This past July, my new idol, Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-California), brought before Congress the Maximizing Optimal Maternity Services (MOMS) For the 21st Century Act. This groundbreaking proposal to vastly change the way maternity care is handled in the U.S. has the potential to change the lives of millions of women, making childbirth safer and more satisfying for all expectant moms.
This act has been supported by Amnesty International, who earlier this year released a shocking report on the rising maternal mortality rate and the overall disparity in care amongst racial and socioeconomic groups. The MOMS Act specifically addresses these issues, while promoting an overall change in maternity care to a more holistic model. The bill proposes an increase in midwife-attended births as well as a broad-reaching educational campaign to educate women on their options in childbirth.
Not surprisingly, ACOG has jumped in with a bill with an almost identical name, with similarly worded content that nonetheless, would keep the level of maternity care in the U.S. at its current, dismal status. The bulk of this initative is to focus on research on why there has been a rise in complications in pregnancy and thus the rise in interventions, citing obesity, and poor record taking as some of the main causes. As PushGirl Friday of the Unnecesarean put it, it's, "[b]ecause as we all know, the problem with maternity care in the US is with the women who receive it, not with the care they receive," and if you look at the slew of recent studies regarding these trends--the "Too Posh to Push" meta study in the UK and the flurry of obesity studies--it seems like the obstetrical community really does look to the women first to find the problem.
Midterm elections are fast approaching and what better time to write or call your representative and tell them that you hope they will support Rep. Roybal-Allard in her effort to reform maternity care. I promise I'll have a template letter written by early next week, but an impassioned phone call will certainly serve more for the cause than any formal letter I can muster. Visit OpenCongress.org to find your local Reps and send them a letter directly from the site!
Showing posts with label midwives. Show all posts
Showing posts with label midwives. Show all posts
Friday, October 22, 2010
Friday, September 10, 2010
Afghan Midwifery Training
This was passed along through one of the Bay Area birth doula groups. Please donate if you're able and spread the word about this amazing organization!
Dear Friends,
I try not to send these requests out too often, and appreciate you reading this! As president of Afghans4Tomorrow, and especially when I have an opportunity to help the women and babies in Afghanistan, I hope you won't mind if I tell you about it, and ask for your help too.
We want to provide training for several women who live in Wardak Province (just southwest of Kabul, and heavily controlled by the Taliban) to become Skilled Birthing Attendants in their respective villages. There are no female obstetric doctors in this region, and due to Taliban influence, we are no longer able to find female doctors living in Kabul willing to travel to Wardak to practice. Some women will not go to male doctors, if they are even available. Many instead rely too often on old wives tales, and receive no prenatal care nor have the birth attended by a doctor or midwife or anyone with any training at all.
Afghanistan is one of the most dangerous places to be born, or give birth. A woman dies in childbirth every 27 minutes in Afghanistan, that is 1 in 8 women who give birth. One in five children die before they reach the age of 5.
The formal Midwife Training program in the country is a two-year program that requires the women to live in Kabul for the entire time. We have already trained two midwives and will likely fund more as we find women able to live in Kabul for the two years, which is not so easy.
This program is a way to help bring more skills to the region to help provide safer childbirth and baby checkups to the region now, while we wait and hope for more calm encouraging more doctors to move to the area and while more fully trained Midwives and doctors become available. Our Skilled Birthing Attendant training starts with an intensive 4-week program (to be held in December) conducted by a volunteer American doctor, and is in conjunction with another organization; Mountain to Mountain, who is funding some of the expenses for this training as well as ongoing financial and training for the next three years for the group of women.
Afghans4Tomorrow's responsibility in this program is $20,000, of which we have already raised about $8000. I know things are rough for many of you out there, but if you can't help with a donation yourself, maybe you know someone who would be excited about helping such a program, or know people involved in the Midwife movement that might we willing to share with their friends?
I have attached the actual proposal for those who are interested. I will have more info in the next several days, but feel free to reach out with any questions, and feel free to share this email with anyone you think might be interested in learning about our efforts in helping women to deliver healthy babies in Wardak Afghanistan.
Thanks everyone for taking the time to read this far!
And for those celebrating Ramadan-- Eid Mubarak!
Cheers,Kim
Kimberly O'ConnorPresidentAfghans4TomorrowP: +1 415.282.8281M: +1 415.608.1260Skype: kiminsanfranciscokim@afghans4tomorrow.orgkimoco @mac.comwww.Afghans4Tomorrow.org
Dear Friends,
I try not to send these requests out too often, and appreciate you reading this! As president of Afghans4Tomorrow, and especially when I have an opportunity to help the women and babies in Afghanistan, I hope you won't mind if I tell you about it, and ask for your help too.
We want to provide training for several women who live in Wardak Province (just southwest of Kabul, and heavily controlled by the Taliban) to become Skilled Birthing Attendants in their respective villages. There are no female obstetric doctors in this region, and due to Taliban influence, we are no longer able to find female doctors living in Kabul willing to travel to Wardak to practice. Some women will not go to male doctors, if they are even available. Many instead rely too often on old wives tales, and receive no prenatal care nor have the birth attended by a doctor or midwife or anyone with any training at all.
Afghanistan is one of the most dangerous places to be born, or give birth. A woman dies in childbirth every 27 minutes in Afghanistan, that is 1 in 8 women who give birth. One in five children die before they reach the age of 5.
The formal Midwife Training program in the country is a two-year program that requires the women to live in Kabul for the entire time. We have already trained two midwives and will likely fund more as we find women able to live in Kabul for the two years, which is not so easy.
This program is a way to help bring more skills to the region to help provide safer childbirth and baby checkups to the region now, while we wait and hope for more calm encouraging more doctors to move to the area and while more fully trained Midwives and doctors become available. Our Skilled Birthing Attendant training starts with an intensive 4-week program (to be held in December) conducted by a volunteer American doctor, and is in conjunction with another organization; Mountain to Mountain, who is funding some of the expenses for this training as well as ongoing financial and training for the next three years for the group of women.
Afghans4Tomorrow's responsibility in this program is $20,000, of which we have already raised about $8000. I know things are rough for many of you out there, but if you can't help with a donation yourself, maybe you know someone who would be excited about helping such a program, or know people involved in the Midwife movement that might we willing to share with their friends?
I have attached the actual proposal for those who are interested. I will have more info in the next several days, but feel free to reach out with any questions, and feel free to share this email with anyone you think might be interested in learning about our efforts in helping women to deliver healthy babies in Wardak Afghanistan.
Thanks everyone for taking the time to read this far!
And for those celebrating Ramadan-- Eid Mubarak!
Cheers,Kim
Kimberly O'ConnorPresidentAfghans4TomorrowP: +1 415.282.8281M: +1 415.608.1260Skype: kiminsanfranciscokim@
Monday, August 2, 2010
Victory for midwives: The Midwifery Modernization Act passed
WAY TO GO NEW YORK!
The Midwifery Modernization Act passed unanimously in the New York State Congress and received Gov. Patterson's signature.
The bill was quickly pushed through the New York State Assembly following the recent near demise of midwifery and homebirth in New York City. The previous piece of legislation concerning midwifery required certified midwives to have the written practice agreements (WPA) with an obstetrician in order to practice in the state. In New York City, the only OBs willing to enter into this agreement were to be found at St. Vincent's Hospital, which shut its doors this past March.
The Midwifery Modernization Act removes the need for a WPA, allowing midwives to practice independently as primary care providers. It recognizes them as the qualified care providers they are and not just as second rate specialists for a fringe movement.
Under the new law, midwives may continue to refer women to obstetricians, gynecologist, or physicians when necessary, but this is on a as-needed basis--just the same as your regular physician refers you to any other specialist. This is the standard of care in countries where midwifery care is the norm for pregnancy and birth related matters and has a record of being a safe and cost-effective means of care. In fact, under this model, countries such as The Netherlands, Sweden, and Norway have better maternal and fetal outcomes than the United States where only 1% of births are attended by midwives.
This is also a victory for mothers in New York who now have more options in deciding where and with whom to give birth, an option that should be available to all women without political barriers.
The Midwifery Modernization Act passed unanimously in the New York State Congress and received Gov. Patterson's signature.
The bill was quickly pushed through the New York State Assembly following the recent near demise of midwifery and homebirth in New York City. The previous piece of legislation concerning midwifery required certified midwives to have the written practice agreements (WPA) with an obstetrician in order to practice in the state. In New York City, the only OBs willing to enter into this agreement were to be found at St. Vincent's Hospital, which shut its doors this past March.
The Midwifery Modernization Act removes the need for a WPA, allowing midwives to practice independently as primary care providers. It recognizes them as the qualified care providers they are and not just as second rate specialists for a fringe movement.
Under the new law, midwives may continue to refer women to obstetricians, gynecologist, or physicians when necessary, but this is on a as-needed basis--just the same as your regular physician refers you to any other specialist. This is the standard of care in countries where midwifery care is the norm for pregnancy and birth related matters and has a record of being a safe and cost-effective means of care. In fact, under this model, countries such as The Netherlands, Sweden, and Norway have better maternal and fetal outcomes than the United States where only 1% of births are attended by midwives.
This is also a victory for mothers in New York who now have more options in deciding where and with whom to give birth, an option that should be available to all women without political barriers.
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