Attention OH, FL, CA, ID, MN, RI Doulas

CatieDoula · 05-05-2007, 10:30 AM

**If this is in the wrong place, please move.**

In Ohio there is a bill in the House (HB148) regarding "Complementary or Alternative Health Care Services." This bill with the same wording has passed in FL, CA, ID, MN and RI and I am wondering how doulas in those states feel about this, if they have registered or if they even knew about it.

The bill's details:

"No individual shall provide complementary or alternative health care services unless that individual is registered with the office of complementary or alternative health care practices in accordance with section 4783.06 of the Revised Code." (for Ohio)

"Complementary or alternative health care service means the provision of any complementary or alternative health care treatment to a patient by an individual who is ot a licensed health care professional or, if an individual is a licensed health care professional, that individual is not acting as a licensed health care professional when providing treatment."

"Complementary or alternative health care treatment means a method of treating an individual's health condition that is designed to be an alternative to prevailing or conventional methods used to treat the health condition. Complementary or alternative health care treatment may be provided in addition to or in place of other treatment options."

While this is from Ohio's bill, my understanding is that the wording is the exact same from the other states I listed.

In Ohio, this bill is causing a lot of issues as later on it says registrants my not "deliver a baby" which means this would make midwifery illegal. When this was brought to the attention of Ohio Health Freedom they said "Well, it passed in other places and didn't make midwifery illegal there." The problem with that is in those other states, there is already legislation regarding CPMs and LMs but in Ohio there is nothing.

So, do you all know about this? Did you register? Do you feel this applies to doulas? If you didn't know about it before, will you register?

As a doula, I have a huge issue with this and I am not happy about this possibly passing (aside from the midwifery aspect). I'm wondering what others thoughts are.

Wendy79 · 05-05-2007, 11:00 AM

I definitely understand your concerns about midwifery, but I don't think this applies to doulas, and I've never heard anything about it with regard to doulas here in CA. We don't provide health care treatments, and we aren't used as an alternative to conventional medicine.

earthgirl · 05-05-2007, 02:17 PM

This is the first I heard of it. But I don't think it applies to doulas either. I'm thinking along the lines of acupuncture and such. I will keep it in the back of my mind as much of my client base is in RI.

DL · 05-05-2007, 02:47 PM

Quote:

"Complementary or alternative health care treatment means a method of treating an individual's health condition that is designed to be an alternative to prevailing or conventional methods used to treat the health condition. Complementary or alternative health care treatment may be provided in addition to or in place of other treatment options."

Yes, this does concern me. I think it's all going to come down to interpretation (as it seems most things politically now days do, but that's a whole other soapbox of mine). Let's break it down: Doulas do provide complementary care, but I don't think it's "health care". Some may disagree, but I don't see myself as giving "alternative care", as my clients are not using me in place of anyone else. Also, their birth choices are not seen as "alternative", but as another variation of "normal" (this coming from my personal experiences with the medical staff's view that I most often work with).

In this case, if the "powers that be" interpret doulas as providing any level of health care, then this would affect us. I DO think that we affect an individual's health condition in a very limited way (in this case pregnancy during labor & birth), but I don't consider myself as "treating", nor giving "health care". What doulas suggest can, and often does, affect the condition of the pregnancy while mom's in labor, which in turn can theoretically affect the condition of mom's and/or baby's health; so the question comes right down to the phrase "health care", IMO. If they see it as I do that doulas do not provide "health care", then we should be ok. If they don't, then I am super concerned. First, registeration, then what next?...further regulations on how/why/when we practice, extra fees for mandatory licensing? ....and if you've previously registered, then they've already got your name readily available to make sure that you immediately comply. It's a slippery slope, I think.

I am a rebel for individual rights, and I do not see myself registering unless they explicitly named doulas as having this requirement. The government is already too big and have their big, fat noses in everyone's business way too much. I won't voluntarily submit my name to any governmental agency; although I will concede to remain legal whenever necessary. I'm a rebel, but not a criminal. *sigh* Most of these regulations are just another way to take more money from you and I... hard working Americans (whether it be by paying to register or fines for not registering and getting "caught"). I'm thinking that it's possible that doulas could get by for now, but I'm really worried about our homebirth Midwives!

Thanks for sharing this, Catie. I did not know about this until now (I don't know where I've been

). We will definitely have to fight this.