the Department of Health and the Midwives Association of Washington.

           I hereby certify this to be a true and correct copy of

          Resolution 4753 adopted by the House of Representatives

                             February 21, 2000.

________________________________               _____________________________

Timothy A. Martin, Co-Chief Clerk            Cynthia Zehnder, Co-Chief Clerk