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education to women during pregnancy, labor, and the postpartum period, conducting deliveries on the midwife’s own responsibility, and providing immediate postpartum care of the newborn; “midwifery services” includes preventative measures, the identification of physical, social, and emotional needs of the newborn and the woman, and arranging for consultation, referral, and continued involvement when the care required extends beyond the abilities of the midwife, and the execution of emergency measures in the absence of medical assistance,

(A) as specified in AS 08.65 and 12 AAC 14, if the midwife is a direct-entry midwife; or

(B) within the midwife’s authorized scope of practice, if the midwife is a certified nurse midwife;

(17) “practitioner” has the meaning given in 7 AAC 12.990;

(18) “second stage of labor” means the stage of labor that begins when dilatation of the cervix is complete, and ends with delivery of the fetus;

(19) “service area” means the geographical area in which a birth center regularly provides services;

(20) “support person” means a relative or friend who provides emotional support to a client;

(21) “support staff” means each individual associated with a birth center who is not a practitioner and who

(A) performs administrative, clerical, or maintenance duties; or

(B) assists clinical staff in providing services to the client or newborn, including acting as a birthing coach or doula; in this subparagraph, “doula” means an individual who assists a client during labor and provides support to the client, the newborn, and the client’s family after childbirth;

(22) “telemedicine” means the practice of health care delivery, evaluation, diagnosis, consultation, or treatment, using the transfer of medical data through audio, video, or data communications that are engaged in over two or more locations between providers who are physically separated from the patient or from each other;

(23) “third stage of labor” means the stage of labor that begins immediately after delivery of the fetus, and ends with delivery of the placenta and fetal membranes. (Eff. 5/24/2007, Register 182; am 9/30/2007, Register 183; am 5/14/2021, Register 238) Statutory Authority: Authority: AS 47.32.010 AS 47.32.030