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Committee advances bill to map midwife preceptor capacity to expand rural training pipeline
Summary
SB 1271 would require the Medical Board to collect data on licensed midwives’ availability to serve as preceptors and share results with the Department of Healthcare Access and Information to address rural 'birth deserts.' An aspiring midwife from Coachella Valley described the local access crisis; the committee passed the bill to health.
Senator Reyes presented SB 1271 as a targeted measure to strengthen California's midwifery training pipeline by requiring the Medical Board to collect data on midwives' eligibility, availability and barriers to serving as preceptors. The bill would provide that data to the Department of Healthcare Access and Information to inform a legislative report.
Esperanza Mendez, a Planned Parenthood doula and aspiring licensed midwife from the Coachella Valley, testified in strong support. She described long travel times—"30 to 60 minutes while in active labor"—to reach obstetric care, cited nearly 60 hospital and labor-unit closures since 2012, and said her region has only one local licensed midwife preceptor who is at capacity. "We cannot improve birth outcomes if we don't have the providers to attend the births," she said.
Sponsors including March of Dimes and other advocacy organizations registered support; no primary opposition appeared in committee. The committee passed SB 1271 to the Assembly Committee on Health for further consideration.
