Correcting the record

Stories on April 12 and April 24 about a new law authorizing certified professional midwives to purchase, possess and administer certain medications mistakenly stated that the list of approved medications includes drugs to induce labor. The drug oxytocin, which is included on the list, sometimes is administered intravenously in a hospital setting to induce or enhance labor. Its inclusion on the list of medications available to midwives and their clients is limited to its intramuscular form, and the law specifies it is to be used solely for the purpose of controlling bleeding after childbirth. The list does not include any drugs to induce labor.