Congratulations CPMs! The National Association of Certified Professional Midwives has been accepted as a member in the International Confederation of Midwives! NACPM for the first time will send 2 delegates and 2 observers to the ICM governing Council meeting, as well as to the 30th Triennial Congress in Prague this June 2014.
Towards Eliminating Disparities and Eradicating Racism
In a recent NACPM survey of members, over 90% of respondents included eliminating perinatal disparities and eradicating racism in midwifery as important priorities for NACPM. NACPM is committed to advancing these priorities . Now comes an important opportunity to join with others from around our country and the world to examine challenging concepts of privilege and oppression and to find solutions and identify strategies to work toward a more equitable world.
Please join NACPM in supporting and attending the 15th White Privilege Conference: Building Relationships! Strengthening Communities! Seeking Justice! on March 26-29 in Madison, Wisconsin. Follow the lead of the Wisconsin NACPM Pilot Chapter in promoting social justice in the midwifery profession and reducing health inequities for childbearing women. Read below for opportunities to support and participate.
In recognition of Black History Month in February, NACPM honors the foundational role that African American midwives have played and continue to play in the lives and health of women and babies in the U.S. NACPM honors the role of community leaders around the country for their unflagging leadership in the critical effort to eliminate birth disparities. Please read below for a small sampling of their work. Take a look at Claudia Booker’s Black History Midwife Calendar for a beautiful tribute to many of these national leaders.
With all best wishes,
Mary Lawlor, CPM
Executive Director, NACPM
Join NACPM at the White Privilege Conference
The 15th White Privilege Conference: Building Relationships! Strengthening Communities! Seeking Justice! brings together 1500 people annually for a comprehensive look at issues of privilege including: race, gender, sexuality, class, disability, etc. – the ways we all experience some form of privilege, and how we’re all affected by that privilege.
Participants will include high school and college students, teachers, university faculty and higher education professionals, nonprofit staff, activists, social workers and counselors, healthcare workers, and members of the spiritual community and corporate arena. We are excited to have the opportunity to examine the stubborn problems of equity and disparities in maternity care through this lens, and in the company of others who are thinking about privilege in this country as it impacts education, health care, business and more!
NACPM is a sponsor of the White Privilege Conference and will send three NACPM board members and staff to this important gathering. We encourage CPMs throughout the country to join us in supporting and attending this event – we look forward to seeing you there!
Wisconsin NACPM Chapter Leads the Way to the White Privilege Conference
The Wisconsin NACPM Chapter and the Wisconsin Guild of Midwives are working to promote racial justice in the midwifery profession and reduce health inequities for childbearing women. They are excited that the White Privilege Conference is being held in Madison, Wisconsin – their very own state. To further their racial justice work, together they are co-sponsoring the conference at the $1000 level, sending representatives to this event, and raising money for students to attend.
Wisconsin challenges your NACPM Chapter and/or state midwifery organization to join them in supporting the conference:
Become a supporter
Register for the conference!
Donate for a student to attend. Send a check in any amount, with “WPC/NACPM donation” in the memo line, to:
Tehmina Islam
46 North Lakewood Gardens Lane
Madison, WI 53704
Black History Month
Friday, February 28th, was the last day of the 2014 Black History Month. With roots dating back to 1926, Black History Month is an annual observance in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom for remembering important people and events in the history of the African Diaspora.
In one of many national tributes to midwives during Black History Month, Claudia Booker shared the story of South Carolina nurse midwife, Maude Callen. In 1951, LIFE Magazine published a stunning photo essay of Maude Callen’s life as she delivered babies and educated midwifery students in a 400-mile area crippled by poverty in the 1950s and “veined with muddy roads.” We urge you to view this beautiful photo tribute.
Midwife of Color Initiatives to Eliminate Birth Outcome Disparities
The following are a small sampling of efforts around the nation led by midwives of color. NACPM will feature additional initiatives in future newsletters.
The JJ Way©: Toward Eliminating Disparities
In her blog , Jennie Joseph, CPM, reminds us of “the foundational role that African American midwives played in the provision of maternity care for both Black and White women from slavery on upwards.” The overarching goal of Jennie’s model of maternity health care “is to see that every woman has an opportunity for the healthiest possible pregnancy, birth and postpartum, regardless of the color of her skin or her socio-economic status; a model where babies, mommies, families and communities thrive because the emphasis is on access, connections, knowledge and empowerment – quality care for every woman, every time.”
NABCC: Eliminating Disparities through Birth Centers of Color
The National Association of Birth Centers of Color (NABCC) was founded in February 2012 by a group of CPMs committed to serving all women, but particularly women of color, through community-based maternity clinic and birth center services. With a vision to eliminate racial disparities in birth outcomes,each founding midwife member has experience working with women of color through her own clinic and/or birth center, and has achieved better health and better care within her population through culturally-competent, evidence-based, comprehensive and cost-efficient midwifery and maternity-care home models.
NACPM is a supporter of NABCC. We urge you to become a member and support the critical work of this organization.
ICTC Leads the Way: Reimbursing Doulas to Reduce Disparities
Thanks in good part to the leadership of Shafia Monroe and the Center for Traditional Childbearing (ICTC), the Oregon legislature passed a law in 2011 requiring the Oregon Health Authority to investigate how doulas and other community health workers can improve the birth outcomes of underprivileged and underserved women. After a further two-year process with the Oregon Health Authority and the legislature, ICTC recently announced a stunning victory: certified doula services are now reimbursed by Medicaid!
ICTC is an approved Oregon Health Authority training organization. ICTC’s Full Circle Doula Training Program builds on a tradition and history of midwifery practice in the African American community and has trained over 400 doulas of color since 1991. One-third of those trained have continued on to become midwives. Congratulations and many thanks to ICTC and the doulas and childbearing women of Oregon on achieving Medicaid reimbursement for doulas!
NACPM supports ICTC and we urge you to do so as well!
Birth Workers of Color Grand Challenge: Critical Need to Educate Midwives of Color
Spearheaded by Vicki Penwell, CPM, Claudia Booker, CPM, and Jennie Joseph, CPM, the Scholarship Solution and Grand Challenge from Mercy in Actionis a challenge to schools and other birth worker training programs to each offer a scholarship to a woman of color every year. A data base of scholarship and support opportunities for students will be collected and shared with aspiring students of color. Read how you can support and participate.
Please join NACPM in our ongoing work to advocate for quality improvements in national maternity care.
Form a pilot chapter in your state and enhance CPMs’ national influence to improve the maternity care system in the U.S. for all women, and promote, protect and defend the profession. Learn more from our website, and contact our Administrative Assistant for further information and help getting started. Also feel free to download and print the Pilot Project description and policy.
Join or renew your membership, if you haven’t already; invite others to join; and like us on Facebook today to help spread the word.
Sincerely,
Mary Lawlor, CPM
Executive Director, NACPM
Ellie Daniels, CPM
President, NACPM
Homebirth is Alive and Well: Evidence and Resources for Women and Providers
NACPM Steps Up to Advocacy for Quality Improvement
Letter From Executive Director
Greetings!
NACPM is actively collaborating with other maternity care professionals and stakeholders to influence critical national policy. Together we are working to improve the quality of maternity care services for all women, bringing the valuable skills and perspectives of CPMs to a number of national policy tables.
Please read below for news of NACPM’s recent opportunities, as a founding member of the Coalition for Quality Maternity Care, to influence Federal agencies on behalf of better care and more consumer choice for childbearing women. See how your professional organization is stepping up to quality improvement in maternity care through our long-standing membership in the National Quality Forum (NQF), and read about our new representative to the NQF, Autumn Vergo, CPM.
Autumn will be traveling to Washington, D.C. this week on behalf of NACPM to participate in the NQF’s 2014 Annual Conference, “Making Sense of Quality Data for Patients, Providers, and Payers.” Watch for a report of the conference and its relevance to CPMs and the mission of NACPM on her return.
And be sure to check out the opportunity for building your quality improvement skills!
Sincerely,
Mary Lawlor, Executive Director National Association of Certified Professional Midwives
NACPM Appoints New Representative to the NQF
NACPM is pleased to announce that Autumn Vergo, CPM from New Hampshire and NACPM board member, has accepted the appointment as NACPM’s representative to the National Quality Forum.
Autumn Vergo
Autumn’s interest in quality improvement developed over several years’ service as a member of northern New England’s regional, multi-hospital quality improvement network. She has worked alongside pediatricians, obstetrician/gynecologists, midwives and nurses on several projects intended to improve communication between hospital-based providers and community midwives, and serves as a case reviewer on her region’s Confidential Review and Improvement Board. Her cross-training as both a Certified Professional Midwife and a Registered Nurse help her to bridge the gap between care models and effectively represent the midwifery community on issues of best practice, safety, and quality improvement.
The National Quality Forum (NQF) is a non-profit organization that promotes quality and change in the health care system through development and implementation of a national strategy for health care quality measurement and reporting. NQF membership includes a wide variety of healthcare stakeholders, including consumer organizations, public and private purchasers, physicians, nurses, hospitals, accrediting and certifying bodies, supporting industries, and healthcare research and quality improvement organizations – and midwives: NACPM has been a member of NQF since 2008, reflecting NACPM’s commitment to improving the quality of care for all women.
Autumn will represent NACPM at NQF’s 2014 Annual Conference, “Making Sense of Quality Data for Patients, Providers, and Payers” in Washington, D.C. this month. The NQF annual conference brings together more than 400 healthcare professionals, quality experts, and member organization executives and staff from across the United States, all of whom are dedicated to driving quality improvement within our healthcare system.
A Victory for Women and Families: Reporting on Perinatal Core Measures Becomes Mandatory
Beginning this month, mothers and families will be able to see and compare how hospitals care for women and their infants, including their primary cesarean section, elective delivery and breastfeeding rates.
The Joint Commission, a nonprofit organization that accredits more than 20,000 health care organizations and programs in the U.S., has decided to require mandatory reporting for hospitals with more than 1100 births a year, on 5 of the 17 childbirth-related performance measures developed by the National Quality Forum. In 2013, this reporting was voluntary, with only 160 of the nation’s thousands of hospitals participating. Now with the new mandatory reporting requirement for accredited hospitals, consumers will have access to important information from hospitals around the country at www.qualitycheck.org and be able to make better informed decisions about choosing care providers.
“With more than four million births in the United States each year, perinatal measures are needed to ensure the health and well-being of new mothers and newborns,” said Janet Corrigan, PhD, MBA, president and CEO of NQF in announcing its endorsement in 2012. “This set of measures will help promote the type of high-quality care these populations deserve.”
As a member of NQF, NACPM provided comments to the organization during the development of perinatal quality measures that were approved for endorsement in April 2012. These measures address a wide range of care concerns, including childbirth, pregnancy and post-partum care, and newborn care.
It is anticipated that mandatory reporting will eventually lead to lower cesarean sections, fewer elective deliveries, higher breastfeeding rates and other care improvements for mothers and infants.
NACPM Joins National Conversation to Improve Medicaid Coverage for Pregnant Women and Children
NACPM is a founding member organization of the Coalition for Quality Maternal Care (CQMC), a partnership of national professional, consumer, and human rights organizations that have come together to champion the urgent need for national strategies to ensure access to affordable, high quality maternity care for all women and infants.
On January 6, NACPM signed a letter sent by the ACNM on behalf of CQMC members to the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC) providing specific recommendations regarding issues related to maternity care. MACPAC is a non-partisan, federal agency charged with providing policy and data analysis to the Congress on Medicaid and CHIP, and for making recommendations to the Congress and the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the states on a wide range of issues affecting those programs. The goal of the CQMC was to foster continued focus on maternity care by MACPAC as much of its previous work has centered on other aspects of coverage under Medicaid.
MACPAC responded to the CQMC letter, indicating that the recommendations had been circulated to commissioners and appropriate staff. The Commission has included a chapter providing general information on Medicaid’s maternity care in one of its previous reports and plans to include recommendations regarding maternity care in a forthcoming report, focused on the complexities around Medicaid coverage for pregnant women.
New This Year:
Quality Rating System
to Inform Pregnant Women
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is implementing a requirement of the Affordable Care Act to develop a Quality Rating System (QRS) to assist consumers as they make decisions regarding their health plans. As part of this process, CMS is soliciting comments on a list of proposed quality measures that Qualified Health Plan issuers would be required to collect and report on.
NACPM has joined the CQMC in a submitting a letter expressing appreciation to CMS for identifying maternity care as an area which merits distinct measurement. To date, CMS has proposed including only one measure, out of a total of 42, that rates two factors related to maternity care. Given the place of maternity care within the health system in terms of both number of procedures and cost, CQMC believes that two measures are insufficient, stating, “We believe that this group of women and their partners will be very interested in information regarding the quality of maternity care provided through the plans available to them.”
The coalition recommends three priority measures (exclusive breastfeeding; cesarean section rate for low-risk women; timeliness of prenatal & postnatal care) and four additional measures for consideration in the development of the Quality Rating System.
In addition the coalition recommends to CMS, “because women may choose to obtain care from a variety of provider types (e.g., OB/GYNs, Family Practice physicians, Certified Nurse Midwives/Certified Midwives, Certified Professional Midwives), and in different settings (e.g., hospitals, birth centers and residences) it would be helpful if…plans report this data broken down by provider type and place of service. Consumers would thus have access to more specific and useful information to guide them in their enrollment choices.“
Join Virtual Community for Quality Improvement Skills
NACPM has recently learned that Diana Jolles, CNM, MS, the ACNM Quality Section Chair has a plan to deliver quality improvement skills to the midwife community in the United States through the Institute for Healthcare Improvement.
Jolles, a professor at Frontier Nursing University in Kentucky, is creating a virtual community for students, faculty, and practicing midwives. All midwives, Jolles says, are welcome to join the group, which will learn from the IHI Open School courses throughout 2014.
Jolles sees big challenges – and big opportunities – in the field of quality and safety in the midwife community. This virtual community will include monthly webinars to complement learning from the Open School courses. The first webinar “Increasing Midwifery-led Quality Improvement Capability” has already taken place. Webinars still to be offered include:
“Quality Improvement and Perinatal Safety,” on February 6
“Midwifery Leadership and Quality Improvement,” on March 6
“Person- and Family-Centered Care Midwifery-led Quality Improvement Programs,” on April 7
Email Diana to learn more about the midwife community she is launching.
Please join NACPM in our ongoing work to advocate for quality improvements in national maternity care.
Join or renew your membership, if you haven’t already; invite others to join; and like us on Facebook today to help spread the word.
Sincerely,
Mary Lawlor, Executive Director
Ellie Daniels, President
Childbirth Connection and National Partnership Join Forces!
Quick Links:
Tweet Chat
2/30 2PM ET
The Power of Consensus in Maternity Care
Greetings!
NACPM is pleased to share the news that Childbirth Connection has joined forces with the National Partnership for Women and Families. As a core program of the National Partnership, Childbirth Connection’s work toward transforming maternity care will now be in the forefront of the national women’s health care agenda.
NACPM congratulates Childbirth Connection, the National Partnership, and the women and families across the nation who will benefit from this truly exciting collaboration!
With all best wishes for the future,
Mary Lawlor, Executive Director
National Association of Certified Professional Midwives
Two Organizations Dedicated to Improving Women’s Health
Join Forces
In 2008-2009, Childbirth Connection led a national, system-wide consensus-building process which produced a comprehensive, evidence-based plan for reform of maternity care: Blueprint for Action: Steps Toward a High Quality, High Value Maternity Care System.
NACPM former President Suzy Myers was an invited member of the clinicians and educators workgroup, one of several that formulated the blueprint recommendations, which include the promotion of physiologic birth and address the important role of midwives. NACPM has and will continue to collaborate with Childbirth Connection, taking action to transform maternity care in the U.S.
Childbirth Connection, founded in 1918 with the mission to improve the quality, value and outcomes of maternity care through consumer engagement and health system transformation, and the National Partnership for Women & Families, a 41-year old organization that has played a vital role in winning every major policy advance for women during the last forty years, have each been working for decades to improve the lives of women, mothers and families.
Close allies for years, together these two powerhouse organizations will now be even more effective in promoting high quality, affordable, accessible health care for women and their families, by leveraging and combining the National Partnership’s strong relationships with policymakers and Childbirth Connection’s deep roots in the clinical and research communities. Childbirth Connection’s Director of Programs, Carol Sakala, PHD, MSPH, will join the National Partnership’s staff in that same role, and Maureen Cory, MPH, will continue working with the program as Senior Advisor.
We encourage you, as members and friends of NACPM, to learn about the important work of Childbirth Connection and the National Partnership to improve the lives of women and families in the United States, and to celebrate with us this important new collaboration!
This week, Childbirth Connection and the National Partnership are fielding questions on Twitter about the announcement as well as discussing important issues like workplace accommodations for pregnant workers, lost pay and promotions, breastfeeding at work, and more.
Join the tweet chat tomorrow from 2-3pm ET by following the hashtag #Listening2Mothers on Twitter. And be sure to follow them at @NPWF and @Childbirth.
In addition, here are some resources for you to read, learn and share about this important work:
Childbirth Connection video that explains the urgent need for transforming maternity care
“95 Years, Baby!” interactive timeline
Sincerely,
Mary Lawlor, Executive Director
National Association of Certified Professional Midwives
Ellie Daniels, President
National Association of Certified Professional Midwives
Transforming Birth Fund Awards Major Grant to NACPM
Major Grant Awarded to Support the Work of NACPM
The National Association of Certified Professional Midwives is pleased to announce the receipt of a major grant of $100,000 from the Transforming Birth Fund to support the mission and work of the organization in 2014.
NACPM has set a strategic direction over the last decade to create a secure foothold for CPMs within the system, to support the growth and diversity of the profession and to remove barriers to practice – for the sake of women, infants, families and communities, including the most vulnerable.
Betsy McNamara, TBF
The Transforming Birth Fund (TBF), a donor-advised fund of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, serves as a catalyst to change the way birth is experienced by women and babies in the United States by making grants to organizations that impact policy and practice, support research, and/or disseminate research and best practice information about birth.
“The Transforming Birth Fund has awarded NACPM a total of $676,785 over six years, beginning in 2008. A true partnership! We’re very happy with the outcome of this investment,” says Betsy McNamara, Program Officer of the TBF.
NACPM is committed to fundraise to supplement membership dues for a profession still in development, and to carry forward the work of securing a place for the profession within the maternity care system in the U.S. NACPM is tremendously grateful to the donor for the support of the Transforming Birth Fund, and for the confidence the Fund has placed in NACPM’s strategic direction and accomplishments.
Upcoming activities of NACPM include a reinvigorated MAMA Campaign in 2014, ongoing NACPM participation in USMERA, an expanding NACPM Pilot Chapters Project, a webinar series to support state licensure and to inform members about CPM participation in ACA reforms, a 2014 year-end work group report on the development of the Practice Committee, initiatives to support the diversification of the workforce, and NACPM’s first virtual Annual Membership Meeting in March 2014!
Not a member of NACPM? Please consider joining or renewing today as a supporter, student, or CPM voting member. Every membership makes us stronger.
Interested in the NACPM Pilot Chapters Project? Form a pilot chapter in your state and enhance CPMs’ national influence to improve the maternity care system in the U.S. for all women, and promote, protect and defend the profession. Learn more from our website, and contact our Administrative Assistant for further information and help getting started. Also feel free to download and print the Pilot Project description and policy.
As always, we welcome your comments at any time. Please feel free to send your thoughts and ideas to executivedirector@nacpm.org and to admin@nacpm.org.
Mary Lawlor, Executive Director
Ellie Daniels, President
Normal, Healthy Childbirth for Women & Families: What You Need to Know
Normal, Healthy Childbirth for Women & Families: What You Need to Know
A woman’s guide to understanding normal, healthy birth and how it can improve the health of her baby and her health was released this summer by the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM), Midwives Alliance of North America (MANA), and National Association of Certified Professional Midwives (NACPM). It includes critical information to help women make informed decisions and avoid possibly unnecessary and expensive medical interventions, such as cesarean sections. Click here for a pdf of the brochure.
Join the NACPM Pilot Chapters Project
Create a powerful unified voice for CPMs. Form a pilot chapter in your state and enhance CPMs’ national influence to improve the maternity care system in the U.S., promote, protect and defend the profession, and support increased access for all women to the high-quality, high-value care of CPMs. All Pilot Chapters will be invited to join the first quarterly Pilot Chapters webinar and conference call early in 2014.
Report on Results of Fall 2013 NACPM Member Survey
Report on Results of Fall 2013 NACPM Member Survey
At the 2012 CPM Symposium, a number of priorities for the development of the CPM profession were identified by CPMs and multiple stakeholders. These priorities have informed the work of NACPM over the past year and a half, and the design of the Fall 2013 NACPM Member Survey.
The Fall 2013 survey “checked in” with NACPM members to evaluate whether these priorities continue to be relevant to members today and to ensure that NACPM’s 2014 goals and initiatives align with the priorities of our members. We are very grateful to the 68 respondents who took the time to complete the survey. We received many thoughtful responses and comments, and are excited to share the results with you.
Survey Question #1: Rating Priorities
When asked to rate the importance of NACPM’s 2012 Symposium priorities (figure 1), 6 out of 7 were still “very important” to a majority of respondents. The two top priorities, each listed as “very important” by over 85%, were:
Access for all women to midwifery care
Licensure for CPMs in all 50 states
When calculating responses by combining “very important” and “moderately important”, all of the priorities were ranked as important by over 90% of respondents, with the exception of including consumer voices in the development of the profession, with 67% of respondents ranking this priority as either very or moderately important.
Q1 – In 2012, the following priorities were identified by NACPM members as important to them. Please rate their current importance to you:
figure 1
Survey Question #2: Ranking Top 4 Priorities
This question (figure 2) asked respondents to rank their opinion of the relative value of a set of NACPM’s functions. From the experience of reviewing responses to this question, we have learned that this type of question is difficult to analyze meaningfully. From your comments on this question, we understand that you found the request to rank the functions frustrating, with some of you commenting that it was difficult to respond because you felt all of the functions were important.
What is clear from the results is that respondents strongly agree that advocating for CPMs to legislators and policy makers should be a top priority. While each of the 8 functions had its advocates as one of the top four priorities, the graph below demonstrates the top 3 of those 8 functions that were chosen by the majority of respondents.
Q2 – The following is a list of NACPM functions. Please rank your top four priorities from this list, with 1 being most important:
figure 2
Questions #3 & 4: Open comment opportunities to identify additional priorities
Survey participants provided many valuable suggestions in these comment sections, all of which have been brought to the attention of the NACPM Board of Directors, and a number of which have been in discussion in NACPM leadership conversations prior to the survey. In addition to the priorities identified in survey questions #1 and #2, suggestions included:
Educate public & consumers about CPM care & build appreciation for the CPM credential
Broaden the scope of practice for CPMs
Establish CPM-specific core competencies
Inform members about how CPMs can participate in the Affordable Care Act reforms
Provide clinical guidance to CPMs through a practice committee
Support increased access to insurance reimbursement
Offer annual CPM symposiums
Establish NACPM as the unified voice for CPMs
Strengthen the education of CPMs and support the MEAC school route to the credential
Provide for professional liability insurance at an affordable rate
Support for transfer of care and necessary clinical services such as lab and ultrasound
Align with ICM standards for education
Additionally, respondents expressed a need for regular news updates from NACPM detailing activities on behalf of CPMs, and for development and support for the CPM credential.
Finally, we learned through your responses that an overwhelming majority of respondents found the survey itself to be an effective way to give feedback to NACPM leadership. We look forward to engaging and collaborating with our members in future surveys.
It is immensely gratifying to find that the membership supports us in pursuing the very goals that the board is working hard to address. Our current fundraising efforts are focused precisely on advocacy for access and licensure, promoting CPMs, spearheading and collaborating to develop a scholarship fund for women of color, and launching an initiative to expand and diversify the CPM workforce.
Watch for a reinvigorated MAMA Campaign in 2014, ongoing NACPM participation in USMERA, an expanding NACPM Chapter Pilot Project, a webinar series to support state licensure and to inform members about CPM participation in ACA reforms, a 2014 year-end work group report on the development of the Practice Committee, and NACPM’s first virtual Annual Membership Meeting in March 2014.
Thank you again, to all who participated in the survey. We deeply appreciate your engagement and support for NACPM in creating a unified national voice for CPMs.
We welcome any and all comments from our members at any time. Please feel free to send your thoughts and ideas to executivedirector@nacpm.org and to admin@nacpm.org.
Mary Lawlor, Executive Director
Ellie Daniels, President
Nelson Mandela: We Mourn His Passing & Celebrate His Life
Nelson Mandela
IN MEMORIAM
Nelson Mandela will long be remembered for his courageous, relentless pursuit of racial equality, and for his unerring belief in and ability to inspire all of humanity. We mourn his passing and celebrate and give thanks for his incalculable contributions to us all.
“I am fundamentally an optimist. Whether that comes from nature or nurture, I cannot say. Part of being optimistic is keeping one’s head pointed toward the sun, one’s feet moving forward. There were many dark moments when my faith in humanity was sorely tested, but I would not and could not give myself up to despair. That way lays defeat and death.”
“I can rest only for a moment, for with freedom comes responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk is not yet ended.”
“Overcoming poverty is not a task of charity, it is an act of justice. Like Slavery and Apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings. Sometimes it falls on a generation to be great. YOU can be that great generation. Let your greatness blossom.”
- Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela
News of Nelson Mandela’s passing:
Please join us in honoring his memory,
The NACPM Staff and Board of Directors
NACPM Invites You to Help Increase Access to Midwifery Care
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
NACPM 2013 Election Results are In!
NACPM 2013 Election Results are In!
Congratulations to Illysa Foster of Austin, Texas, Jamie Eidsath of Ann Arbor, Michigan and Autumn Vergo of Peterborough, New Hampshire. Welcome to the NACPM Board of Directors!
Illysa, Jamie and Autumn will be joining the NACPM leadership team at our meeting this October in Portland, Oregon. We look forward to working with them and we thank them for their service.
This year’s election results revealed a tie between two nominees for the second-most votes. The NACPM leadership responded by expanding the board from 7 to 8 members and will induct all three of these exemplary candidates into the board.
Meet the New Board Members:
Illysa is co-author of Professional Ethics in Midwifery Practice, a practical guide to ethics for midwives, and lectures at local, state and national conferences on midwifery ethics. She is studying perinatal psychology while training to be a psychotherapist for childbearing women. Illysa wants to help midwives in her region understand NACPM’s role, engage them with their professional organization, and assist them in having a national voice. She wants to support NACPM in upholding ethical and educational standards in the profession that reflect midwives’ deep commitment to quality maternity care and to promote the CPM credential as the standard for maternity care.
Autumn is a birth center owner, a CNM student, adjunct faculty at Birthwise Midwifery School in Maine, and a member of a New England regional multi-hospital quality improvement organization’s Homebirth Taskforce. She believes that CPMs have a unique perspective on patient choice and family-centered care, and that this perspective should be shared with our colleagues in healthcare and policy development. She wants to ensure that community midwifery remains a rich and sustainable career path for young people and for experienced midwives. To Autumn, serving on the Board of the NACPM represents an incredible opportunity to promote the visibility, expertise, and sustainability of the CPM profession.
Jamie is a partner at New Moon Midwifery since 2011, and is eager to support NACPM’s mission to expand access to midwifery care through policy work. As a midwife from a state with no licensing yet for CPMs, she wants to help NACPM support state licensure movements and bring the benefits of NACPM’s national policy initiatives to currently unlicensed states. Jamie believes it is important to support CPMs in collaborating with other health care providers, and to support access to physiologic birth and the care of CPMs for all women, regardless of income, especially women insured by Medicaid. She wants to help increase student’s access to high quality educational opportunities, student loans and financial aid to help grow and diversify the profession.
Welcome, Illysa, Autumn and Jamie!
Suzy Myers, CPM President
Mary Lawlor, CPM Executive Director
1st Annual Black Breastfeeding Week a Monumental Success!
August 25-31st was declared the first annual Black Breastfeeding Week. The theme for this first year was “Black Lives Matter”. This movement, created for and lead by black women, was an inspiration for community led action in the breastfeeding community.
Black Breastfeeding Week founding members are an impressive list of leaders in breastfeeding advocacy. They include author, journalist and nationally recognized breastfeeding advocate, Kimberly Seals Allers of the Mocha Manual and speaker at CPM Symposium 2012; Kiddada Green, the founding director of the Detroit-based Black Mothers Breastfeeding Association (BMBF) and co-founder of the Brown Mamas Breastfeed Project ; and Anayah Sangodele-Ayoka, of Free to Breastfeed and MomsRising.org.
Kimberly Seals Allers
Black Breastfeeding week was supported by many other advocacy organizations, including:
ROSE, MomsRising.org, MyBrownBaby.org, BlackandMarriedWithKids, JhaZamora Publishing, the St. John Hospital and Medical Center, and the National Association of Birth Centers and Clinics of Color.
The week kicked off with a local meeting of the Black Mother’s Breastfeeding Club in Detroit and continued online for the remainder of the week. Online events included the Black Lives Matter Forum, a free live lactation support session hosted by the BMBF Association, and a tweetchat hosted by Ebony Magazine. This online presence was noted by the BBW13 Facebook, page earning over 1400 “likes” during in just less than two weeks and many articles and blog posts being shared and picked up my larger publications including Ebony Magazine and Ms. Magazine.
Congratulations to the founders and everyone who worked so hard on this incredible week. NACPM looks forward to Black Breastfeeding Week 2014!
Suzy Myers, CPM President
Mary Lawlor, CPM Executive Director