Midwives for MOMS Act Authorizes $35 Million to Boost Midwifery Education and Staffing in Underserved Areas

The “Midwives for Maximizing Optimal Maternity Services Act of 2025,” or Midwives for MOMS Act, sets up two new federal grant programs totaling $35 million over the next five fiscal years (2025–2029) aimed squarely at boosting the number of midwives and nurse-midwives across the country. Essentially, this is a targeted investment in maternity care education, designed to get more qualified professionals into the workforce, especially in places where they are needed most.

The Two-Track System for Maternity Care Training

This bill creates two separate, but similar, grant programs under the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The first program, authorized for $15 million, supports general accredited midwifery schools and programs (SEC. 2). The second, authorized for $20 million, supports accredited nurse-midwifery programs specifically located within nursing schools (SEC. 3).

Both programs split their funding three ways: 50 percent must go directly to student support (think scholarships or stipends), 25 percent is earmarked for starting new schools or expanding existing ones, and the final 25 percent is dedicated to finding and supporting preceptors—the experienced professionals who mentor students during their hands-on clinical training. This is a big deal because preceptors are often the bottleneck in scaling up medical education; supporting them helps schools take on more students.

Targeting Shortages and Diversity

When HHS decides who gets this grant money, they have to give “extra consideration” to schools that meet two key criteria. First, schools must focus on students who plan to work in areas officially designated as Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs). If you live in a rural community or an underserved urban neighborhood, this provision is aimed at improving your access to maternity care (SEC. 2, SEC. 3). Second, the grants prioritize schools that are actively working to increase the number of racial and ethnic minority students in their programs. This is a clear move to diversify the maternity care workforce, which research shows can improve health outcomes for minority mothers and babies.

The Curious Case of the Nursing School Ban

Here’s where things get interesting, and a little confusing. While the bill creates a $20 million program specifically for nurse-midwifery programs within nursing schools (SEC. 3), the separate $15 million grant program for general midwifery schools includes a specific restriction: the Secretary “may not provide any grant amounts” to a midwifery school or program that is located inside a school of nursing (SEC. 2).

This means if an accredited midwifery program is housed within a university’s College of Nursing but is not a nurse-midwifery program, it would be ineligible for the $15 million pot. It forces a clear administrative separation between the two types of programs to qualify for the different grants. For universities running integrated health science centers, this administrative split could create hurdles, potentially excluding some programs that are already successfully training midwives but happen to share a building or administrative structure with a nursing school.