Kentucky Birth Coalition

Kentucky families deserve access to freestanding birth centers. With your support, we can make that possible.

The Kentucky Birth Coalition is a consumer-led, grassroots organization working to expand birth options in the Bluegrass.

During the 2023 legislative session, we continued work to make Kentucky more hospitable to freestanding birth centers. Great progress was made as our bills received committee hearings in both chambers and passed favorably a total of three times! This progress, however, was not without opposition. We are building on this momentum throughout the remaining interim period of 2023 and will continue to advocate for birth centers in 2024.

We also advocated for legislation that would require Kentucky Medicaid coverage for LCPM services. While this legislation has been introduced before, KBC ramped up the efforts on this topic. We will continue to work on Medicaid coverage so that LCPM care is accessible to all Kentuckians.

Additionally, KBC was instrumental in creating and advocating for a bill related to perinatal mental health care. We are happy to report that this bill passed both chambers and was signed into law by the governor!

With community support, we made history in 2019 with the enactment of new law to license Certified Professional Midwives. To date, Kentucky has issued 32 licenses to Certified Professional Midwives! 

In addition, KBC volunteers and leaders are or have been busy with:

• Preparing for 2024 legislation to advance birth centers in Kentucky, including legislator communication, promotion of the legislation, and building with other supporting organizations
  
• Medicaid reimbursement for LCPMs
• Providing feedback to the Board of Nursing regarding LCPM issues
  
• Creating a Find a Midwife mapping tool on our website
• Fielding phone calls and e-mails from families searching for a midwife
  
• Fielding phone calls and e-mails from midwives interested in becoming licensed in Kentucky
• Serving as an information clearinghouse for LCPMs
• Providing information to our supporters on where their state legislators stand on issues important to birthing families

Your support makes it possible for us to continue to advocate for more birthing options for Kentuckians.

For the purposes of participating in this event, Kentucky Birth Coalition is being fiscally sponsored by Hope's Embrace and receives their tax-exempt status through this relationship. Donations to KBC during this event are processed through Hope's Embrace.

Who We Are

The Kentucky Birth Coalition is a grass-roots, consumer-based organization, working to expand birthing options in Kentucky by increasing access to midwives in all settings.