Now, those midwives worry that state lawmakers intend to render their licenses meaningless.

Orem Republican Sen. Margaret Dayton, one of the most vocal opponents of legislation adopted in 2005 that allowed midwives to legally deliver babies at home, is sponsoring a bill intended to define a "normal pregnancy."

"People should have the choice: from the highest-end obstetrician to staying home alone in the dark in the bathroom. All the choices are not equal," said Dayton, who introduced her bill Monday. "We need to go back and make some definition of what we have granted."

Dayton's legislation would block midwives from attending women who develop hypertension, gestational diabetes or have had a previous Caesarian birth, among other health issues. The bill includes a generic prohibition on treating a woman with "any other condition or symptom that may place the health of the pregnant woman or unborn child at unreasonable risk."

Utah Midwives Association Outgoing President Tara Tulley said Dayton's bill would end up requiring 96 percent of the midwives' clients to go to a doctor or certified nurse midwife, effectively ending home delivery.

"They're trying to eliminate our practice," Tulley said.

After years of debating the safety of home births, lawmakers signed off on legislation two years ago that outlined education and clinical training guidelines for licensed lay midwives, allowing the women to deliver babies outside hospitals. It took until last year to begin issuing licenses.

Fifteen licensed, direct-entry midwives are practicing in the state. In the first eight months of 2006, they attended 94 laboring mothers at home. According to the Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing, nine were transferred to the hospital. Two ultimately had C-sections.

A dozen mothers with babies lingered in the halls outside the House and Senate chambers Monday, passing out packages of plain M&M's tied to a hot-pink list of statistics about home births.

Dayton was a labor and delivery nurse for five years. And her husband is a retired obstetrician. She says she took her list from a doctor's list of "high-risk" pregnancies.

But Utah Midwives Association President Jules Johnston said Dayton has gone overboard. "If they sneeze, they're risked out."

walsh@sltrib.com