Alaska Administrative Code
Title 7 - Health and Social Services
Part 1 - Administration
Chapter 12 - Facilities and Local Units
Article 9 - Free-standing Birth Centers
7 AAC 12.449 - Definitions

(1) "active labor" has the meaning given "active phase" in this section;

(2) "active phase" means the second phase in the first stage of labor when contractions are regular and occurring frequently, and the cervix is dilating from four centimeters to complete dilation of 10 centimeters with 100 percent effacement;

(3) "all stages of labor" means the progression from the first through the third stage of labor;

(4) "birth center" means free-standing birth center;

(5) "certified nurse midwife" means a person who is authorized to practice as an advanced practice registered nurse under 12 AAC 44.400 and who is certified to practice midwifery by a national certification body recognized under 12 AAC 44.420 and 12 AAC 44.430;

(6) "client" means a woman who receives care and services provided by a birth center during pregnancy, and during childbirth and recovery;

(7) "clinical staff" means each individual associated with a birth center who is a practitioner or a midwife;

(8) "direct-entry midwife" means

(9) "effacement" means the gradual thinning, shortening, softening, and drawing up of the cervix as it dilates in preparation for birth; this process is measured in percentages, with 100 percent indicating total effacement;

(10) "emergency" means a situation that presents an immediate threat to the health or safety of a client, fetus, or newborn;

(11) "family" means

(12) "first stage of labor" means the stage of labor that

(13) "latent phase" means early labor and is the first phase in the first stage of labor when contractions are irregular and the cervix is beginning to efface and dilate from zero to three centimeters;

(14) "low-risk maternal client" means a client considered a low-risk maternal client under 7 AAC 12.446;

(15) "midwife" has the meaning given in 7 AAC 12.990;

(16) "midwifery services" means providing necessary supervision, health care, and 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,

(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

(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.