{"formats":[{"name":"JSON","format":"json","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-json\/54.1-2957.03.json"},{"name":"Plain Text","format":"text","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-text\/54.1-2957.03.txt"},{"name":"XML","format":"xml","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-xml\/54.1-2957.03.xml"},{"name":"HTML","format":"html","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-html\/54.1-2957.03.html"}],"law_id":79127,"edition_id":1,"section_id":79127,"structure_id":14243,"section_number":"54.1-2957.03","catch_line":"Certified nurse midwives; required disclosures; liability","history":"2006, c. 750; 2009, c. 646; 2016, c. 495; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 396; 2023, c. 183.","full_text":"A\n\nAs used in this section, &#8220;birthing center&#8221; means a facility outside a hospital that provides maternity services.B\n\nA certified nurse midwife who provides health care services to a patient outside of a hospital or birthing center shall disclose to that patient, when appropriate, information on health risks associated with births outside of a hospital or birthing center, including but not limited to risks associated with vaginal births after a prior cesarean section, breech births, births by women experiencing high-risk pregnancies, and births involving multiple gestation.C\n\nA certified nurse midwife who provides health care to a patient shall be liable for the midwife&#8217;s negligent, grossly negligent, or willful and wanton acts or omissions. Except as otherwise provided by law, any (i) doctor of medicine or osteopathy who did not collaborate or consult with the midwife regarding the patient and who has not previously treated the patient for this pregnancy, (ii) physician assistant, (iii) advanced practice registered nurse, (iv) prehospital emergency medical personnel, or (v) hospital as defined in &#xA7; 32.1-123, or any employee of, person providing services pursuant to a contract with, or agent of such hospital, that provides screening and stabilization health care services to a patient as a result of a certified nurse midwife&#8217;s negligent, grossly negligent, or willful and wanton acts or omissions, shall be immune from liability for acts or omissions constituting ordinary negligence.","order_by":null,"text":{"0":{"id":283393,"text":"As used in this section, &#8220;birthing center&#8221; means a facility outside a hospital that provides maternity services.","type":"section","prefixes":["A"],"prefix":"A","entire_prefix":"A","prefix_anchor":"A","level":1,"next_prefix":"B"},"1":{"id":283394,"text":"A certified nurse midwife who provides health care services to a patient outside of a hospital or birthing center shall disclose to that patient, when appropriate, information on health risks associated with births outside of a hospital or birthing center, including but not limited to risks associated with vaginal births after a prior cesarean section, breech births, births by women experiencing high-risk pregnancies, and births involving multiple gestation.","type":"section","prefixes":["B"],"prefix":"B","entire_prefix":"B","prefix_anchor":"B","level":1,"prior_prefix":"A","next_prefix":"C"},"2":{"id":283395,"text":"A certified nurse midwife who provides health care to a patient shall be liable for the midwife&#8217;s negligent, grossly negligent, or willful and wanton acts or omissions. Except as otherwise provided by law, any (i) doctor of medicine or osteopathy who did not collaborate or consult with the midwife regarding the patient and who has not previously treated the patient for this pregnancy, (ii) physician assistant, (iii) advanced practice registered nurse, (iv) prehospital emergency medical personnel, or (v) hospital as defined in &#xA7; 32.1-123, or any employee of, person providing services pursuant to a contract with, or agent of such hospital, that provides screening and stabilization health care services to a patient as a result of a certified nurse midwife&#8217;s negligent, grossly negligent, or willful and wanton acts or omissions, shall be immune from liability for acts or omissions constituting ordinary negligence.","type":"section","prefixes":["C"],"prefix":"C","entire_prefix":"C","prefix_anchor":"C","level":1,"prior_prefix":"B"}},"ancestry":[{"id":14243,"edition_id":1,"name":"Licensure and Certification of Other Practitioners of the Healing Arts","identifier":"4","label":"article","depth":4,"order_by":1,"parent_id":12759,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:47:26","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:47:26","permalink":{"id":242191,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":14243,"identifier":"4","token":"54.1\/III\/29\/4","url":"\/54.1\/III\/29\/4\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":12759,"edition_id":1,"name":"Medicine and Other Healing Arts","identifier":"29","label":"chapter","depth":3,"order_by":1,"parent_id":12758,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:43:51","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:43:51","permalink":{"id":241933,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":12759,"identifier":"29","token":"54.1\/III\/29","url":"\/54.1\/III\/29\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":12758,"edition_id":1,"name":"Professions and Occupations Regulated by Boards Within the Department of Health Professions","identifier":"III","label":"subtitle","depth":2,"order_by":1,"parent_id":12754,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:43:51","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:43:51","permalink":{"id":241105,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":12758,"identifier":"III","token":"54.1\/III","url":"\/54.1\/III\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":12754,"edition_id":1,"name":"Professions and Occupations","identifier":"54.1","label":"title","depth":1,"order_by":1,"parent_id":null,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:43:51","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:43:51","permalink":{"id":239313,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":12754,"identifier":"54.1","token":"54.1","url":"\/54.1\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}}],"structure_contents":[{"id":83532,"structure_id":14243,"section_number":"54.1-2942","catch_line":"Repealed","url":"\/54.1-2942\/","token":"54.1\/III\/29\/4\/54.1-2942","metadata":false},{"id":78472,"structure_id":14243,"section_number":"54.1-2949","catch_line":"License required","url":"\/54.1-2949\/","token":"54.1\/III\/29\/4\/54.1-2949","metadata":false},{"id":81411,"structure_id":14243,"section_number":"54.1-2950","catch_line":"Requisite training and educational achievements of assistants","url":"\/54.1-2950\/","token":"54.1\/III\/29\/4\/54.1-2950","metadata":false},{"id":64376,"structure_id":14243,"section_number":"54.1-2950.1","catch_line":"Advisory Board on Physician Assistants; 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The record of its establishment is cataloged in chapter <a href=\"https:\/\/legacylis.virginia.gov\/cgi-bin\/legp604.exe?061+ful+CHAP0750\">750<\/a> of that year\u2019s edition of \u201cActs of Assembly,\u201d the annual state publication listing all changes made to the Code of Virginia in that year. It has been modified 3 times. Those modifications are cataloged by \u201cThe Acts of Assembly,\u201d a state publication, by year and chapter. Those modifications that can be read on the General Assembly\u2019s website will be linked accordingly. Those modifications are as follows: in 2009, chapter <a href=\"https:\/\/legacylis.virginia.gov\/cgi-bin\/legp604.exe?091+ful+CHAP0646\">646<\/a>; in 2016, chapter <a href=\"https:\/\/legacylis.virginia.gov\/cgi-bin\/legp604.exe?161+ful+CHAP0495\">495<\/a>; in 2023, chapter <a href=\"https:\/\/legacylis.virginia.gov\/cgi-bin\/legp604.exe?231+ful+CHAP0183\">183<\/a>.<\/p>","references":[{"id":65541,"section_number":"54.1-2957.9","catch_line":"Regulation of the practice of midwifery","order_by":null,"url":"\/54.1-2957.9\/"}],"refers_to":[{"id":80727,"section_number":"32.1-123","catch_line":"(Effective January 1, 2026) Definitions","order_by":null,"url":"\/32.1-123\/"}],"permalink":{"id":242349,"object_type":"law","relational_id":79127,"identifier":"54.1-2957.03","token":"54.1\/III\/29\/4\/54.1-2957.03","url":"\/54.1-2957.03\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1},"url":"\/54.1-2957.03\/","token":"54.1\/III\/29\/4\/54.1-2957.03","dublin_core":{"Title":"Certified nurse midwives; required disclosures; liability","Type":"Text","Format":"text\/html","Identifier":"\u00a7 54.1-2957.03","Relation":"Code of Virginia"},"html":"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section id=\"A\"><p><span class=\"prefix-number\">A.<\/span> As used in this section, &#8220;<span class=\"dictionary\">birthing center<\/span>&#8221; means a facility outside a hospital that provides maternity services. <a id=\"paragraph-283393\" class=\"section-permalink\" href=\"https:\/\/vacode.org\/54.1-2957.03\/#A\"><i class=\"fa fa-link\"><\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section id=\"B\"><p><span class=\"prefix-number\">B.<\/span> A <span class=\"dictionary\">certified nurse midwife<\/span> who provides health care services to a patient outside of a hospital or <span class=\"dictionary\">birthing center<\/span> shall disclose to that patient, when appropriate, information on health risks associated with births outside of a hospital or <span class=\"dictionary\">birthing center<\/span>, including but not limited to risks associated with vaginal births after a prior cesarean section, breech births, births by women experiencing high-risk pregnancies, and births involving multiple gestation. <a id=\"paragraph-283394\" class=\"section-permalink\" href=\"https:\/\/vacode.org\/54.1-2957.03\/#B\"><i class=\"fa fa-link\"><\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section id=\"C\"><p><span class=\"prefix-number\">C.<\/span> A <span class=\"dictionary\">certified nurse midwife<\/span> who provides health care to a patient shall be liable for the midwife&#8217;s negligent, grossly negligent, or willful and wanton acts or omissions. Except as otherwise provided by <span class=\"dictionary\">law<\/span>, any (i) doctor of medicine or osteopathy who did not collaborate or consult with the midwife regarding the patient and who has not previously treated the patient for this pregnancy, (ii) <span class=\"dictionary\">physician assistant<\/span>, (iii) <span class=\"dictionary\">advanced practice registered nurse<\/span>, (iv) prehospital emergency medical personnel, or (v) hospital as defined in &#xA7; <a class=\"law\" title=\"(Effective January 1, 2026) Definitions\" href=\"\/32.1-123\/\">32.1-123<\/a>, or any employee of, person providing services pursuant to a <span class=\"dictionary\">contract<\/span> with, or agent of such hospital, that provides screening and stabilization health care services to a patient as a result of a <span class=\"dictionary\">certified nurse midwife<\/span>&#8217;s negligent, grossly negligent, or willful and wanton acts or omissions, shall be immune from liability for acts or omissions constituting ordinary <span class=\"dictionary\">negligence<\/span>. <a id=\"paragraph-283395\" class=\"section-permalink\" href=\"https:\/\/vacode.org\/54.1-2957.03\/#C\"><i class=\"fa fa-link\"><\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>","plain_text":"                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA\n\nCERTIFIED NURSE MIDWIVES; REQUIRED DISCLOSURES; LIABILITY (\u00a7 54.1-2957.03)\n\nA. As used in this section, &#8220;birthing center&#8221; means a facility\noutside a hospital that provides maternity services.\n\nB. A certified nurse midwife who provides health care services to a patient\noutside of a hospital or birthing center shall disclose to that patient, when\nappropriate, information on health risks associated with births outside of a\nhospital or birthing center, including but not limited to risks associated with\nvaginal births after a prior cesarean section, breech births, births by women\nexperiencing high-risk pregnancies, and births involving multiple gestation.\n\nC. A certified nurse midwife who provides health care to a patient shall be\nliable for the midwife&#8217;s negligent, grossly negligent, or willful and\nwanton acts or omissions. Except as otherwise provided by law, any (i) doctor of\nmedicine or osteopathy who did not collaborate or consult with the midwife\nregarding the patient and who has not previously treated the patient for this\npregnancy, (ii) physician assistant, (iii) advanced practice registered nurse,\n(iv) prehospital emergency medical personnel, or (v) hospital as defined in\n&#xA7; 32.1-123, or any employee of, person providing services pursuant to a\ncontract with, or agent of such hospital, that provides screening and\nstabilization health care services to a patient as a result of a certified nurse\nmidwife&#8217;s negligent, grossly negligent, or willful and wanton acts or\nomissions, shall be immune from liability for acts or omissions constituting\nordinary negligence.\n\nHISTORY: 2006, c. 750; 2009, c. 646; 2016, c. 495; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 396;\n2023, c. 183.","edition":{"id":1,"name":"2025","slug":"2025","date_created":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","date_modified":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","current":1,"order_by":1,"last_import":null}}