Transforming Maternal Health Through Policy, Partnership, and Purpose
Championing community-based midwives and safe, accessible birth options across the U.S.
The Policy Institute for Community Birth and Midwifery (PICBM) is a national leader tackling the maternal health crisis by advancing community-based midwifery and improving access to safe birth settings. Founded by midwifery policy pioneer Mary Lawlor, PICBM works at the intersection of policy, advocacy, and workforce development to ensure that every family has access to skilled, culturally respectful midwifery care.
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Policy & Advocacy
Advancing legislation, reimbursement, and licensing to integrate midwifery into public health systems.
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Workforce Expansion
Building and funding a representative midwifery workforce that reflects the communities it serves.
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Coalition Building
Connecting advocates, educators, and legislators to strengthen midwifery access nationwide.
Our Founder
For over two decades, Mary Lawlor has been a constant advocate in the perinatal health space, helping make the case for midwifery as an essential strategy to improve outcomes and save lives. As a Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) with a background in clinical community birth practice and over 20 years of experience in the design and implementation of state and federal perinatal health policy with a focus on community birth and midwifery, she brings both frontline experience and a systems perspective to her work.
A seasoned coalition builder, executive, equity advocate, and policy strategist, her focus is on cultivating strong relationships among midwives, policymakers, funders, and allied leaders to drive progress for childbearing families and deliver tangible results.
As a founder and recent Executive Director of the National Association of Certified Professional Midwives (NACPM), she engaged representative organizational leadership, and helped shape organizational structures, national collaboratives, and a health policy agenda centered on equity and impact. She is a passionate advocate for mothers, newborns, families, and midwives, committed to improving perinatal outcomes and growing a strong, diverse midwifery workforce to meet the urgent needs of families across the U.S.
With her latest initiative, the Policy Institute for Community Birth and Midwifery (PICBM), she is building new projects, forging fresh partnerships, and securing the resources needed to move this mission forward - even in a challenging political climate.