The following words and terms, when used in these sections, shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

1. (1) Act--The Texas Midwifery Act, Texas Civil Statutes, Article 4512i.
2. (2) Appropriate health care facility--The Department of Health, a local health department, a public health district, a local health unit or a physician's office where specified tests can be administered and read, and where other medical/clinical procedures normally take place.
3. (3) Approved midwifery education courses--The basic midwifery education courses that satisfy the requirements established by the Midwifery Board and approved by the Texas Board of Health.
4. (4) Board--The Texas Board of Health.
5. (5) Certified nurse-midwife--A registered nurse licensed in Texas, recognized by the Board of Nurse Examiners as an advanced nurse practitioner, and certified by the American College of Nurse-Midwives.
6. (6) Code--Texas Health and Safety Code.
7. (7) Commissioner--The commissioner of health.

8. (8) Course--Courses include:

   1. (A) the optional/voluntary basic information midwifery course and exam which has been in effect since 1983, and which will be replaced in September 1993 by mandatory education;
   2. (B) basic midwifery education courses which the Midwifery Board may determine to be appropriate and acceptable for ongoing basic midwifery education;
   3. (C) mandatory basic midwifery education courses which will become effective in September 1993; and
   4. (D) mandatory continuing education courses which will start in September 1993.
9. (9) Department--The Texas Department of Health.
10. (10) Documentation--The annual identification of midwives under the Texas Midwifery Act.
11. (11) Financially responsible adult--A parent, guardian, spouse, conservator or any other person whom the laws of the State of Texas hold responsible for debts incurred as a result of hospitalization or treatment.
12. (12) Health authority--A physician who administers state and local laws regulating public health under the Health and Safety Code, Chapter 121, Subchapter B.
13. (13) Local health department--A department of health created by the governing body of a municipality or a county under the Health and Safety Code, Chapter 121, Subchapter C.
14. (14) Local health unit--A division of a municipality or county government that provides limited public health services as provided by the Health and Safety Code, §121.004.
15. (15) Midwife--A person who practices midwifery under the Texas Midwifery Act and has met the requirements and standards of the Midwifery Board in these sections.
16. (16) Midwifery--The practice by a midwife of giving the necessary supervision, care, and advice to a woman during normal pregnancy, labor, and the postpartum period; conducting a normal delivery of a child; and providing newborn care.
17. (17) Midwifery Board--The Midwifery Board appointed by the Texas Board of Health.
18. (18) Newborn care--The care of a child for the first six weeks of the child's life.
19. (19) Normal childbirth--The labor and delivery at or close to term (37 up to 42 weeks) of a pregnant woman whose assessment reveals no abnormality or signs or symptoms of complications.
20. (20) Physician--A physician licensed to practice medicine in Texas by the Board of Medical Examiners.
21. (21) Postpartum care--The care of a woman for the first six weeks after the woman has given birth.
22. (22) Program--The department's Midwifery Program.
23. (23) Public health district--A district created under the Health and Safety Code, Chapter 121, Subchapter D.
24. (24) Standing delegation orders--Written instructions, orders, rules, regulations, or procedures prepared by a physician and designated for a patient population, and delineating under what set of conditions and circumstances actions should be instituted, as described in the rules of the Texas Board of Medical Examiners in the Texas Administrative Code, Title 22, §§193.2-193.4.

Source Note:The provisions of this §37.172 adopted to be effective November 19, 1991, 16 TexReg 6292.