NACPM Invites You to Help Increase Access to Midwifery Care
In this Newsletter:
Free MANA Workshop in Portland:
Working Toward Greater Equity in Maternal & Infant Health
NACPM encourages you to join our leadership team at the MANA free pre-conference workshop on Thursday, October 24 in Portland, Oregon: How Does Being White Impact Midwifery Practices? Working Toward a More Inclusive Profession and Greater Equity in Maternal and Infant Health.
Register now for this free MANA workshop!
Many critical conversions emerged at the CPM Symposium 2012 among the attending NACPM members and stakeholders. One of these conversations was the role of societal and institutional racism in the U.S. in birth outcome disparities for women and babies of color. Following the Symposium, the NACPM leadership team committed to work within our sphere to address institutional racism personally and in our profession, and to work more effectively to eliminate racial disparities in the health of mothers and babies in the U.S.
(See NACPM Statement of Strategic Intent to Address Racism and Racial Disparities in the US).
One aspect of this NACPM commitment is to acknowledge and appreciate the work of the Anti-Racism and Anti-Oppression Work in Midwifery (AROM) group that emerged from the CPM Symposium, and to encourage NACPM members to participate and access the anti-racism training resources this group provides.
What You Can Do
Please join the NACPM board and staff at MANA’s pre-conference workshop to learn how to work for racial justice in midwifery with experienced anti-racism facilitators from AROM. We look forward to joining you on October 24th in Portland!
Read more about the CPM Symposium 2012 presentations on racism and birth outcome disparities, including video footage and a wealth of related resources.
NACPM applauds MANA for hosting this workshop – at no charge, and for making this training available to us all.
NABCC Urges Year-Round Efforts to Eliminate Disparities
Following September’s National Infant Mortality Awareness Month, the National Association of Birth Centers of Color (NABCC) urges all of us to work to eliminate disparities in infant mortality throughout the year.
The mission of NABCC is to eliminate disparities in birth outcomes among communities of color by increasing the number of maternity clinics and birth centers owned and/or operated by practitioners of color who are committed to serving communities of color. NACPM encourages all CPMs to support this mission and the work of NABCC.
To be of support, you can make a financial contribution to NABCC, join as a supporter, and “like” and “share” the NABCC Facebook Page.
Please utilize this list of resources from NABCC, including information on infant mortality rates among populations of color, a webinar on welcoming African American women of color into your practice, a video on a Grand Midwife, and the March of Dimes Report Card on prematurity.
We hope to see you at the workshop on the 24th!
Suzy Myers, CPM President
Mary Lawlor, CPM Executive Director