Really?!
Study: High-Tech Interventions Deliver Huge Childbirth Bill
Showing posts with label Birth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Birth. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Panda Gives Birth
This is just so cool. A Mama Panda, left alone to do what comes naturally. What a novel concept.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Oh Survey Can You See?
**The link has been corrected so please try again! www.TheBirthSurvey.com **
An awesome new website (with connections to Lamaze International) is collecting birth experience data from all over the country because, as the website says:
Even though Alabama's results aren't available yet (only NY state's are at this point) this survey is working to compile it for us and will play a role in educating expectant parents of the near future.
If you have had a baby in the past 3 years, PLEASE go take The Birth Survey!
An awesome new website (with connections to Lamaze International) is collecting birth experience data from all over the country because, as the website says:
A growing body of research shows that among the most important factors influencing a woman's likelihood of obstetric interventions, especially cesarean section, induction of labor and episiotomy, are where and with whom she gives birth. In short, a woman who goes to a provider or hospital with high rates of interventions is more likely to end up experiencing those interventions, and to suffer the potential consequences. Research also tells us that facilities and providers with high intervention rates do not necessarily fare any better with respect to health outcomes, and often, in fact, fare worse. Research has shown that transparency and public reporting of health outcomes encourage quality improvements in our maternity care system.
Even though Alabama's results aren't available yet (only NY state's are at this point) this survey is working to compile it for us and will play a role in educating expectant parents of the near future.
If you have had a baby in the past 3 years, PLEASE go take The Birth Survey!
Monday, September 08, 2008
D.C. Midwife Gets Some Awesome Media Attention
Cheers to Ruth Lubic and THANKS to CBS for a great story! May God richly bless this sweet lady and the work she is doing for Mommas and Babies!
(Hey Don Williamson! I hope you see this story!! Our infant mortality rate (10 per 1000) isn't quite as bad as D.C.'s 12 but it's certainly worse than the national average of 6.8!...and you think midwives would make it worse. Hmph.)
Click here to see video from CBSNews.
(CBS) Every time Ruth Lubic fusses over a healthy baby, the joy in her voice comes from eight long years of beating the odds. In Washington, D.C., where the infant mortality rate is almost double the national average, CBS News correspondent Wyatt Andrews reports.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of infant deaths per 1,000 births in the United States is 6.8 - but in Washington, it's 12.2.
Lubic and her team of midwives run a birthing clinic in one of the city's poorest areas. After 800 babies in eight years, they have never lost a child in childbirth, and has cut the rate of premature births - the biggest risk factor for infant mortality - in half.
"You are saving a lot of lives here," Andrews said.
Lubic replied: "Saving lives and increasing the quality of life."
Ruth built her clinic in Washington, D.C., on purpose. She figured if her ideas worked there, if she could tackle infant mortality in Washington, she'd set an example everywhere.
Her approach is simple. She believes low-income women, many on Medicaid, need the prenatal education that midwives provide. Everything from posture, to nutrition, to how the baby grows.
Anike Oliver, who just had a baby boy, Ukama, said she got more time with the midwives than she had with a doctor.
"They wanted to make sure I had as much information as they did," Oliver said.
"Do you think it boils down to just the time you spend with them," Andrews asked Lubic.
"I think so," she replied. "I'm convinced that's what it is. It's time, respect, its treating people with dignity."
And what's most remarkable is that Lubic still does it at 81 years old. She's runs the clinic during the week, then runs homeon the weekends to her husband in New York.
"You could be retired!" Andrews said.
"I'm not tired the first time! Much less retired," Lubic said.
Lubic's biggest fan is D.C. city councilman David Catania. He says because she keeps hundreds of babies out of prenatal care, she saves the city around a $1 million a year. That's why he supports her when Ruth hounds the city council for funding.
"While I tease her a lot about being a pit bull with a smile, I look at her sometimes with complete envy about how you can have such a burning drive at 81," Catania said. "And it's a great inspiration."
"I think I'm insufferable because of my … belief that what I'm doing is the right thing to do," Lubic said.
Lubic says infant mortality is a national disgrace - but a disgrace that midwives can help solve.
And this pit bull with a smile won't let go of that idea until it sinks in nationwide.
© MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.
(Hey Don Williamson! I hope you see this story!! Our infant mortality rate (10 per 1000) isn't quite as bad as D.C.'s 12 but it's certainly worse than the national average of 6.8!...and you think midwives would make it worse. Hmph.)
Click here to see video from CBSNews.
(CBS) Every time Ruth Lubic fusses over a healthy baby, the joy in her voice comes from eight long years of beating the odds. In Washington, D.C., where the infant mortality rate is almost double the national average, CBS News correspondent Wyatt Andrews reports.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of infant deaths per 1,000 births in the United States is 6.8 - but in Washington, it's 12.2.
Lubic and her team of midwives run a birthing clinic in one of the city's poorest areas. After 800 babies in eight years, they have never lost a child in childbirth, and has cut the rate of premature births - the biggest risk factor for infant mortality - in half.
"You are saving a lot of lives here," Andrews said.
Lubic replied: "Saving lives and increasing the quality of life."
Ruth built her clinic in Washington, D.C., on purpose. She figured if her ideas worked there, if she could tackle infant mortality in Washington, she'd set an example everywhere.
Her approach is simple. She believes low-income women, many on Medicaid, need the prenatal education that midwives provide. Everything from posture, to nutrition, to how the baby grows.
Anike Oliver, who just had a baby boy, Ukama, said she got more time with the midwives than she had with a doctor.
"They wanted to make sure I had as much information as they did," Oliver said.
"Do you think it boils down to just the time you spend with them," Andrews asked Lubic.
"I think so," she replied. "I'm convinced that's what it is. It's time, respect, its treating people with dignity."
And what's most remarkable is that Lubic still does it at 81 years old. She's runs the clinic during the week, then runs homeon the weekends to her husband in New York.
"You could be retired!" Andrews said.
"I'm not tired the first time! Much less retired," Lubic said.
Lubic's biggest fan is D.C. city councilman David Catania. He says because she keeps hundreds of babies out of prenatal care, she saves the city around a $1 million a year. That's why he supports her when Ruth hounds the city council for funding.
"While I tease her a lot about being a pit bull with a smile, I look at her sometimes with complete envy about how you can have such a burning drive at 81," Catania said. "And it's a great inspiration."
"I think I'm insufferable because of my … belief that what I'm doing is the right thing to do," Lubic said.
Lubic says infant mortality is a national disgrace - but a disgrace that midwives can help solve.
And this pit bull with a smile won't let go of that idea until it sinks in nationwide.
© MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
More From "The Big Push"
Critical Women's Health Issues Neglected as Physician Group Yet Again Sets its Sites on Midwives
WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 1, 2008)—In the newest phase of its ongoing effort to deny women the right to choose their maternity care providers and birth settings, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) has announced that eliminating access to midwives who specialize in out-of-hospital birth is now the second most important issue on its state legislative agenda. This move puts restricting access to trained midwives ahead of such critical issues as contraceptive equity, ensuring access to emergency contraception, and the prevention and treatment of perinatal HIV/AIDS.
"ACOG claims to be an advocate of women's health and choice, but when it comes to the right to choose to deliver your baby in the privacy of your own home with a Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) who is specifically trained to provide the safest care possible, ACOG's paternalistic colors bleed through," said Susan M. Jenkins, Legal Counsel for the Big Push for Midwives Campaign. "It is astonishing that an organization that purports to be a champion of women's healthcare would put a petty turf battle that affects less than one percent of the nation's childbearing women ahead of pressing issues that have an impact on nearly every woman in this country. If this is not dereliction of duty, I can't imagine what is."
In recent years, ACOG has led a well-financed campaign to fight legislative reforms that would license and regulate CPMs and has now teamed up with the American Medical Association (AMA) to promote legislation that would prevent families from choosing to give birth at home. Despite these joint efforts, the groups have not been successful in defeating the groundswell of grassroots activism in support of full access to a comprehensive range of maternity care options that meet the needs of all families.
"Wisconsin is a good example of what ACOG and the AMA are up against," said Jane Crawford Peterson, CPM, Advocacy Trainer for The Big Push. "Our bipartisan grassroots coalition of everyday people from across the state managed to defeat the most powerful and well-financed special interest groups in Wisconsin, all on an expenses-only budget of $3000 during a legislative session in which $47 million was spent on lobbying. When you try to deny women the fundamental and very personal right to choose where and how to give birth, they will get organized and they will let their elected officials know that restrictions on those rights cannot stand."
Noting these successes, ACOG has recently launched its own grassroots organizing effort, calling on member physicians to recruit their patients to participate in its "Who Will Deliver My Baby?" medical liability reform campaign.
"ACOG itself admits that we're facing a critical shortage of maternity care providers," said Steff Hedenkamp, Communications Coordinator for the Big Push. "They certainly realize that medical liability reform is nothing more than a band aid and that increasing access to midwives and birth settings is critical to fixing our maternity care system and ensuring that rural, low-income and uninsured women don't fall through the cracks. Midwives represent an essential growth segment of the U.S. pool of maternity care providers, but instead of putting the healthcare needs of women first, ACOG would rather devote its considerable lobbying budget to a last-ditch attempt to protect its own bottom line. This is not a happy Labor Day for our nation's mothers and babies."
The Big Push for Midwives (http://www.TheBigPushforMidwives.org) is a nationally coordinated campaign organized to advocate for regulation and licensure of Certified Professional Midwives (CPMs) in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, and to push back against the attempts of the American Medical Association and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists to deny American families access to safe and legal midwifery care. The campaign plays a critical role in building a new model of U.S. maternity care delivery at the local and regional levels, at the heart of which is the Midwives Model of Care, based on the fact that pregnancy and birth are normal life processes. Media inquiries: Steff Hedenkamp (816) 506-4630, steff@thebigpushformidwives.org.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 1, 2008)—In the newest phase of its ongoing effort to deny women the right to choose their maternity care providers and birth settings, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) has announced that eliminating access to midwives who specialize in out-of-hospital birth is now the second most important issue on its state legislative agenda. This move puts restricting access to trained midwives ahead of such critical issues as contraceptive equity, ensuring access to emergency contraception, and the prevention and treatment of perinatal HIV/AIDS.
"ACOG claims to be an advocate of women's health and choice, but when it comes to the right to choose to deliver your baby in the privacy of your own home with a Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) who is specifically trained to provide the safest care possible, ACOG's paternalistic colors bleed through," said Susan M. Jenkins, Legal Counsel for the Big Push for Midwives Campaign. "It is astonishing that an organization that purports to be a champion of women's healthcare would put a petty turf battle that affects less than one percent of the nation's childbearing women ahead of pressing issues that have an impact on nearly every woman in this country. If this is not dereliction of duty, I can't imagine what is."
In recent years, ACOG has led a well-financed campaign to fight legislative reforms that would license and regulate CPMs and has now teamed up with the American Medical Association (AMA) to promote legislation that would prevent families from choosing to give birth at home. Despite these joint efforts, the groups have not been successful in defeating the groundswell of grassroots activism in support of full access to a comprehensive range of maternity care options that meet the needs of all families.
"Wisconsin is a good example of what ACOG and the AMA are up against," said Jane Crawford Peterson, CPM, Advocacy Trainer for The Big Push. "Our bipartisan grassroots coalition of everyday people from across the state managed to defeat the most powerful and well-financed special interest groups in Wisconsin, all on an expenses-only budget of $3000 during a legislative session in which $47 million was spent on lobbying. When you try to deny women the fundamental and very personal right to choose where and how to give birth, they will get organized and they will let their elected officials know that restrictions on those rights cannot stand."
Noting these successes, ACOG has recently launched its own grassroots organizing effort, calling on member physicians to recruit their patients to participate in its "Who Will Deliver My Baby?" medical liability reform campaign.
"ACOG itself admits that we're facing a critical shortage of maternity care providers," said Steff Hedenkamp, Communications Coordinator for the Big Push. "They certainly realize that medical liability reform is nothing more than a band aid and that increasing access to midwives and birth settings is critical to fixing our maternity care system and ensuring that rural, low-income and uninsured women don't fall through the cracks. Midwives represent an essential growth segment of the U.S. pool of maternity care providers, but instead of putting the healthcare needs of women first, ACOG would rather devote its considerable lobbying budget to a last-ditch attempt to protect its own bottom line. This is not a happy Labor Day for our nation's mothers and babies."
The Big Push for Midwives (http://www.TheBigPushforMidwives.org) is a nationally coordinated campaign organized to advocate for regulation and licensure of Certified Professional Midwives (CPMs) in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, and to push back against the attempts of the American Medical Association and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists to deny American families access to safe and legal midwifery care. The campaign plays a critical role in building a new model of U.S. maternity care delivery at the local and regional levels, at the heart of which is the Midwives Model of Care, based on the fact that pregnancy and birth are normal life processes. Media inquiries: Steff Hedenkamp (816) 506-4630, steff@thebigpushformidwives.org.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Friday, February 22, 2008
Anniston Star Article
Whoo hoo!
FROM TODAY'S ANNISTON STAR:
Unexpected ally boosts midwifery bill
By Markeshia Ricks
Star Capitol Correspondent
02-22-2008
MONTGOMERY — A bill that would recognize and license certified professional midwives in Alabama received a boost Thursday from an unlikely ally: a retired physician.
During a public hearing on the matter in the Senate, Sen. Parker Griffith, D-Huntsville, voiced his support for moving the legislation forward.
Griffith, a radiation oncologist and deputy chairman of the Senate Health Committee, said there is no scientific basis for continuing to block certified professional midwives from practicing in Alabama.
Many of the objections to certified professional midwives are theoretical, he said.
"I believe if 22 other states have midwives and after 15 or 20 years they have not rescinded their programs it is because it's safe," he said. "This shouldn't be an issue."
Griffith said that considering the health needs among Alabama's more than 600,000 uninsured people and its high infant-mortality rate, the state's existing health-care providers have had long enough to fix things.
Dr. Don Williamson, state health officer, said one of the solutions to reducing Alabama's high infant-mortality rate is expanding prenatal care through physicians, not licensing midwives.
"There is a reason that the other 26 states haven't done this," he said. "My fear is that we would lose even one baby or one mama because we did this."
Griffith said having the option of using a certified professional midwife would be an opportunity to deliver better health care through collaboration among professionals.
"What I want to see among health-care providers is cooperation, not turf wars and boundary issues because you don't like how someone was trained or because you went to school longer than they did," he said.
Dr. Tom Kincer, a family practice physician and director of Montgomery Family Medicine Residency, said the bill does not foster collaboration, and if it passes he believes physicians will resist working with certified professional midwives.
"There are already certified nurse midwives and they work in hospitals," he said. "The liability is an issue, but under-training is also a concern. I believe observing and participating in 40 deliveries is not enough training."
Dr. Lawrence Jones of Anniston OB/GYN said he believes hospital births are best and he has reservations about even a physician performing an out-of-hospital delivery.
"A lot of the complications of pregnancy can happen all of a sudden during labor," said Jones, who recently moved to Anniston after practicing medicine for 26 years in Nebraska, where lay midwifery is illegal. "With a certified nurse midwife, I don't think I would have trouble working with someone like that, but I don't think I would stick my neck out that far for a lay midwife."
Committee chairwoman Sen. Linda Coleman, D-Birmingham, said the committee would vote on the bill at a later date. She said she hopes the two sides can find some middle ground before the bill is taken up again. Coleman is also the sponsor of the bill in the Senate.
Jennifer Crook Moore, president of the Alabama Birth Coalition, said this is the first time the bill has had a committee member advocate so strongly for it. The House version of the bill was postponed indefinitely earlier this month. "It definitely gives us more hope," Moore said.
The Alabama Birth Coalition will march and then rally at the State House Feb. 26, starting at 11:30 a.m. The coalition also will host a screening of the Ricki Lake film, "The Business of Being Born," at the Capri Theatre in Montgomery.
FROM TODAY'S ANNISTON STAR:
Unexpected ally boosts midwifery bill
By Markeshia Ricks
Star Capitol Correspondent
02-22-2008
MONTGOMERY — A bill that would recognize and license certified professional midwives in Alabama received a boost Thursday from an unlikely ally: a retired physician.
During a public hearing on the matter in the Senate, Sen. Parker Griffith, D-Huntsville, voiced his support for moving the legislation forward.
Griffith, a radiation oncologist and deputy chairman of the Senate Health Committee, said there is no scientific basis for continuing to block certified professional midwives from practicing in Alabama.
Many of the objections to certified professional midwives are theoretical, he said.
"I believe if 22 other states have midwives and after 15 or 20 years they have not rescinded their programs it is because it's safe," he said. "This shouldn't be an issue."
Griffith said that considering the health needs among Alabama's more than 600,000 uninsured people and its high infant-mortality rate, the state's existing health-care providers have had long enough to fix things.
Dr. Don Williamson, state health officer, said one of the solutions to reducing Alabama's high infant-mortality rate is expanding prenatal care through physicians, not licensing midwives.
"There is a reason that the other 26 states haven't done this," he said. "My fear is that we would lose even one baby or one mama because we did this."
Griffith said having the option of using a certified professional midwife would be an opportunity to deliver better health care through collaboration among professionals.
"What I want to see among health-care providers is cooperation, not turf wars and boundary issues because you don't like how someone was trained or because you went to school longer than they did," he said.
Dr. Tom Kincer, a family practice physician and director of Montgomery Family Medicine Residency, said the bill does not foster collaboration, and if it passes he believes physicians will resist working with certified professional midwives.
"There are already certified nurse midwives and they work in hospitals," he said. "The liability is an issue, but under-training is also a concern. I believe observing and participating in 40 deliveries is not enough training."
Dr. Lawrence Jones of Anniston OB/GYN said he believes hospital births are best and he has reservations about even a physician performing an out-of-hospital delivery.
"A lot of the complications of pregnancy can happen all of a sudden during labor," said Jones, who recently moved to Anniston after practicing medicine for 26 years in Nebraska, where lay midwifery is illegal. "With a certified nurse midwife, I don't think I would have trouble working with someone like that, but I don't think I would stick my neck out that far for a lay midwife."
Committee chairwoman Sen. Linda Coleman, D-Birmingham, said the committee would vote on the bill at a later date. She said she hopes the two sides can find some middle ground before the bill is taken up again. Coleman is also the sponsor of the bill in the Senate.
Jennifer Crook Moore, president of the Alabama Birth Coalition, said this is the first time the bill has had a committee member advocate so strongly for it. The House version of the bill was postponed indefinitely earlier this month. "It definitely gives us more hope," Moore said.
The Alabama Birth Coalition will march and then rally at the State House Feb. 26, starting at 11:30 a.m. The coalition also will host a screening of the Ricki Lake film, "The Business of Being Born," at the Capri Theatre in Montgomery.
State House Testimony
You might remember that I said yesterday's efforts at the State House were really GREAT. Today, I'd like to share with you just a teeny morsel of why it was so awesome!
I wish I could post all of the AMAZING advocacy given by the SENATORS for our bill but the notes are just entirely too long. Instead, I will post this. The following is the testimony given in favor of SB 240 :
(I doubt the Moms giving these testimonies would mind their names being attached online but since I've always been funny about it myself, I have removed their last names.)
TESTIMONY 1
Good morning, my name is Cristy _____ and I am a mother of 4 with our 5th blessing on the way, set to arrive in May. My husband and I have been married 9 years and reside in Birmingham.
We are the typical middle class family. We have a house near downtown Bham, two cars, too many toys for the kids to play with, a swing set in the back yard and of course a dog.
Recently, my husband, who has his masters in divinity from Baylor University and who pastors our church downtown was approached by the state to create a non-profit program to help men transition from prison back into society. We accepted their request and thus had to change insurance carriers to eliminate add’l cash outflow, as we started the non-profit with our savings account.
Well, along came our 5th little one and to our surprise our new insurance policy does not cover maternity services for 365 days, and as you can see we can’t wait that long!
We are not quite sure what to do at this point;
1) We can birth unmedicated at the hospital and expect to pay $8-$10,000 out of pocket.
2) We could drive to TN to hire a midwife who is state licensed, but with 4 hour labors we do not feel that is a wise option to spend 2-3 hours of it on the road.
3) We could hire a Certified Professional Midwife who *might* be willing attend us at home, while risking the chance of being arrested and thrown in jail.
4) Or we can have this baby at home with no professional assistance--not an option my husband is thrilled about.
And we are a middle class, well-educated, conservative family. Our family has access to 5 hospitals within a 2-mile radius of our home, yet we can't afford to birth with any of them.
Restricted access to maternity care in Alabama has many faces. The personal one I just shared-- the family who lives in one of the 31 counties with NO hospital maternity services-- the family who is one of the 650,000 Alabamians with NO health insurance-- the family who can’t attend birth classes or prenatal appts. b/c they have limited or no transportation…the list goes on…
The opposition would like to squash this legislation and they would like to incite fear in you all that the risk of homebirth is simply too great. That midwifery care is simply too outdated or not professional enough. Yet they have given you no evidence-based research …just fear-driven opinion.
Senators, there is NO scientific evidence to suggest that planned home births with a qualified attendant is any more dangerous that a low-risk hospital birth. You can refer to tab 3 in your Reference Guide that provides pages upon pages of documented research. The scientific evidence suggest that midwives who possess the CPM credential provide excellent and professional care AND is demonstrated by their national infant mortality rate. (Hold-up and Read the rates from hand-out).
Families in Alabama deserve access to maternity care. Hospitals are closing their doors in rural counties and physicians are flooding the more lucrative, metropolitan areas.
There is a great passage in the Bible from Proverbs 31 that says, "8 Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. 9 Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.”
Today, I am humbly asking you to see the fear tactics for what they are and to choose instead to consider the scientific evidence and be a powerful voice for those who are looking to you for help.
Thank you!
Testimony 2
Good Morning. Thank you all for the opportunity to address you today regarding SB240. My name is Jennifer Moore. I am a Certified Professional Midwife living in Birmingham and licensed in Tennessee. I hold an MA and a Master’s of Public Health in Maternal and Child Health. I am also the President of the Alabama Birth Coalition and as such, am here today representing hundreds of Alabama families who are demanding access to state regulated Certified Professional Midwives.
I’d like to take just a minute to address one point with you. Our opposition refers to us as “lay” midwives. I’ve checked every dictionary in my home, and we have a lot of them because my husband is a professor. And they all say that “lay” means untrained, unskilled, unprofessional. I take exception to that because I trained for five years to obtain the CPM credential. I am not untrained or unskilled.
This morning I would like to draw your attention to two documents that should answer the majority of questions you have about SB240. The first is the Legislator’s Reference Guide. In it you will find answers to most issues regarding the licensure of Certified Professional Midwives. For example, you’ll find answers to questions of safety at tab 3, education at tab 5, and malpractice at tab 6. Members of the Alabama Birth Coalition are eager to discuss with you any questions you may have that are not fully addressed in this guide.
The other document, SB240 Discussion Points, is intended to answer your questions about the bill itself. In this overview of the bill, you will find an outline of every section and provision of the bill, and an interpretation, where needed, of specific provisions. SB240 has been over 5 years in the making, and is the result of many meetings with midwives, parents, and our opposition. Italicized text indicates our response to concerns or objections that have been raised.
If you’d please look at the section explaining the definitions, there is one final point I’d like to make. Under the definition of Licensed Midwife, you will find an explanation of the Certified Professional Midwife credential. We selected this credential as the single qualification for a Licensed Midwife for several reasons.
1. The CPM is the only credential that requires training in the knowledge and skills unique to out-of-hospital birth. Twenty-two of the 24 states which regulate out-of-hospital midwives also use this credential. No state has ever rescinded their midwifery program.
2. The credential is legally defensible and psychometrically sound, which reduces the costs of the regulatory process for the state.
3. Using the CPM as the basis for licensure eliminates the state’s responsibility and liability for all aspects of certification, including the ongoing psychometric evaluation of the written examination.
Thank you for your time and your willingness to consider this important piece of legislation.
Testimony 3
My name is Lisa _____. I am a mother of four and I live in Huntsville.
In 2006, AL’s infant mortality rate was 9.0. The Department of Public Health has identified five factors contributing to Alabama’s rising infant mortality rate: low birth weight; teen pregnancies; mother's health status; high rates of smoking, especially among young women; and lack of health insurance. Senator Coleman recommended last week that we find a mother on Medicaid who used a midwife to testify today. We were unable to do so. But I hope to convey to you some of the obstacles poor mothers face in receiving maternity care, and ways midwives could positively address those barriers.
My third pregnancy was covered by Medicaid. At the time, I was living with my in-laws. To get to a prenatal appointment I had to load up my one- and two-year old children and take my mother-in-law to work so that I had a way to get to the clinic. At the health clinic, we waited an average of 2 hours before I was seen. At every visit, nurses questioned why I was having my children so close together. It was clear they didn’t believe my answer that I was using birth control every time I became pregnant. That was one of many things I felt judged for. Why was I living with my in-laws? Why didn’t I get a job? Why did I care so much about natural childbirth? I hated prenatal appointments. I always left feeling like dirt.
Compared to some mothers, however, I was lucky. At least I had a car, and didn’t have to drive a long distance to the appointments. I spoke English, and so did the nurses. I was allowed to bring my children, and didn’t have to find child care I couldn’t afford. All of these issues can be huge hurdles to a mother receiving prenatal care. If a woman has to work so hard to get to the appointment, only to be treated with disrespect, it’s easy to see why our percentage of less than adequate prenatal care is highest in poor counties. And this is where midwifery care could make a real difference. I give my time to this cause because my midwives shared with me their time, their skill and their wisdom. Above all else, they respected me and their respect motivated me to care for myself better during pregnancy than any other time in my life.
I don’t intend to suggest that midwives are the solution to our high infant mortality rate. It would be difficult to overcome the perception that midwives equal racism and poverty. Furthermore, the number of women who will ever choose home birth with a midwife is very low. Just .3% of Alabama births in 2006 occurred outside a hospital. Nationwide the rate is about 1%. Given the low numbers of out-of-hospital births, and the very different kind of care midwives provide, I contend that Dr. Williamson’s claim midwives at home births will increase our infant mortality rate is not based on evidence. In fact, under tab 8 of your reference guide, you can see that in licensed states which track out-of-hospital perinatal and neonatal mortality rates, they are 45 to 85% lower than overall state rates.
I wish I could post all of the AMAZING advocacy given by the SENATORS for our bill but the notes are just entirely too long. Instead, I will post this. The following is the testimony given in favor of SB 240 :
(I doubt the Moms giving these testimonies would mind their names being attached online but since I've always been funny about it myself, I have removed their last names.)
TESTIMONY 1
Good morning, my name is Cristy _____ and I am a mother of 4 with our 5th blessing on the way, set to arrive in May. My husband and I have been married 9 years and reside in Birmingham.
We are the typical middle class family. We have a house near downtown Bham, two cars, too many toys for the kids to play with, a swing set in the back yard and of course a dog.
Recently, my husband, who has his masters in divinity from Baylor University and who pastors our church downtown was approached by the state to create a non-profit program to help men transition from prison back into society. We accepted their request and thus had to change insurance carriers to eliminate add’l cash outflow, as we started the non-profit with our savings account.
Well, along came our 5th little one and to our surprise our new insurance policy does not cover maternity services for 365 days, and as you can see we can’t wait that long!
We are not quite sure what to do at this point;
1) We can birth unmedicated at the hospital and expect to pay $8-$10,000 out of pocket.
2) We could drive to TN to hire a midwife who is state licensed, but with 4 hour labors we do not feel that is a wise option to spend 2-3 hours of it on the road.
3) We could hire a Certified Professional Midwife who *might* be willing attend us at home, while risking the chance of being arrested and thrown in jail.
4) Or we can have this baby at home with no professional assistance--not an option my husband is thrilled about.
And we are a middle class, well-educated, conservative family. Our family has access to 5 hospitals within a 2-mile radius of our home, yet we can't afford to birth with any of them.
Restricted access to maternity care in Alabama has many faces. The personal one I just shared-- the family who lives in one of the 31 counties with NO hospital maternity services-- the family who is one of the 650,000 Alabamians with NO health insurance-- the family who can’t attend birth classes or prenatal appts. b/c they have limited or no transportation…the list goes on…
The opposition would like to squash this legislation and they would like to incite fear in you all that the risk of homebirth is simply too great. That midwifery care is simply too outdated or not professional enough. Yet they have given you no evidence-based research …just fear-driven opinion.
Senators, there is NO scientific evidence to suggest that planned home births with a qualified attendant is any more dangerous that a low-risk hospital birth. You can refer to tab 3 in your Reference Guide that provides pages upon pages of documented research. The scientific evidence suggest that midwives who possess the CPM credential provide excellent and professional care AND is demonstrated by their national infant mortality rate. (Hold-up and Read the rates from hand-out).
Families in Alabama deserve access to maternity care. Hospitals are closing their doors in rural counties and physicians are flooding the more lucrative, metropolitan areas.
There is a great passage in the Bible from Proverbs 31 that says, "8 Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. 9 Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.”
Today, I am humbly asking you to see the fear tactics for what they are and to choose instead to consider the scientific evidence and be a powerful voice for those who are looking to you for help.
Thank you!
Testimony 2
Good Morning. Thank you all for the opportunity to address you today regarding SB240. My name is Jennifer Moore. I am a Certified Professional Midwife living in Birmingham and licensed in Tennessee. I hold an MA and a Master’s of Public Health in Maternal and Child Health. I am also the President of the Alabama Birth Coalition and as such, am here today representing hundreds of Alabama families who are demanding access to state regulated Certified Professional Midwives.
I’d like to take just a minute to address one point with you. Our opposition refers to us as “lay” midwives. I’ve checked every dictionary in my home, and we have a lot of them because my husband is a professor. And they all say that “lay” means untrained, unskilled, unprofessional. I take exception to that because I trained for five years to obtain the CPM credential. I am not untrained or unskilled.
This morning I would like to draw your attention to two documents that should answer the majority of questions you have about SB240. The first is the Legislator’s Reference Guide. In it you will find answers to most issues regarding the licensure of Certified Professional Midwives. For example, you’ll find answers to questions of safety at tab 3, education at tab 5, and malpractice at tab 6. Members of the Alabama Birth Coalition are eager to discuss with you any questions you may have that are not fully addressed in this guide.
The other document, SB240 Discussion Points, is intended to answer your questions about the bill itself. In this overview of the bill, you will find an outline of every section and provision of the bill, and an interpretation, where needed, of specific provisions. SB240 has been over 5 years in the making, and is the result of many meetings with midwives, parents, and our opposition. Italicized text indicates our response to concerns or objections that have been raised.
If you’d please look at the section explaining the definitions, there is one final point I’d like to make. Under the definition of Licensed Midwife, you will find an explanation of the Certified Professional Midwife credential. We selected this credential as the single qualification for a Licensed Midwife for several reasons.
1. The CPM is the only credential that requires training in the knowledge and skills unique to out-of-hospital birth. Twenty-two of the 24 states which regulate out-of-hospital midwives also use this credential. No state has ever rescinded their midwifery program.
2. The credential is legally defensible and psychometrically sound, which reduces the costs of the regulatory process for the state.
3. Using the CPM as the basis for licensure eliminates the state’s responsibility and liability for all aspects of certification, including the ongoing psychometric evaluation of the written examination.
Thank you for your time and your willingness to consider this important piece of legislation.
Testimony 3
My name is Lisa _____. I am a mother of four and I live in Huntsville.
In 2006, AL’s infant mortality rate was 9.0. The Department of Public Health has identified five factors contributing to Alabama’s rising infant mortality rate: low birth weight; teen pregnancies; mother's health status; high rates of smoking, especially among young women; and lack of health insurance. Senator Coleman recommended last week that we find a mother on Medicaid who used a midwife to testify today. We were unable to do so. But I hope to convey to you some of the obstacles poor mothers face in receiving maternity care, and ways midwives could positively address those barriers.
My third pregnancy was covered by Medicaid. At the time, I was living with my in-laws. To get to a prenatal appointment I had to load up my one- and two-year old children and take my mother-in-law to work so that I had a way to get to the clinic. At the health clinic, we waited an average of 2 hours before I was seen. At every visit, nurses questioned why I was having my children so close together. It was clear they didn’t believe my answer that I was using birth control every time I became pregnant. That was one of many things I felt judged for. Why was I living with my in-laws? Why didn’t I get a job? Why did I care so much about natural childbirth? I hated prenatal appointments. I always left feeling like dirt.
Compared to some mothers, however, I was lucky. At least I had a car, and didn’t have to drive a long distance to the appointments. I spoke English, and so did the nurses. I was allowed to bring my children, and didn’t have to find child care I couldn’t afford. All of these issues can be huge hurdles to a mother receiving prenatal care. If a woman has to work so hard to get to the appointment, only to be treated with disrespect, it’s easy to see why our percentage of less than adequate prenatal care is highest in poor counties. And this is where midwifery care could make a real difference. I give my time to this cause because my midwives shared with me their time, their skill and their wisdom. Above all else, they respected me and their respect motivated me to care for myself better during pregnancy than any other time in my life.
I don’t intend to suggest that midwives are the solution to our high infant mortality rate. It would be difficult to overcome the perception that midwives equal racism and poverty. Furthermore, the number of women who will ever choose home birth with a midwife is very low. Just .3% of Alabama births in 2006 occurred outside a hospital. Nationwide the rate is about 1%. Given the low numbers of out-of-hospital births, and the very different kind of care midwives provide, I contend that Dr. Williamson’s claim midwives at home births will increase our infant mortality rate is not based on evidence. In fact, under tab 8 of your reference guide, you can see that in licensed states which track out-of-hospital perinatal and neonatal mortality rates, they are 45 to 85% lower than overall state rates.
Friday, February 08, 2008
Thursday, February 07, 2008
ACOG - A Trade Union - Not a Consumer Group
PushNews from The Big Push for Midwives Campaign
CONTACT: Steff Hedenkamp, (816) 506-4630, RedQuill@kc.rr.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, February 7, 2008
ACOG: Out of Touch with Needs of Childbearing Families
Trade Union claims out-of-hospital birth is “trendy;”
tries to play the “bad mother” card
(February 7, 2008) — The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), a trade union representing the financial and professional interests of obstetricians, has issued the latest in a series of statements condemning families who choose home birth and calling on policy makers to deny them access to Certified Professional Midwives. CPMs are trained as experts in out-of-hospital delivery and as specialists in risk assessment and preventative care.
“It will certainly come as news to the Amish and other groups in this country who have long chosen home birth that they’re simply being ‘trendy’ or ‘fashionable,’” said Katie Prown, PhD, Campaign Manager of The Big Push for Midwives 2008. “The fact is, families deliver their babies at home for a variety of very valid reasons, either because they’re exercising their religious freedom, following their cultural traditions or because of financial need. These families deserve access to safe, quality and affordable maternity care, just like everyone else.”
Besides referring to home birth as a fashionable “trend” and a “cause célèbre” that families choose out of ignorance, ACOG’s latest statement adds insult to injury by claiming that women delivering outside of the hospital are bad mothers who value the childbirth “experience” over the safety of their babies.
“ACOG has it backwards,” said Steff Hedenkamp, Communications Coordinator of The Big Push and the mother of two children born at home. “I delivered my babies with a trained, skilled professional midwife because I wanted the safest out-of-hospital care possible. If every state were to follow ACOG’s recommendations and outlaw CPMs, families who choose home birth will be left with no care providers at all. I think we can all agree that this is an irresponsible policy that puts mothers and babies at risk.”
The Big Push for Midwives calls on ACOG to abandon these outdated policies and work with CPMs to reduce the cesarean rate and to take meaningful steps towards reducing racial and ethnic disparities in birth outcomes in all regions of the United States. CPMs play a critical role in both cesarean prevention and in the reduction of low-birth weight and pre-term births, the two most preventable causes of neonatal mortality.
Moreover, their training as specialists in out-of-hospital maternity care qualifies CPMs as essential first-responders during disasters in which hospitals become inaccessible or unsafe for laboring mothers. In addition, CPMs work to ensure that all babies born outside of the hospital undergo state-mandated newborn screenings and are provided with legal and secure birth certificates.
Currently, Certified Nurse-Midwives, who work predominantly in hospital settings, are licensed and regulated in all 50 states, while Certified Professional Midwives, who work in out-of-hospital settings, are licensed and regulated in 24 states, with legislation pending in an additional 20 states.
The Big Push for Midwives is a nationally coordinated campaign to advocate for regulation and licensure of Certified Professional Midwives (CPMs) in all 50 states, the District of Columbia andPuerto Rico, and to push back against the attempts of the American Medical Association Scope of Practice Partnership to deny American families access to legal midwifery care.
Media inquiries should be directed to Steff Hedenkamp (816) 506-4630,RedQuill@kc.rr.com.
CONTACT: Steff Hedenkamp, (816) 506-4630, RedQuill@kc.rr.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, February 7, 2008
ACOG: Out of Touch with Needs of Childbearing Families
Trade Union claims out-of-hospital birth is “trendy;”
tries to play the “bad mother” card
(February 7, 2008) — The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), a trade union representing the financial and professional interests of obstetricians, has issued the latest in a series of statements condemning families who choose home birth and calling on policy makers to deny them access to Certified Professional Midwives. CPMs are trained as experts in out-of-hospital delivery and as specialists in risk assessment and preventative care.
“It will certainly come as news to the Amish and other groups in this country who have long chosen home birth that they’re simply being ‘trendy’ or ‘fashionable,’” said Katie Prown, PhD, Campaign Manager of The Big Push for Midwives 2008. “The fact is, families deliver their babies at home for a variety of very valid reasons, either because they’re exercising their religious freedom, following their cultural traditions or because of financial need. These families deserve access to safe, quality and affordable maternity care, just like everyone else.”
Besides referring to home birth as a fashionable “trend” and a “cause célèbre” that families choose out of ignorance, ACOG’s latest statement adds insult to injury by claiming that women delivering outside of the hospital are bad mothers who value the childbirth “experience” over the safety of their babies.
“ACOG has it backwards,” said Steff Hedenkamp, Communications Coordinator of The Big Push and the mother of two children born at home. “I delivered my babies with a trained, skilled professional midwife because I wanted the safest out-of-hospital care possible. If every state were to follow ACOG’s recommendations and outlaw CPMs, families who choose home birth will be left with no care providers at all. I think we can all agree that this is an irresponsible policy that puts mothers and babies at risk.”
The Big Push for Midwives calls on ACOG to abandon these outdated policies and work with CPMs to reduce the cesarean rate and to take meaningful steps towards reducing racial and ethnic disparities in birth outcomes in all regions of the United States. CPMs play a critical role in both cesarean prevention and in the reduction of low-birth weight and pre-term births, the two most preventable causes of neonatal mortality.
Moreover, their training as specialists in out-of-hospital maternity care qualifies CPMs as essential first-responders during disasters in which hospitals become inaccessible or unsafe for laboring mothers. In addition, CPMs work to ensure that all babies born outside of the hospital undergo state-mandated newborn screenings and are provided with legal and secure birth certificates.
Currently, Certified Nurse-Midwives, who work predominantly in hospital settings, are licensed and regulated in all 50 states, while Certified Professional Midwives, who work in out-of-hospital settings, are licensed and regulated in 24 states, with legislation pending in an additional 20 states.
The Big Push for Midwives
Media inquiries should be directed to Steff Hedenkamp (816) 506-4630,RedQuill@kc.rr.com.
Monday, February 04, 2008
Yay for T-Town Newspaper!
It's that time of year again! The BIG PUSH for midwives! A big WHOO HOO to the Tuscaloosa News for a well-written article!
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Laughter Is The Best Medicine
(edited to embed a better quality video!)
I didn't even know this Monty Python video existed until I saw snips of it in The Business of Being Born! HILARIOUS!
(Hey Locals!!! If you'd like to see The Business of Being Born, I have some tickets available for $10 each...or if you tell me you read this on my blog, I might be able to offer them at a discount...drop me a line at theglycofamily at gmail dot com and let's discuss it!)
I didn't even know this Monty Python video existed until I saw snips of it in The Business of Being Born! HILARIOUS!
(Hey Locals!!! If you'd like to see The Business of Being Born, I have some tickets available for $10 each...or if you tell me you read this on my blog, I might be able to offer them at a discount...drop me a line at theglycofamily at gmail dot com and let's discuss it!)
Monday, January 21, 2008
Montgomery Needs A Celebrity!
I know many of you lovely readers are as grossly curious about the celebrity world as I am so there's a chance some of you have already seen Celebrity-Babies.com.
I love this link because it lists so many celebrity Moms who have homebirths! I'd LOVE to get one of them to town for our big Rally / Business of Being Born screening on February 26th. Anybody have any connections? :)
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
The Business Of Being Born again
ETA (edited to add) that I just realized I have the term "born again" in the title of this post and obviously, this movie is nothing about being a born-again Christian.
This time, in the form of a trailer!
Will be screening locally at the end of February. Let me know if you're interested in attending! I can hook you up!
This time, in the form of a trailer!
Will be screening locally at the end of February. Let me know if you're interested in attending! I can hook you up!
You Can't Escape Completely, Though
Sorry but this article in the New York Times makes me want to publicize (early to you guys, by the way) our viewing of the same movie next month! (Let me know if you want tickets!)
Edited - Some Of You Will Be Happy To Know
Lucky ducks, some of you are!
I'm taking on a new strategy regarding the educating of my readers about Midwifery in Alabama. As many of you know, I am involved with the Midwifery lobbying efforts going on in our state and, even though I'm anxious to share with everyone all of the info that I can, it has been decided by me to postpone (and remove) all the educational posts until after it's all presented at the State House. Even though the info is already "out there" in our publications, I don't want to provide spoilers so easily for the great adventure that awaits us in February.
This might not make sense to many of you and a lot of you aren't even reading this sentence because you moved on already, but I felt the need to explain a little about why my scheduled posts have changed.
You may now resume your day :)
I'm taking on a new strategy regarding the educating of my readers about Midwifery in Alabama. As many of you know, I am involved with the Midwifery lobbying efforts going on in our state and, even though I'm anxious to share with everyone all of the info that I can, it has been decided by me to postpone (and remove) all the educational posts until after it's all presented at the State House. Even though the info is already "out there" in our publications, I don't want to provide spoilers so easily for the great adventure that awaits us in February.
This might not make sense to many of you and a lot of you aren't even reading this sentence because you moved on already, but I felt the need to explain a little about why my scheduled posts have changed.
You may now resume your day :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
