FACNM profiles

Hospital in Spokane, Washington from 1959 –1964, she took a Red Cross class on Mother and Baby Care and introduced these classes to expectant parents. She was the first in Spokane to teach Lamaze classes to unwed mothers at Booth Memorial Hospital and offered her classes to nurses from three other hospitals in the city who were preparing to become childbirth educators. Sr. Marie Ladd obtained her nurse-midwifery education from Catholic Maternity Institute (CMI) in 1965 and her Master of Science in Nursing from Catholic University in 1966. She then taught nursemidwifery at CMI (1967– 1968), State University of New York Downstate Medical Center/ Kings County Hospital (1970 –1972), and the University of Illinois (1972–1974). She considers teaching and working with students one of her greatest joys. While in Chicago, she also attended home births while working at Cook County Hospital. Sr. Marie Ladd was the first CNM to work in Spokane to which she returned in 1976. She started with home births and 2 years later had hospital practice privileges. In 1979, Sr. Ladd was one of two nurse-midwives and three physicians who founded the Spokane Family Birth Center which was the first birth center to be licensed in the state. She was a member of the original Washington State Board of Health Task Force for the licensing of birth centers. She was the only nurse-midwife in the state during that time to be practicing in all three birth settings: home, birth center, and hospital. Sr. Marie Ladd worked as a practicing nurse-midwife for 35 years. She joined the ACNM upon graduation from Catholic University and was active on numerous local and national committees. She was elected to the national Nominating Committee in 1970 and served as Chairperson in 1973. She was also Chairperson of the Mailing Committee for the US Planning Committee of the 16th Congress of the International Confederation of Midwives in Washington, D.C. in 1972. KATHLEEN MARTIN, CNM, MS, JD, FACNM

Kathleen Martin graduated from the University of Bridgeport College of Nursing with her Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing in 1964. She was influenced to become a midwife by Alfreda Burblis whom she describes as “an early CNM and amazing nursing instructor.” She graduated with her Master of Science degree and Certificate in Nurse-Midwifery from New York

Medical College Graduate School of Nursing and Nurse-Midwifery in 1966. A number of years and a family later, she re-entered nursemidwifery in 1977 and has since practiced in academic tertiary care settings and had her own home birth business (1978 –1980; 1983–1991) in New Orleans. She currently is Director of WomanCare Midwife Center in New Orleans and has practice privileges at three major private hospitals she was instrumental in opening to CNMs. She pioneered in states where she first needed to improve legislation to legalize and reimburse nurse-midwives. In 1986, she was the first CNM/NP to practice in New Orleans in a Planned Parenthood Clinic. Frustration led her to obtain a Doctor of Jurisprudence from Tulane Law School in 1991; but, only a few years of practice in medical negligence law convinced her to return to “the best job in the world—midwifery practice.” Ms. Martin initiated the first ACNM Chapter in Louisiana and served twice as President from 1979 –1983 and from 1996 –1998. She served as advisor to the Louisiana Board of Nursing regarding nurse-midwifery practice in 1978. She has made use of her legal education to the benefit of midwifery. She drafted legislation allowing midwives to participate in Louisiana State Patient’s Compensation Fund and served on the committee to draft direct entry midwifery laws. In 1991, she drafted legislation to include CNM peer review activities in privileged or non-discoverable law. In 1994 –1995, she was part of the advisory group that drafted a new Louisiana Nurse Practice Act that increased the scope of nurse-midwifery practice. In 1996, she facilitated full reimbursement in Louisiana for full-scope nurse-midwifery practice through Medicaid funds and served, until 1998, on the advisory group that drafted the Louisiana Prescriptive Authority Law and the regulations for APRN/CNMs. In 1998, she also facilitated reimbursement for CNMs at the MD rate for first assistant at Caesarean sections. Kathleen Martin currently serves as Treasurer of the ACNM, having been recently reelected to a second 3-year term. She has been supportive of the A.C.N.M. Foundation and its activities. She has served on the Risk Management Committee and authored the chapter on Deposition and Testimony in the ACNM Risk Management Manual. She also coauthored the legal chapter in the Service Director’s Manual, 2nd ed. and authored an article on nurse-midwifery and antitrust laws.

Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health • Vol. 46, No. 5, September/October 2001

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