Volume 96 · 68
Public Law 97–172
To establish National Nurse-Midwifery Week.
Approved April 16, 1982
Statutory text
Joint Resolution
To establish National Nurse-Midwifery Week.
Whereas the health and safety of childbearing families is of paramount importance in our society;
Whereas nurse-midwives have practiced in this country since coming to the mountains of eastern Kentucky in 1925;
Whereas the Federal Government has a long history of support for the nurse-midwifery practice and education;
Whereas certified nurse-midwives have demonstrated their ability to give high-quality care to normal mothers and babies throughout the maternity cycle, and their emphasis on health teaching and high-quality care for well mothers and babies makes them a valuable part of the health care team and makes their services increasingly in demand by the public;
Whereas nurse-midwifery care has a proven record in reducing infant morbidity and mortality;
Whereas nurse-midwifery care has been demonstrated to be cost effective for families and for the Nation;
Whereas childbearing families have found nurse-midwives responsive to their wishes for more participatory maternity care; and
Whereas the Congress has already recognized the autonomous practice of certified nurse-midwives under both medicaid and the Department of Defense civilian health and medical program of the uniformed services (CHAMPUS): Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
That Congress declares April 19 to 26, 1982, as National Nurse-Midwifery Week, and Congress recognizes the unique contribution that nurse-midwives have made to mothers and babies in the United States during the past half century.
Approved April 16, 1982.