CNMA Newsletter – November 2026
Hello Community,
Happy fall! Democrats took full control of Congress, flipping seven Senate seats on a tough map. That's a big win for women's rights. This is what happens when women and allies show up. Thank you to everyone who voted and organized.
My hope is that we continue to strengthen our policy work in this new season. May we continue to be change agents and hold the highest standards for our health care and continue to promote reproductive justice for all. Thank you to all of the members who made their voices heard with their for the new CNMA Board of Directors for 2027. We are always looking for new volunteers at CNMA. If you are interested in joining a committee or work group please reach out. I'm happy to put you in touch with the right person here at CNMA to help get you involved in this important and pivotal work.
In Solidarity,
Amita Graham, MPH, MSN, CNM, WHNP, PHN, RN, IBCLC
President, California Nurse-Midwives Association
Legislative Action & AdvocacyYour professional voice in Sacramento |
Legislative Action and Advocacy Committee Updates |
AB 1973: Co-sponsored by CNMA and a powerful coalition of reproductive health and justice organizations, expands pathways for appropriately trained and clinically competent advanced practice clinicians (including certified nurse-midwives) to provide procedural abortion care beyond the first trimester.. AB 1696: Sponsored by CNMA, brings California’s emergency care laws into better alignment with the existing scope of practice of nurse-midwives, removing unnecessary physician supervision requirements in specific emergency obstetric care settings. These victories are about more than changing language in the law. They are about removing unnecessary barriers, supporting clinicians in practicing within their training and scope, strengthening California’s reproductive health care workforce, and expanding access to care. We are deeply grateful to Assembly member Catherine Stefani for her leadership on AB 1696 and Assembly member Cecilia Aguiar-Curry for her leadership on AB 1973. We also celebrate our fellow AB 1973 co-sponsors: Black Women for Wellness Action Project, Essential Access Health, Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California, Reproductive Freedom for All California, and TEACH. Thank you to the advocates, partners, legislators, CNMA members, and community members who helped move these bills across the finish line! |
Nexplanon website: your phone is public, make sure you don't have your cell listed | FYI for those of you who recently did your REMS recertification for Nexplanon, your information is now listed on the Find a provider section of the nexplanon website. Some of may have registered with cell phone numbers, not knowing these would be public. Please go to the website and check to make sure you entered a hospital or clinic phone number. The simplest way is to do this is to go straight to your profile by logging in at https://www.nexplanonrems.com/. Click log in in the upper right corner. Navigate to "My Profile" to see and/or change your telephone number. Thanks to Ana Delgdo for uplifting this! Please share in your communities. |
2027 New CNMA Board Members |
Reproductive Justice/AntiRacism Committee Chair
Jolynn “Nicole” Quintana, MSN, CNM, RNC-OB, is a newly certified nurse-midwife with over 13 years of Labor & Delivery experience at UC San Diego Health. She has held leadership roles in high-acuity obstetric care, interdisciplinary collaboration, and mentoring and supporting nursing teams.
Nicole earned her MSN through the CNM/FNP program at California State University, Fullerton. She is passionate about physiologic birth, health equity, and expanding access to compassionate, patient-centered midwifery care. Her professional interests include serving underserved communities and developing innovative prenatal care models that strengthen continuity, education, and support throughout pregnancy and birth.
“Midwifery allows me to care for the whole person–to listen, build trust, honor their choices, and walk beside them through some of life’s most transformative moments”
Representatives from Under-Represented Groups
Noelle Robnett, CNM, MSN, is a certified nurse-midwife with a decade of experience caring for women and families across labor and delivery, postpartum, birth center, and home birth settings. She earned her MSN from Frontier Nursing University in 2025 and currently practices as a CNM in birth centers and hospital settings. Having participated in more than 1,000 births, Noelle is passionate about physiologic birth, evidence-based care, patient advocacy, and expanding access to high-quality, individualized midwifery care. She brings a BIPOC perspective to the CNMA Board of Directors and is honored to represent this underrepresented community. Her knowledge and understanding of community birth will help her amplify this important sector of the midwifery profession as she represents the underrepresented community birth practice. She is committed to supporting the midwifery profession's growth and strengthening collaboration among midwives, patients, and the broader healthcare community.
Kelsey Knight, CNM (she/her/hers) is a Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM) and International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC). She currently works as a hospitalist at Riverside Community Hospital and as an out-of-hospital midwife at Moxie Birth. Since 2012, Kelsey has supported hundreds of growing families as a doula, labor and delivery nurse, childbirth educator, lactation consultant, and now midwife. She’s worked in hospitals, homes, and birth centers. Her knowledge of community birth will help her amplify this important sector of the midwifery profession, as she represents the underrepresented community-based practice of midwifery care. As an innovative midwife, she taught fertility awareness and contraception across 60 U.S. towns on a three-month cross-country road trip! Kelsey is excited to embark on this journey, representing community birth practices as a member of the CNMA board of directors.
Education, Trainings, Webinars, and More
FREE ACCESS through Organizational Membership 9/21/2026 through 12/31/2026 Can you give a self-pay discount? A prompt pay discount to an insured client? A sliding scale? Billing for Midwives' Safe(r) Discounts has been updated for 2026, including the addition of...a magic calculator! The course itself walks through the court cases, the real published policies of hospitals and health systems, and a framework for building your own. The magic calculator supports you in crafting discounts for your own practice: Enter the discounts you are considering, upload your fee schedule, and see how it plays out. The calculator flags percentages that fall outside the norms and standards, shows the difference between discounts that combine and discounts that apply sequentially, and creates the written policy statements ready to hand your clients. | |
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VIEW MORE INFO:
Pacific's Master of Science (MS) Midwifery is officially accepting applications!
Midwifery in the News
Click the link below to read this relevant article.
Aug 10, 2026
Midwives are the closest thing the maternal health crisis has to a solution. So why do we keep getting in their way?
Journal
Aug 4, 2026
Barriers to Medicaid Participation for Community Midwives in California
Podcast
July 31, 2026
Chanda Williams shares about her experiences with midwives and her pregnancy journey.
Two Openings at the Black Midwifery Fellowship
We are sharing 2 midwifery fellowship openings for the Black Midwifery Fellowship (BMF) in California. The BMF is a comprehensive full scope post graduate midwifery fellowship open to all with a focus on abortion training. More information about the fellowship, job description, requirements & how to apply can be found on our website here. Questions? submit here!
A few highlights below:
The BMF in California is a one-year non-renewable fellowship recruiting two certified nurse-midwives (CNM) positions as clinical instructors at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) School of Medicine. Salary is expected to be $129,850 for 70% FTE effort (average of 28 hours a week). Fellows are paid and eligible for benefits in accordance with university policy. The incoming candidates will provide full scope nurse-midwifery clinical care including antepartum, intrapartum, postpartum, family planning services, with a focus in abortion. The BMF is led by exceptional advanced practice providers and features practice-based learning, didactic education, mentorship and scholarly projects. The program is designed for new graduates (within 24 months of program completion) to expand the knowledge and skills acquired during graduate or doctoral training. Throughout the course of the fellowship year, a fellow can expect ongoing mentorship and engagement in self-assessment and performance feedback framed in practice-based knowledge, skills and attitudes. The program is a one-year commitment expected to run from Summer/Fall 2026-2027. Each fellow is expected to complete midwifery-based training with didactic and focused clinical rotations.
The name of our fellowship is a legacy tribute to Black Midwives in the United States. Prior to the Civil War abortion and contraceptive care were legal, and Black Midwives provided community-based care inclusive of abortion care and reproductive health care to all communities. Post legalized enslavement there was a public and national smearing campaign of Black Midwives in the obstetric field as physicians sought capital gain, recognition, and a professional monopoly. These actions excluded the advancement and continued work of Black Midwives in this country as a trusted provider, especially in Black communities. Additionally, midwifery governing organizations barred Black people from membership, further severing Black Midwives from their own communities. With the loss of Black Midwifery, there was also loss of cultural safety, respect, wisdom, truth-telling, and the nurturance that Black midwives provide to communities. Today, less than 9% of US midwives are Black. There is no way to correct the harms of these actions, though there is repair work to be done now. The Black Midwifery Fellowship in California is one form of this.
Birth Center Opportunities for New Grads
Practicing in a supportive birth center alongside experienced midwives can be transformative, building skills and confidence. All of the birth centers listed below (some located in rural areas) offer Fellowships or hiring opportunities for new graduates wishing to practice full-scope midwifery in a birth center setting. Please reach out for more information. Full disclosure: The listing below is a preliminary draft and does not contain the full information on the possibilities of each site. When you make contact, ask each site lots of questions, such as, 'Is there a stipend?' Do you offer loan repayment? Is the ability to speak Spanish an absolute requirement, or do you also have translators? How flexible is the timing and length of the Fellowship?
For any questions regarding this list, please contact Melanie Cabezas Phipps at mphippsm@gmail.com.
Birth centers offering Fellowships or hiring new graduates:
Acorn Community Birth and Wellness Center in Fallbrook, CA. We are a CPM/CNM practice in the process of obtaining CABC accreditation and are always open to new midwives who would like to work at a higher-volume birth center serving a diverse ethnic and socio-economic population. We are Medicaid providers and, as such, see a greater diversity of immigrant, BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and lower socio-economic communities. Located between San Diego and Riverside Counties. Contact Cristi Lewis LM, CPM, Executive Director, at midwives@acornbirthcenter.com.
Astoria Birth Center & Family Medicine, a rural practice on the Oregon coast. Contact: Rebeckah Orton
The Birth Center in Newark, Delaware. Contact Julia Paulus
El Rio Health in Tucson, Arizona. Federally Qualified Health Center (FHQC) with a Fellowship program. We attend births in a hospital that has a CABC-accredited Alongside Midwifery Unit adjacent to an L&D unit, a good experience for physiologic birth, water births, newborn care, and early discharge. Contact: Greta Gill at GretaG@elrio.org
Full Circle Birth Center in Kasson, Minnesota. Contact: AnneMarie Schwanke
Holy Family Services Birth Center, located in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. Fellowships are available to new graduates or seasoned nurse-midwives who wish to gain experience in out-of-hospital births and solidify their midwifery training. We are an HRSA-designated site, which allows eligible staff to qualify for the Nurse Corps Loan Repayment Program. Fellows serve for a minimum of 6 months - 2 years and are provided with stipends and housing. Contact: Brandi Kennedy at 956-969-2538.
The Midwife Center, Pittsburgh, PA. Contact: Emily McGahey, CNM
Nativiti Family Birth Center in The Woodlands, Texas (Houston suburb). We are open to hiring new grads and would love to offer fellowship opportunities (do not have that program at this time but would be open). Contact admin@nativiti.com Jami Hain, CNM
New Birth Wellness Center/New Birth Midwifery in Chaska, Minnesota. Contact: Jennifer Hall
Tender Gifts Birth & Wellness Center in Fort Collins and Grand Junction, Colorado. Contact: Althea Hrdlichka, hello@tendergiftsbirth.com, 866.218.5769
Twin Cities Birth Center + Women's Health Clinic, St. Paul, MN. 9-month fellowship program for CNMs and CPMs. Paid fellowship with health benefits, an education stipend, and paid time off. Contact: stephanie@twincitiesbc.com
Additional Information
Legal Aid at Work: Training on Paid Leave and Accommodations for Pregnant People
Hi everyone,
Thank you so much for joining Legal Aid at Work for our training on Paid Leave and Accommodations for Pregnant People, New Parents, and Family Caregivers in 2025. A recording of our training is available in English here, and in Spanish here, and the slides are available here.
Please feel free to refer low-paid patients and clients working in California to our Work and Family Helpline at 800-880-8047, confidential advice on workplace protections related to pregnancy, caregiving, or health conditions. Additionally, providers and community partners may call our helpline for technical assistance, or to request a training.
Email Katie (kwutchiett@legalaidatwork.org) or Natalia (ngottschalk@legalaidatwork.org) with questions or requests..
Here are some of the materials we highlighted:
Basic rights for parents: Pregnancy/Parenting +My Job in California (and San Francisco)
Step by step guide for parents: Pregnancy + My Job Roadmap and Guide
Videos: 10-15 minute video for pregnant folks and parents (in English, Spanish, Korean, Vietnamese, Tagalog, Mandarin, Cantonese, Arabic, Farsi, Panjabi, and Armenian)
You can also visit our website for additional factsheets on workplace rights for NICU families, foster parents, LGBTQ+ families, federal employees, family caregivers, dads, those experiencing reproductive loss, survivors of domestic violence, and more. Printed copies of our materials can be requested here.
Our goal is to make sure that families, especially those who are paid low wages, can access the leave and accommodations they need for their health and their family’s health without having to sacrifice their jobs or income. Don’t hesitate to reach out if there’s anything we can do to partner in this work!
All our best,
LAAW’s Work and Family Team
(Franchesca, Julia, Katie, Natalia, Sela, Sharon, Shazzy, and Victoria)
Volunteer Opportunities
Did You Have a Hard Time Finding a Preceptor?
To our new California midwifery grads: CONGRATULATIONS on finishing your midwifery program! We are so proud and happy for you. Please remind yourself often of the great significance of your accomplishment and give yourself a big hug.
CNMA’s Workforce Development and Educational Support (Co-chairs Melanie Cabezas Phipps and Kim Dau) are aware that many midwifery students, particularly those in distance-learning programs, have expressed (and continue to express) frustration, delays, and stress in finding preceptors. This is not a new issue, and we are actively working to improve the situation. California is the state with the most midwives of any state in our nation, so our work here impacts the entire profession. Let’s organize to change things so that our current and future students don't have to go through what so many of us did. With your help, we can make a difference.
Tell us your narratives. If you had difficulty finding preceptors, please share your experience with us by emailing Melanie at mphippsm@gmail.com. What issues did you have? What happened, what could have happened and didn't (or did), what should have happened, what worked/didn't work, how would you like to see things change? Your thoughts, suggestions, and insights are greatly appreciated. All responses are kept in confidence.
Medi-Cal Rx
Sign up for the Medi-Cal Rx Subscription Service to be notified when new information is posted! See additional bulletins and news updates.
Midwife Crush Mondays!
Do you know an amazing Midwife who is doing revolutionary work? We want to feature them on our social media platforms!
CNMA is looking for submissions for our new social media series “Midwife Crush Monday” where we highlight the stories of trailblazing midwives across the industry who are making a difference in the midwifery profession. You can even submit yourself!
Here’s what we’re looking for:
Midwife’s name (include pronouns)
Affiliated organization(s)
Why you became a midwife (and anything awesome you’d like to brag about)
Headshot/Photo if available
Bonus: Please include social media handles for tagging!
Please send submissions to sm@cnma.org for consideration!
You're receiving this communication because you are a current or former member of the ACNM/CNMA or because you signed up from the CNMA website.
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