§ 6951. Definition of practice of midwifery. 1. The practice of the profession of midwifery is defined as the management of normal pregnancies, child birth and postpartum care as well as primary preventive reproductive health care of essentially healthy women, and shall include newborn evaluation, resuscitation and referral for infants. A midwife shall have collaborative relationships with (i) a licensed physician who is board certified as an obstetrician-gynecologist by a national certifying body or (ii) a licensed physician who practices obstetrics and has obstetric privileges at a general hospital licensed under article twenty-eight of the public health law or (iii) a hospital, licensed under article twenty-eight of the public health law, that provides obstetrics through a licensed physician having obstetrical privileges at such institution, that provide for consultation, collaborative management and referral to address the health status and risks of his or her patients and that include plans for emergency medical gynecological and/or obstetrical coverage. A midwife shall maintain documentation of such collaborative relationships and shall make information about such collaborative relationships available to his or her patients. Failure to comply with the requirements found in this subdivision shall be subject to professional misconduct provisions as set forth in article one hundred thirty of this title.

2. A licensed midwife shall have the authority, as necessary, and limited to the practice of midwifery, to prescribe and administer drugs, immunizing agents, diagnostic tests and devices, and to order laboratory tests, as established by the board in accordance with the commissioner's regulations. A midwife shall obtain a certificate from the department upon successfully completing a program including a pharmacology component, or its equivalent, as established by the commissioner's regulations prior to prescribing under this section.

3. Any reference to midwifery, midwife, certified nurse-midwifery or certified nurse-midwife, nurse-midwifery or nurse-midwife under the provisions of this article, this chapter or any other law, shall refer to and include the profession of midwifery and a licensed midwife, unless the context clearly requires otherwise.