"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world; indeed it is the only thing that ever has." Margaret Mead, woman, daughter, wife, mother and controversial cultural anthropologist.
Inspired? Join the Birth & Baby Resource Network or International Cesarean Awareness Network. You can find the info about meetings in the side bar under Meet Me or go to my Labor of Love Virtual Rally event page and find out the next step.
Showing posts with label Political Action. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Political Action. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Friday, August 3, 2012
I am a Community Lactivist
See community lactivism in action and read more about why as a doula and La Leche League leader I support breastfeeding women.Here.
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Speaking for Midwives at SLO's Historic Celebration
My Speech.
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Midwifery; a David and Goliath Tale
It began as the eighteenth century was drawing to a close and the science of medicine was on the rise. Men for the first time began to move deeply into the privacy of the birth room, a place that in most cultures around the world is traditionally populated almost exclusively by women. This slow and determined encroachment into what had previously always been a woman’s world began the battle.
Before men became involved American midwives had always held a place of respect within their communities. Their skill at helping women during the birth process was of vital importance to all in the community. Women were encouraged to stay mobile as long as possible during the birth, the pain of the process was recognized but not believed to be insurmountable, the passage of time was noted but there were no standardized graphs labors had to abide by, and women utilized up-right physiologically sound positions for pushing a baby out.
When male doctors took over this all changed. Pain relieving drugs were used as an inducement to have doctors attend women’s births. These medications changed the balance of power forever; stripping the woman’s innate abilities. She became an object to practice medicine upon; someone who needed her baby delivered to her like a pizza instead of using her own physical power to bring her baby forth. Soon untested scientific “theories” blended with necessities created by using pain medications and women were routinely being cut and babies were being pulled out with forceps.
As the prestige of the medical profession rose, so did their power. In the end it came down to dollars and cents. In order to corner the market doctors began a campaign to stamp out midwifery. First they created a belief that birth was a medical event which could only be safe if attended by a physician. Doctors traveled in the upper circles of society. They convinced bankers, lawyers and other prominent society men to avail themselves of the best that the science of modern medicine could offer for their wives by using a physician. Men controlled the medical schools and women were not allowed to attend so female care providers slowly began to die out. In the early twentieth century not satisfied yet, they convinced the government to begin a propaganda campaign slandering midwives as dirty, illiterate, and ignorant. Eventually only poor women or newly arrived immigrants were still turning to midwives for care.
Meanwhile another huge shift in health care in our country was taking place. Hospitals were on the rise, with their bureaucracies, standardizations, schedules and sanitization of birth. Women were told it was best when labor began to leave their homes, where they had some control, and travel to a hospital, where they had no control. Hospitals lead to the immediate separation of the newborn from its mother and scheduled feedings. These disruptions in the process along with the drugs created babies who could not suck effectively, needing to be force fed from bottles. Soon the women of America thought their bodies were so defective they couldn’t even breastfeed their own children. Meanwhile the practice of midwifery was outlawed in most states.
But it’s hard to hold good women down. It is hard to stop women from answering the call to serve women; especially women in need. In the 1920’s nurses began to step forward to get additional training in the skills required to help low income women, the rural and urban poor. These were women who couldn’t pay doctors and hospitals, therefore providing them care did not threaten the medical establishment’s monopoly. They eventually founded specialized nurse midwifery schools and associations. From this branch was born the certified nurse midwife. In the 1960’s couples living on communes had turned their backs on many forms of the “establishment”. These female rebels began to birth their babies at home with the help of other women in their communities. The daring women who answered this call eventually became highly trained homebirth midwives. It took courage to be a midwife, to practice midwifery without a license. Not only could you lose everything, your home and your practice, you could be thrown in jail. In our county one traditional midwife was brought up on charges and convicted in 1982. Over time this branch of midwifery also adopted standards for training, created associations and worked hard to become legal once again. In California the legal battle culminated in 1993 in the creation of a system to license out of hospital midwives but it took 4 more years for the first group of midwives to be licensed by the state medical board.
All midwives are still fighting for the right to work as autonomous, respected members of the birth provider community. Whether they are CNMs who have made the choice to work in a doctor’s practice under his supervision because even if they could find a company willing to cover them medical malpractice insurance is prohibitive, or the LMs who can’t get insurance company’s to reimburse their clients for basic care the struggle continues. The California Medical Board is currently reviewing whether to change the language in the regulations governing LMs to allow them to order the life saving medications and tools they need to attend birthing women. And so the struggle continues.
This year on May 5th, the International Day of the Midwife, the women and their families who have been cared for so well for so many years by our community’s midwives will gather in Mission Plaza to honor 41 courageous, tireless, and caring professional women. The Birth & Baby Resource Network along with the co-sponsors of this year’s Birth & Baby Fair wish to invite you to join us at 10:30 for this historic event in the annuls of San Luis Obispo women’s rights.
Participate in BBRN’s on-line Midwifery Project at: www.bbrn.org.
Learn More about the History of Midwifery:
A Midwife’s Tale; Martha Ballard her Diary by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
Motherwit; an Alabama Midwife’s Story by Onnie Lee Logan
Listen to Me Good; the Life Story of an Alabama Midwife by Margaret Charles Smith
Birth Matters; a Midwife’s Manifesta by Ina May Gaskin
A Short History of Midwifery: from Midwife Info an independent internet resource
I am a Midwife, a movie trailer by the Midwives Alliance of North America
Fiction with Midwifery themes:
The Midwife's Apprentice by Karen Cushman
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
Midwives by Chris Bohjalian
A Midwife's Story by Penny Armstrong and Sheryl Feldman
Monday, April 25, 2011
Mothers' Day; Thinking Globally
As Mother's Day has come and gone for another year I am confronted with the cold reality that most mothers around the world don't have what we take for granted; good quality prenatal care, access to high quality nutrition, and well trained birth attendants. These simple things hold the key between life or death for women of the developing world. The gulf between the developed world and the emerging nations is wide and deep. Surviving Motherhood
by Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary General
Reprint from UNICEF Philippines
UNICEF Philippines celebrates Mother's Day with the rest of the nation with a message to nurture and protect all mothers. Mothers’ Day is upon us in many countries around the world. Children of all ages will give flowers, make breakfast, call home.This is as it should be. On my travels around the world, particularly to its poorest and most troubled places, I have learned that it is mothers who keep families together -- indeed, who keep entire societies intact. Mothers are society’s weavers. They make the world go round. Yet too often, the world is letting mothers down.In the rich world, when a mother dies giving birth, we assume that something went wrong. For women in the developing world, by contrast, dying in childbirth is simply a fact of life. In some countries, one woman in eight will die giving birth. Complications from pregnancy and childbirth are the leading cause of death among girls aged 15 to 19 worldwide.Becoming a mother -- the rite of passage that Mothers’ Day celebrates -- can carry a terrible burden of fear, anxiety and loss for many women and their families.We know how to save mothers’ lives. Simple blood tests, a doctor’s consultation and someone qualified to help with the birth can make a huge difference. Add some basic antibiotics, blood transfusions and a safe operating room, and the risk of death can almost be eliminated.Recent figures show that we are making progress in helping women throughout the world. Yet we still have very far to go. Every year, hundreds of thousands of women die in childbirth, 99 percent of them in developing countries. That is why, as secretary-general, I have spoken out for the needs of mothers and pregnant women at every opportunity. I am counting on people around the world to back us in ending this silent scandal. No woman should have to pay with her life for giving life. On Mothers’ Day, let us honor mothers around the world by pledging to do everything we can to make motherhood safer for all.
Feeling inspired to do something to help our world wide community of mothers but you don't know how? Some of the members of Birth & Baby Resource Network are doing just that. These doulas have been called to work not only with birthing women here at home but they have a global commitment as well. Heather Larson went to study midwifery in Senegal and was so impacted by her experience she came home and founded Tree of Light. This non-profit is working to build a Birth House in Senegal. Terri Woods is part of a family inspired to help women have access to quality maternity care. She lives in the North County but also spends time each year working with her sister and daughter building, managing and staffing birth centers in remote areas of the Philippines. On September 22, 2010, the United Nations launched "The Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health". They understand that to lift women and children out of sickness, poverty and death creates a more peaceful world for all. We all need to invest in the world's future.
Thank you to Terri Woods of Mercy in Action who posted this to her face book page.http://www.mercyinaction.com/
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
The Day President Obama Signed the Health Care Bill
Published in the SLO Tribune on Friday March 26, 2010
Hidden in the thousands of pages of the Health Care Bill that President Obama signed into law were some items very few people were aware of that will effect women all across the country. They target issues concerning maternity care and they have the power to change our beliefs about where, how and with whom women should be giving birth in our country.
Did you know forty-two % of all births in the U.S. are paid for through Medicaid reimbursement? Now women will have a choice of how they use that money. They can continue to choose to birth in a hospital with a doctor but they can also choose to have a Certified Nurse Midwife attend them in a hospital, or they could attend them at an out of hospital birth center. Another option is to have a Certified Professional Midwife attend them at an out of hospital birth center. This doesn’t just represent more freedom for women to choose the birth the want it also represents a huge cost savings to the Medicaid budget. The average hospital birth with a doctor attending costs approximately $20,000. It skyrockets to $60,000 for a cesarean section birth. With our national cesarean section rate climbing every day this is a serious chunk of change. On the other hand the average cost for a birth center birth is approximately ¼ of that or $5000. Not all women should be birthing in birth centers with midwives but if just 5% of women choose this option it will mean millions of dollars a year saved.
Did you know until today they was no widespread standardized assessment of the maternity care being offered in this country? Statistics relating to the benefits and risks of current practices in use today, such as, induction of labor, medication to speed labor, or drugs for pain relief were not being kept in a national database. Over time this data base will yield important information for women and their care providers. Helping them base their care on informed choices.
Did you know women were being denied health care coverage because they had given birth by cesarean section? This was being labeled a pre-existing condition which ruled them out of further care. On top of that the current stance of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists about vaginal birth after cesarean section makes it impossible for many women in the U.S. to do anything except have a repeat cesarean section for all future births. Until today women were faced with the choice of letting their insurance company limit the size of their family or pay about $60,000 per child.
Did you know until today your insurance company could deny you care simply because you were pregnant? Stopping this practice has the potential of effecting millions of women and babies. Guaranteeing access to quality maternity care impacts not just this generation but the next as well.
Thank you to Representative Capps for working to pass this important legislation for women and babies. When asked about this piece of the bill she said, "I know that bringing a new life into the world can be the most profound moment in a woman’s life. And I am proud that this new legislation will afford women more choices regarding the setting in which this momentous occasion can occur. One of the many important provisions in the new health reform legislation is the increased access to care in a variety of settings, including for women who choose to obtain prenatal care and deliver their babies in freestanding birth centers. I was proud to support this provision that assures these centers Medicaid reimbursement for providing this important service in promoting women’s health."
Hidden in the thousands of pages of the Health Care Bill that President Obama signed into law were some items very few people were aware of that will effect women all across the country. They target issues concerning maternity care and they have the power to change our beliefs about where, how and with whom women should be giving birth in our country.
Did you know forty-two % of all births in the U.S. are paid for through Medicaid reimbursement? Now women will have a choice of how they use that money. They can continue to choose to birth in a hospital with a doctor but they can also choose to have a Certified Nurse Midwife attend them in a hospital, or they could attend them at an out of hospital birth center. Another option is to have a Certified Professional Midwife attend them at an out of hospital birth center. This doesn’t just represent more freedom for women to choose the birth the want it also represents a huge cost savings to the Medicaid budget. The average hospital birth with a doctor attending costs approximately $20,000. It skyrockets to $60,000 for a cesarean section birth. With our national cesarean section rate climbing every day this is a serious chunk of change. On the other hand the average cost for a birth center birth is approximately ¼ of that or $5000. Not all women should be birthing in birth centers with midwives but if just 5% of women choose this option it will mean millions of dollars a year saved.
Did you know until today they was no widespread standardized assessment of the maternity care being offered in this country? Statistics relating to the benefits and risks of current practices in use today, such as, induction of labor, medication to speed labor, or drugs for pain relief were not being kept in a national database. Over time this data base will yield important information for women and their care providers. Helping them base their care on informed choices.
Did you know women were being denied health care coverage because they had given birth by cesarean section? This was being labeled a pre-existing condition which ruled them out of further care. On top of that the current stance of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists about vaginal birth after cesarean section makes it impossible for many women in the U.S. to do anything except have a repeat cesarean section for all future births. Until today women were faced with the choice of letting their insurance company limit the size of their family or pay about $60,000 per child.
Did you know until today your insurance company could deny you care simply because you were pregnant? Stopping this practice has the potential of effecting millions of women and babies. Guaranteeing access to quality maternity care impacts not just this generation but the next as well.
Thank you to Representative Capps for working to pass this important legislation for women and babies. When asked about this piece of the bill she said, "I know that bringing a new life into the world can be the most profound moment in a woman’s life. And I am proud that this new legislation will afford women more choices regarding the setting in which this momentous occasion can occur. One of the many important provisions in the new health reform legislation is the increased access to care in a variety of settings, including for women who choose to obtain prenatal care and deliver their babies in freestanding birth centers. I was proud to support this provision that assures these centers Medicaid reimbursement for providing this important service in promoting women’s health."
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
E-Mail Correspondence with Congresswoman Capps
Here is the e-mail I sent to Betsy Umhofer, Representative Capps' local Liaison and Congresswoman Capps' reply.
Dear Ms. Umhofer,
I would like to thank you and Representative Capps for your work on the Health Care Bill, especially the part that includes Medicaid reimbursement for Certified Nurse Midwives & Certified Professional Midwives working in out of hospital birth centers. Your work will provide quality maternity care for many women in our community who seek out of hospital birth experiences. I have written a piece about the legislation on my blog: http://slolaboroflovedoula.blogspot.com/2010/03/historic-health-care-bill-for-women.html.
I am currently working on an opinion piece about it for either New Times or Women’s Press. Would Congresswoman Capps care to send a quote about why she supported this piece of the overall bill and what she hopes will come from it?
Here is Congresswoman Capps' reply
"I know that bringing a new life into the world can be the most profound moment in a woman’s life. And I am proud that this new legislation will afford women more choices regarding the setting in which this momentous occasion can occur. One of the many important provisions in the new health reform legislation is the increased access to care in a variety of settings, including for women who choose to obtain prenatal care and deliver their babies in freestanding birth centers. I was proud to support this provision that assures these centers Medicaid reimbursement for providing this important service in promoting women’s health."
Dear Ms. Umhofer,
I would like to thank you and Representative Capps for your work on the Health Care Bill, especially the part that includes Medicaid reimbursement for Certified Nurse Midwives & Certified Professional Midwives working in out of hospital birth centers. Your work will provide quality maternity care for many women in our community who seek out of hospital birth experiences. I have written a piece about the legislation on my blog: http://slolaboroflovedoula.blogspot.com/2010/03/historic-health-care-bill-for-women.html.
I am currently working on an opinion piece about it for either New Times or Women’s Press. Would Congresswoman Capps care to send a quote about why she supported this piece of the overall bill and what she hopes will come from it?
Here is Congresswoman Capps' reply
"I know that bringing a new life into the world can be the most profound moment in a woman’s life. And I am proud that this new legislation will afford women more choices regarding the setting in which this momentous occasion can occur. One of the many important provisions in the new health reform legislation is the increased access to care in a variety of settings, including for women who choose to obtain prenatal care and deliver their babies in freestanding birth centers. I was proud to support this provision that assures these centers Medicaid reimbursement for providing this important service in promoting women’s health."
More Great News About the Health Care Legislation!
This just e-mailed to me from Childbirth Connection, another group that worked hard to get important items for women and babies included in this bill.
Dear Friend, On Sunday, March 21, the House of Representatives took a courageous and giant step toward a better health care system for America’s women, babies and families with the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. This legislation will make a significant difference in the lives of millions of women, babies and families by expanding access to health insurance, ending insurance industry practices that discriminate against women, and improving the quality and cost of health care.
Childbirth Connection worked hard over the last year to ensure that the special needs of women and babies were considered in health care reform. We are happy to report that our efforts resulted in provisions in the bill for measuring and reporting on the quality of adult health care covered by Medicaid. Because Medicaid pays for about 42% of births in the country, this provision offers important opportunities for using performance measurement to improve the quality and value of maternity care. Childbirth Connection is committed to ensuring that the new performance measurement program gives appropriate attention to childbearing women and newborns. We will work on implementation with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and other stakeholders.
This accomplishment would not have been possible without the support of many individuals and organizations committed to significant improvements in maternity care access and quality. Special thanks to Representatives Elliot Engel and Lois Capps, as well as the staffs of the House Energy & Commerce and Senate Finance Committees for supporting these important quality improvement provisions. We also thank the many national organizations and countless individuals who advocated for these provisions.
Other provisions in the bill that will benefit women and babies include:
Health insurance coverage for women before, during and between pregnancies
Medicaid reimbursement for licensed caregivers offering services in licensed birth centers
Medicaid reimbursement of the birth center facility fee
100% reimbursement of Certified Nurse-Midwives’ services in Medicare Part B
Elimination of denial of insurance coverage due to pre-existing conditions such as being pregnant, having had a cesarean section, or being a victim of domestic violence
Workplace protections for nursing mothers
Screening for postpartum depression
Prenatal and postpartum nurse home visits for low-income, first-time families and their children Coverage for a range of preventive services including screening for diabetes and heart disease.
This is all great news for women and families, but there’s still more to do. Please contact your senators (click on “Web Form”) and ask them to pass the reconciliation bill to further strengthen health care reform provisions.
With the President’s signing of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act into law today, please join with Childbirth Connection in celebrating the path-breaking provisions that will be carried out in the weeks, months and years ahead.
Best wishes,
Maureen Corry
Executive Director
Childbirth Connection
Dear Friend, On Sunday, March 21, the House of Representatives took a courageous and giant step toward a better health care system for America’s women, babies and families with the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. This legislation will make a significant difference in the lives of millions of women, babies and families by expanding access to health insurance, ending insurance industry practices that discriminate against women, and improving the quality and cost of health care.
Childbirth Connection worked hard over the last year to ensure that the special needs of women and babies were considered in health care reform. We are happy to report that our efforts resulted in provisions in the bill for measuring and reporting on the quality of adult health care covered by Medicaid. Because Medicaid pays for about 42% of births in the country, this provision offers important opportunities for using performance measurement to improve the quality and value of maternity care. Childbirth Connection is committed to ensuring that the new performance measurement program gives appropriate attention to childbearing women and newborns. We will work on implementation with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and other stakeholders.
This accomplishment would not have been possible without the support of many individuals and organizations committed to significant improvements in maternity care access and quality. Special thanks to Representatives Elliot Engel and Lois Capps, as well as the staffs of the House Energy & Commerce and Senate Finance Committees for supporting these important quality improvement provisions. We also thank the many national organizations and countless individuals who advocated for these provisions.
Other provisions in the bill that will benefit women and babies include:
Health insurance coverage for women before, during and between pregnancies
Medicaid reimbursement for licensed caregivers offering services in licensed birth centers
Medicaid reimbursement of the birth center facility fee
100% reimbursement of Certified Nurse-Midwives’ services in Medicare Part B
Elimination of denial of insurance coverage due to pre-existing conditions such as being pregnant, having had a cesarean section, or being a victim of domestic violence
Workplace protections for nursing mothers
Screening for postpartum depression
Prenatal and postpartum nurse home visits for low-income, first-time families and their children Coverage for a range of preventive services including screening for diabetes and heart disease.
This is all great news for women and families, but there’s still more to do. Please contact your senators (click on “Web Form”) and ask them to pass the reconciliation bill to further strengthen health care reform provisions.
With the President’s signing of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act into law today, please join with Childbirth Connection in celebrating the path-breaking provisions that will be carried out in the weeks, months and years ahead.
Best wishes,
Maureen Corry
Executive Director
Childbirth Connection
Historic Health Care Bill for Women, Maternity Care and Midwives
I just watched President Obama sign into law the health care bill. People may disagree about this bill and what it means for our future. I'm not going to discuss the total bill. What is important to me is something few people are aware of. Buried in this bill is a very important piece of legislation that speaks directly to women & midwives. Because of the passage of this bill women on Medicaid can now seek midwifery care from both a Certified Nurse Midwife or a Certified Professional Midwife and birth their babies in out of hospital birth centers. This is a huge step forward for CPMs in their desire to be acknowledged as birth professionals providing safe care for healthy moms and babies during birth. It will make birth centers more financially viable due to Medicaid reimbursement and therefore will lead to more birth centers being opened and more out of hospital births occurring. This is greatly needed at this time in our country to balance the current medical birth climate and bring down the huge cost of maternity care.
I was very proud to watch our Representative, Congresswoman Lois Capps, at the signing ceremony. I would like to thank her for her dedication and work, for her caring about women's health issues and for her support of midwives & midwifery. I would like to thank the women who cared enough to take the time to sit down with me and Betsy Umhofer, Rep. Capps local liaison, and present to her why she should support this important piece of legislation: Jessica Elliott, past president of BBRN & current midwife in training, Edana Hall, Licensed Midwife, Miday Johnson, Certified Nurse Midwife, Megan Bochum, past local International Cesarean Awareness Network leader and student midwife, Janet Murphy, Cal Poly Child Development Specialist, and Stephanie Wilson, LMST and SLO-Child Abuse Prevention Council Postpartum Depression Specialist. It was women like this all around the country speaking up that made this moment in our history happen. Congratulations!
I was very proud to watch our Representative, Congresswoman Lois Capps, at the signing ceremony. I would like to thank her for her dedication and work, for her caring about women's health issues and for her support of midwives & midwifery. I would like to thank the women who cared enough to take the time to sit down with me and Betsy Umhofer, Rep. Capps local liaison, and present to her why she should support this important piece of legislation: Jessica Elliott, past president of BBRN & current midwife in training, Edana Hall, Licensed Midwife, Miday Johnson, Certified Nurse Midwife, Megan Bochum, past local International Cesarean Awareness Network leader and student midwife, Janet Murphy, Cal Poly Child Development Specialist, and Stephanie Wilson, LMST and SLO-Child Abuse Prevention Council Postpartum Depression Specialist. It was women like this all around the country speaking up that made this moment in our history happen. Congratulations!
Monday, March 22, 2010
A Victory for Mothers and Babies!
I am too busy to write but there has been lots of important news about birth lately in the news. Here is the latest as of this morning. . .
This is an e-mail sent to me from the Mama Campaign, an organization that is dedicated to getting women more access to quality midwifery care in all birth settings.
Midwives and mothers, babies and families, are victors today! With the passage of the Senate health care reform bill in the U.S. House of Representatives on Sunday, March 21, and the signature of the President in the coming days, several provisions that will significantly benefit mothers and babies will now be the law of the land! These provisions will increase access to birth options for low-income women across the country, and will improve the quality of maternity care for all women in the years to come. The MAMA Campaign is proud to have had a role in improving conditions for midwives and mothers in this landmark legislation. The following are now law:
MAMA Campaign’s “partial victory”:
*Senator Cantwell’s provision that will have the effect of requiring Medicaid reimbursement for licensed CPMs offering services in licensed birth centers
*American Association of Birth Center’s provision that mandates Medicaid reimbursement of the birth center facility fee
*Childbirth Connection’s provision requiring quality assessment and improvement measures specific to maternity care
*American College of Nurse Midwives’ equitable reimbursement act for Certified Nurse Midwives
*Giving birth, having a cesarean section, or being the victim of domestic abuse will no longer be considered pre-existing conditions and used to deny insurance coverage to women!
What Happens Now With This Legislative Process?Last night, the House of Representatives passed the Senate health care reform bill that contains the above provisions and the President will sign this bill into law in the coming days. The House also passed a companion reconciliation bill, popularly called a “side car" or "fix it”, to address the House’s concerns about the Senate bill. This companion bill now goes to the Senate for consideration. It is expected that debate will begin in the Senate on Tuesday, and that Republicans will introduce a number of amendments, with debate taking several days. The Senate will be considering this bill under the reconciliation process which requires a simple majority to pass, and Democrats appear confident that they have the votes to pass this bill in the Senate.
Thank You for Your Role in This Victory!Thank you to each and every one of you who supported the MAMA Campaign and these provisions for women and families. Every letter that you wrote and every dollar that you gave made a difference! We look forward to working with you this year as the MAMA Campaign continues the effort to cover all CPM services in all settings in the Federal Medicaid program.Moving Beyond Health Care Reform- MAMA Continues to Fight for CPMsMAMA continues to be on the move for midwives and mothers in Washington, D.C!
The MAMA Campaign Steering Committee met in Washington, D.C. two weeks ago, March 5th – 7th, to evaluate the campaign to date and to re-commit to working together to achieve our central goal: to amend the Social Security Act to require the reimbursement of all CPM services in the Federal Medicaid program. On March 5th, 8th & 9th, steering committee members met with 35 Congressional offices on behalf of midwives and mothers. It was clear in these visits that our policy gained significant support in 2009 in key offices and that this support can be leveraged as we move forward in 2010.
You will be hearing from us over the next weeks and months, asking for your input, your engagement and your support as MAMA continues to do our part to improve maternity care in the U.S. and to increase women’s access to Certified Professional Midwives.
Thank Your Legislators!If your Senators and Congress Members voted for health care reform, including the provisions for women and families, please write to them to thank them. If your legislators voted against health care reform, please write to ask them to ensure in Federal legislation that women have access to Certified Professional Midwives, a high-quality, low-cost option. As always, your legislators need to hear from you on behalf of midwives and mothers!
Support Your MAMA! In celebration of the passage of our “partial victory” and in support of our on-going work to cover all CPM services in all settings in the Federal Medicaid program, please consider donating to the MAMA Campaign today!If you have any questions, concerns or comments please contact the campaign at mailto:info@mamacampaign.org..
This is an e-mail sent to me from the Mama Campaign, an organization that is dedicated to getting women more access to quality midwifery care in all birth settings.
Midwives and mothers, babies and families, are victors today! With the passage of the Senate health care reform bill in the U.S. House of Representatives on Sunday, March 21, and the signature of the President in the coming days, several provisions that will significantly benefit mothers and babies will now be the law of the land! These provisions will increase access to birth options for low-income women across the country, and will improve the quality of maternity care for all women in the years to come. The MAMA Campaign is proud to have had a role in improving conditions for midwives and mothers in this landmark legislation. The following are now law:
MAMA Campaign’s “partial victory”:
*Senator Cantwell’s provision that will have the effect of requiring Medicaid reimbursement for licensed CPMs offering services in licensed birth centers
*American Association of Birth Center’s provision that mandates Medicaid reimbursement of the birth center facility fee
*Childbirth Connection’s provision requiring quality assessment and improvement measures specific to maternity care
*American College of Nurse Midwives’ equitable reimbursement act for Certified Nurse Midwives
*Giving birth, having a cesarean section, or being the victim of domestic abuse will no longer be considered pre-existing conditions and used to deny insurance coverage to women!
What Happens Now With This Legislative Process?Last night, the House of Representatives passed the Senate health care reform bill that contains the above provisions and the President will sign this bill into law in the coming days. The House also passed a companion reconciliation bill, popularly called a “side car" or "fix it”, to address the House’s concerns about the Senate bill. This companion bill now goes to the Senate for consideration. It is expected that debate will begin in the Senate on Tuesday, and that Republicans will introduce a number of amendments, with debate taking several days. The Senate will be considering this bill under the reconciliation process which requires a simple majority to pass, and Democrats appear confident that they have the votes to pass this bill in the Senate.
Thank You for Your Role in This Victory!Thank you to each and every one of you who supported the MAMA Campaign and these provisions for women and families. Every letter that you wrote and every dollar that you gave made a difference! We look forward to working with you this year as the MAMA Campaign continues the effort to cover all CPM services in all settings in the Federal Medicaid program.Moving Beyond Health Care Reform- MAMA Continues to Fight for CPMsMAMA continues to be on the move for midwives and mothers in Washington, D.C!
The MAMA Campaign Steering Committee met in Washington, D.C. two weeks ago, March 5th – 7th, to evaluate the campaign to date and to re-commit to working together to achieve our central goal: to amend the Social Security Act to require the reimbursement of all CPM services in the Federal Medicaid program. On March 5th, 8th & 9th, steering committee members met with 35 Congressional offices on behalf of midwives and mothers. It was clear in these visits that our policy gained significant support in 2009 in key offices and that this support can be leveraged as we move forward in 2010.
You will be hearing from us over the next weeks and months, asking for your input, your engagement and your support as MAMA continues to do our part to improve maternity care in the U.S. and to increase women’s access to Certified Professional Midwives.
Thank Your Legislators!If your Senators and Congress Members voted for health care reform, including the provisions for women and families, please write to them to thank them. If your legislators voted against health care reform, please write to ask them to ensure in Federal legislation that women have access to Certified Professional Midwives, a high-quality, low-cost option. As always, your legislators need to hear from you on behalf of midwives and mothers!
Support Your MAMA! In celebration of the passage of our “partial victory” and in support of our on-going work to cover all CPM services in all settings in the Federal Medicaid program, please consider donating to the MAMA Campaign today!If you have any questions, concerns or comments please contact the campaign at mailto:info@mamacampaign.org..
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Shocking Article in Huffington Post
As is often the case things are not as simple as they may at first appear. I posted the article below immediately after reading an article from the Huffington Post. I have since done some more research of my own and although this case is still shocking it is about as clear as mud.
The hospital, St. Barnabas, in New Jersey has a 49.3% cesarean section rate and wanted the laboring mom to sign a consent to a cesarean surgery as soon as she arrived! The also wanted a consent for an epidural, fetal scalp monitoring, an episiotomy and other procedures. This in and of itself is shocking to me and sends up many red flags.
On the other hand it is possible this women is suffering from mental health issues. Having been with many women in labor, which most psychiatrists or psychologists have not, I do not feel a woman's mental health should ever be assessed during labor. However this woman suffers from a diagnosed pre-existing condition: post traumatic stress disorder. The feelings of labor paired with the actions of the hospital may very well have provoked an episode of some sort. I have witnessed this myself with women who have suffered a trauma in the past. Labor opens many doors into the heart of a woman and sometimes her demons come out. Labor is an extremely vulnerable time. A woman with a history of trauma must be supported with understanding for her unique situation. On top of this I feel that how many hospitals treat women can bring on post traumatic stress disorder. We don't call it that; we call it post partum depression or an inability to reconcile with their cesarean experience.
Here is a link if you want to read further into this sad story after reading my original piece below.
http://www.theunnecesarean.com/blog/2009/7/21/refusal-of-unnecesarean-leads-to-loss-of-custody-vs-story.html
OMG!!! I just read a stunning article about a woman who refused a c-section and although she gave birth vaginally to a healthy baby she had that baby forcibly taken from her afterwards and placed into state foster care. This is so wrong on so many levels that I am having trouble collecting my thoughts enough to write anything coherent. Tragedy; a tragedy for women's civil rights, a tragedy for this child, a tragedy for this family, a tragedy for all the women out there who may want to take a stand against their OB's "advice" but will now have this fear in the back of their minds. I am telling you the push back from the entrenched medical community against the rising tide of natural birth is very ugly indeed. It is coming at us on all levels; through the media (a ridiculous piece on the Today show against homebirth), through individual hospitals (telling women they can't give birth there if they use a doula or write a birth plan) and through individual birth practitioners (steering women into hospital based birth preparation classes and away from educators who advocate for natural birth).
Please educate yourself by reading this important article by Louise Marie Roth on Huffington Post "Is a Woman in Labor a 'Person'? New Assaults on Pregnant Women's Civil Rights in a NJ Case". Prepare yourself because this article is shocking and disturbing. Click on the Link in my Great Resources section. Continue further by reading "Controversy Sparked by a Sign on a Door", also on my Resources Links. Add that to the situation that I wrote about in my Informed Consent article. Then think about a Certified Nurse Midwife in our community, whom I respect, telling a Bradley educator during a public forum that Bradley teaches women to not "trust" their care providers. I believe this is because Bradley teaches women to be good birth "consumers"; to question, choose what they think is right for them and their baby, and to be prepared to stand up for their choice against opposition.
So why is this happening now? Money, power and fear come to mind. Could the current political climate come into play here as well? Is the right to life movement, which is something completely different, be spilling into other issues surrounding a woman's right to choose what is best for her body in other ways? For the first time women in the 'alternative' birth community are speaking up on the national stage, whether it is Ricki Lake's video The Business of Being Born or The Big Push for Midwives Campaign rallying women to speak to their legislators on Capitol Hill to be sure to include Certified Professional Midwives in the current national health care bill. The Internet is connecting women in a way never seen before and the younger women in the birth community are taking full advantage of it. Remember ordinary obstetrics is a huge money maker for the medical community but if you add in the money for inductions, epidurals, c-sections and extra days in the hospitals for moms and babies in neonatal intensive care units the fees skyrocket. On top of that birth is considered a gateway procedure. Women tend to return to the same hospital for additional births and other health issues as well as bringing their husband and kids when they have problems. That adds up to lots of money over lots of years! So what happens if women start saying no to their doctors "advice" to be induced simply because they are at 40 weeks, or work hard to not choose an epidural, or say no to having major abdominal surgery? There is so much to be lost or gained on both sides.
Please read the complete Huffington Post article then send my link on to family or friends you think would benefit. I really want to hear your thoughts on this issue after you have read the linked articles. Post a comment here.
Thanks goes out to the women at ICAN who told me about the Roth article!
The hospital, St. Barnabas, in New Jersey has a 49.3% cesarean section rate and wanted the laboring mom to sign a consent to a cesarean surgery as soon as she arrived! The also wanted a consent for an epidural, fetal scalp monitoring, an episiotomy and other procedures. This in and of itself is shocking to me and sends up many red flags.
On the other hand it is possible this women is suffering from mental health issues. Having been with many women in labor, which most psychiatrists or psychologists have not, I do not feel a woman's mental health should ever be assessed during labor. However this woman suffers from a diagnosed pre-existing condition: post traumatic stress disorder. The feelings of labor paired with the actions of the hospital may very well have provoked an episode of some sort. I have witnessed this myself with women who have suffered a trauma in the past. Labor opens many doors into the heart of a woman and sometimes her demons come out. Labor is an extremely vulnerable time. A woman with a history of trauma must be supported with understanding for her unique situation. On top of this I feel that how many hospitals treat women can bring on post traumatic stress disorder. We don't call it that; we call it post partum depression or an inability to reconcile with their cesarean experience.
Here is a link if you want to read further into this sad story after reading my original piece below.
http://www.theunnecesarean.com/blog/2009/7/21/refusal-of-unnecesarean-leads-to-loss-of-custody-vs-story.html
OMG!!! I just read a stunning article about a woman who refused a c-section and although she gave birth vaginally to a healthy baby she had that baby forcibly taken from her afterwards and placed into state foster care. This is so wrong on so many levels that I am having trouble collecting my thoughts enough to write anything coherent. Tragedy; a tragedy for women's civil rights, a tragedy for this child, a tragedy for this family, a tragedy for all the women out there who may want to take a stand against their OB's "advice" but will now have this fear in the back of their minds. I am telling you the push back from the entrenched medical community against the rising tide of natural birth is very ugly indeed. It is coming at us on all levels; through the media (a ridiculous piece on the Today show against homebirth), through individual hospitals (telling women they can't give birth there if they use a doula or write a birth plan) and through individual birth practitioners (steering women into hospital based birth preparation classes and away from educators who advocate for natural birth).
Please educate yourself by reading this important article by Louise Marie Roth on Huffington Post "Is a Woman in Labor a 'Person'? New Assaults on Pregnant Women's Civil Rights in a NJ Case". Prepare yourself because this article is shocking and disturbing. Click on the Link in my Great Resources section. Continue further by reading "Controversy Sparked by a Sign on a Door", also on my Resources Links. Add that to the situation that I wrote about in my Informed Consent article. Then think about a Certified Nurse Midwife in our community, whom I respect, telling a Bradley educator during a public forum that Bradley teaches women to not "trust" their care providers. I believe this is because Bradley teaches women to be good birth "consumers"; to question, choose what they think is right for them and their baby, and to be prepared to stand up for their choice against opposition.
So why is this happening now? Money, power and fear come to mind. Could the current political climate come into play here as well? Is the right to life movement, which is something completely different, be spilling into other issues surrounding a woman's right to choose what is best for her body in other ways? For the first time women in the 'alternative' birth community are speaking up on the national stage, whether it is Ricki Lake's video The Business of Being Born or The Big Push for Midwives Campaign rallying women to speak to their legislators on Capitol Hill to be sure to include Certified Professional Midwives in the current national health care bill. The Internet is connecting women in a way never seen before and the younger women in the birth community are taking full advantage of it. Remember ordinary obstetrics is a huge money maker for the medical community but if you add in the money for inductions, epidurals, c-sections and extra days in the hospitals for moms and babies in neonatal intensive care units the fees skyrocket. On top of that birth is considered a gateway procedure. Women tend to return to the same hospital for additional births and other health issues as well as bringing their husband and kids when they have problems. That adds up to lots of money over lots of years! So what happens if women start saying no to their doctors "advice" to be induced simply because they are at 40 weeks, or work hard to not choose an epidural, or say no to having major abdominal surgery? There is so much to be lost or gained on both sides.
Please read the complete Huffington Post article then send my link on to family or friends you think would benefit. I really want to hear your thoughts on this issue after you have read the linked articles. Post a comment here.
Thanks goes out to the women at ICAN who told me about the Roth article!
Friday, November 6, 2009
How One Midwife Can Make a Difference in Our Community.
Below is a statement I read to Betsy Umhofer. Betsy is an aide to Congresswoman Lois Capps our local Representative. We were there as part of The Big Push for Midwives Campaign. As our closing statement I chose to highlight one of our local Certified Nurse Midwives as an example of how one midwife can truly make a difference.
Sandy Rodriguez was born at Mountain View Hospital in San Luis Obispo and grew up here. She received her midwifery degree from the University of Southern California at the Women’s Hospital in Los Angeles and became a Certified Nurse Midwife. She has practiced in our community for 26 years as a primary care midwife and delivered approximately 2,600 San Luis Obispo county babies. She has worked in all 3 of our hospitals: French Hospital, Sierra Vista Hospital and General Hospital. She has worked directly with 4 medical practices: Dr. Johnson, Dr. Segal, Dr. Krumhout and Mission Medical Clinic. She has worked with almost every doctor in our community: Dr. Richards, Dr. Storrer, Dr. Freeman, Dr. Monroy, Dr. Lickness, Dr. Clutter, Dr. Haupt, Dr. Yinn, Dr. Goodrich, Dr. Spalding, Dr. Safarik, and Dr. Hirsh; all of whom respect her and her abilities as a birth professional. She has worked collaboratively with many other CNMs over the years, including: Rhia Liama, Vickie Charbano, Penny Hall, Linda Seeley, Nora Lewis, Linda Richards, JoAnne Tarkington and more. Currently she is in practice with and imparting her years of valuable experience to Helen Cominos and Lisa Winnick. Over the years she has also had working relationships with our local Licensed Midwives: Sue O’Connor, Brenda Ramler, and Edana Hall; agreeing to allow women to see her a few times prenatally and then being willing to receive them as clients in the hospital in the event a transfer of care was needed. She has touched the lives of thousands of women in our county providing quality prenatal care. Currently she is busy supporting women in their choices and catching babies, some of whom are babies of women who were babies she delivered. Sandy’s cesarean section rate is about 8%. This represents a savings between $12.3 million and $24.7 million. But the human cost is better represented by the fact that she saved between 300 and 600 women from undergoing major abdominal surgery during one of life’s most important rites of passage.
Yesterday I stated that I would not be using full names of birthing women or telling their birth stories. Their privacy is important to me. I will be sharing things I have witnessed without connecting it to a particular woman. Further I will be using full names of care providers when they deserve a "thumbs up".
I would personally like to thank Sandy Rodriguez for always being open to helping my clients and to working with me as part of a birth team.
Tomorrow I'll explain more about The Big Push for Midwives.
Sandy Rodriguez was born at Mountain View Hospital in San Luis Obispo and grew up here. She received her midwifery degree from the University of Southern California at the Women’s Hospital in Los Angeles and became a Certified Nurse Midwife. She has practiced in our community for 26 years as a primary care midwife and delivered approximately 2,600 San Luis Obispo county babies. She has worked in all 3 of our hospitals: French Hospital, Sierra Vista Hospital and General Hospital. She has worked directly with 4 medical practices: Dr. Johnson, Dr. Segal, Dr. Krumhout and Mission Medical Clinic. She has worked with almost every doctor in our community: Dr. Richards, Dr. Storrer, Dr. Freeman, Dr. Monroy, Dr. Lickness, Dr. Clutter, Dr. Haupt, Dr. Yinn, Dr. Goodrich, Dr. Spalding, Dr. Safarik, and Dr. Hirsh; all of whom respect her and her abilities as a birth professional. She has worked collaboratively with many other CNMs over the years, including: Rhia Liama, Vickie Charbano, Penny Hall, Linda Seeley, Nora Lewis, Linda Richards, JoAnne Tarkington and more. Currently she is in practice with and imparting her years of valuable experience to Helen Cominos and Lisa Winnick. Over the years she has also had working relationships with our local Licensed Midwives: Sue O’Connor, Brenda Ramler, and Edana Hall; agreeing to allow women to see her a few times prenatally and then being willing to receive them as clients in the hospital in the event a transfer of care was needed. She has touched the lives of thousands of women in our county providing quality prenatal care. Currently she is busy supporting women in their choices and catching babies, some of whom are babies of women who were babies she delivered. Sandy’s cesarean section rate is about 8%. This represents a savings between $12.3 million and $24.7 million. But the human cost is better represented by the fact that she saved between 300 and 600 women from undergoing major abdominal surgery during one of life’s most important rites of passage.
Yesterday I stated that I would not be using full names of birthing women or telling their birth stories. Their privacy is important to me. I will be sharing things I have witnessed without connecting it to a particular woman. Further I will be using full names of care providers when they deserve a "thumbs up".
I would personally like to thank Sandy Rodriguez for always being open to helping my clients and to working with me as part of a birth team.
Tomorrow I'll explain more about The Big Push for Midwives.
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