The Application Deadline for The Bigger Table Fund is July 15th!

The Application Deadline for Bigger Table Fund is July 15th!

If you are a midwifery student or midwife of color, an indigenous and/or LGBTQ student or midwife, and you are ready to take or retake your NARM exam, or to apply for state licensure, we encourage you to appy to the Bigger Table Fund! Our current round of applications closes July 15th.

Apply now for the current Award Cycle

The goal of the fund is to remove some of the significant financial barriers that midwifery students and midwives of color, indigenous and/or LGBTQIA+ students and midwives face when entering the CPM profession. We recognize that there are multiple barriers beyond the NARM examination and state licensure fees, and it is our ardent intention to grow this fund in the coming years to help defray some of those additional expenses.

2022 Application Deadlines

July 15, October 15

Funds are distributed quarterly, according to a lottery system, with $3000 available per cycle. The maximum individual award is $1000.

Read more about the Bigger Table Fund here.

NACPM stands in staunch opposition to the anti-abortion laws being enacted across the country

NACPM stands in staunch opposition to the anti-abortion laws being enacted across the country, culminating with the overturning of Roe v. Wade. As midwives, we hold bodily autonomy, self-determinaton and dignity as central tenets to the application of human rights and the fulfillment of our model of care. We stand firm in our commitment to reproductive justice: to have children, to not have children, and to parent the children we have in safe and sustainable communities. Today, we unapologetically and urgently recommit to centering full spectrum sexual and reproductive health care in our work, including ensuring people’s access to safe, respectfulabortion care in the United States.

NACPM Treasurer Mimi Niles Ph.D, MPH, CNM/LM to Join panel on the Webinar Launch of Birth Place Lab’s Giving Voice to Mothers Study Report

On Tuesday June 28th at 11am PDT, NACPM Treasurer Mimi Niles will be one of five webinar panelists as Birth Place Lab launches their Giving Voice to Mothers Study Report, a study on quality of care as experienced by pregnant persons from communities of color (Black, Indigenous, and Latinx) and those who planned to give birth in homes and birth centers.

What do quality and safety mean to service users?

In the Giving Voice to Mothers Study, community members worked with clinicians, NGO leaders, and researchers to design a study on quality of care as experienced by pregnant persons from communities of color (Black, Indigenous, and Latinx) and those who planned to give birth in homes and birth centers. Together they developed and administered a cross-sectional online survey to explore novel topics including: agency in decision-making, coercion and non-consented procedures, access to supportive services, and systemic respect or discrimination over the course of care.

The webinar will explore the key findings from the report, and discuss how they can transform the lived experience of perinatal services and assure equitable access to the highest quality of care for all service users.

Moderator - Nzinga Blake - Executive Producer, Race & Culture - ABC Owned Television Stations

Nzinga Blake is an Emmy Award-winning Executive Producer with a specialty in capturing multicultural & underrepresented voices. She has had the pleasure of being on both sides of the camera as the first African American “human” to host a show on Cartoon Network, in addition to appearing as talent on ABC, Showtime, Current TV, Network 10 Australia TV Guide, and BET. She has also produced for production companies, organizations, and social impact companies, including For Good Entertainment, Causecast, Emergency USA, the United Nations International Labour Organization, Tribune Media and is currently a Race & Culture Executive Producer for ABC Owned Television Stations. The work she has co-executive produced at the owned stations has been featured in various news outlets that include Variety, Deadline, Forbes Magazine, TV News Check, Cronkite News Lab, etc. On a personal note, she spent most of her childhood in Japan, Kenya, and the US. Nzinga is a proud Bruin and is a Cum Laude graduate of the University of California Los Angeles School of Film, Television, and Digital Media.

Presenter - Saraswathi Vedam, PhD, RM, FACNM, Sci D(hc) Principal, Birth Place Lab

Saraswathi Vedam is Lead Investigator of the Birth Place Lab and Professor of Midwifery in the Faculty of Medicine at University of British Columbia. Over the past 35 years, she has served as clinician, educator, researcher, and mother of four daughters. Dr. Vedam has coordinated several transdisciplinary and community-led research projects across North America, including the Access and Integration Maternity care Mapping (AIMM) Study on the impact of integration of midwives on maternal-newborn outcomes, and the Giving Voice to Mothers Study that established significant differences by race, type of provider, and place of birth in experience of mistreatment by maternity providers. She is currently PI for RESPCCT, a national study to examine respectful maternity care across Canada, with a focus on amplifying voices of communities that are seldom heard.

Dr. Vedam and her team developed and validated three new person-centred measures, the Mothers’s Autonomy in Decision Making (MADM) scale, the Mothers on Respect (MOR) index, and the Mistreatment by Providers (MIST) index. In 2017 MADM and MORi received the 2017 National Quality Forum Innovation Prize, and they are now are being applied in 23 countries to evaluate quality of maternity care at the institutional, system, and country levels.

Professor Vedam has provided expert consultations to policy makers, public health agencies, and legislators in Mexico, Hungary, Chile, China, the Czech Republic, Canada, the US, and India. She was Convener and Chair of 4 national Birth Summits in the United States. At these historic summits a multi-stakeholder group of leaders crafted a common agenda to address equitable access to high quality perinatal services for all communities across birth settings. In 2017, she was named Michael Smith Health Research Institute Health Professional Investigator.

Panelists

Tatyana Ali Mother, Actress & Advocate

With a career spanning 35 years, Tatyana Ali is best known to millions, worldwide, for playing “Ashley Banks” in the iconic comedy series “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”. Born in Brooklyn, NY, she is a Broadway-trained actress, singer, producer, activist and Harvard University graduate.

Ali has appeared in numerous television, film and theatrical projects over her career, which began at four years old including Sesame Street, the Pulitzer Prize winning Broadway production of Fences, The Young and the Restless and Disney’s Glory Road. The 5-time NAACP Image Award winner, Harvard Aspiring Minority Business Leader and Black Girls Rock! honoree, was named one of most beautiful women in the world by People Magazine en Español and People Magazine.

She holds a gold record for her 1998 debut album Kiss the Sky, which included the hit singles “Daydreamin” and “Boy You Knock Me Out” and joined both the *NSYNC and The Backstreet Boys world tours. In 1999, her recording of “Precious Wings” for The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland soundtrack won a Grammy Award for “Best Musical Album for Children”. In 2013 Ali released the independent EP “Hello”.

She has produced numerous projects for television networks including several holiday films for Lifetime TV and “Love That Girl!”, the first original scripted program on the TV One Network.

Ali has spent most of her life engaging in humanitarian efforts. During the 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns, she served as a surrogate for President Obama, speaking to communities and young people across the country about voting as an imperative. She did the same grass roots work for Hillary Clinton’s campaign in 2016. She has hosted the United Negro College Fund’s “Empower Me” Tour 3 years in a row, has been a spokesperson for the Millennium Momentum Foundation for 8 years and is actively involved in Black Girl’s Rock!, an organization dedicated to educating and mentoring young women. After publishing her first op-ed in Essence magazine entitled “Birthright” where she shared her own harrowing journey, Tatyana was asked to serve as a Celebrity Council Advocate for the March of Dimes. She works to advance Black maternal health. She currently serves as a board member of Hedgebrook, an organization dedicated to supporting women identifying writers. She resides in California with her husband and two sons.

Jennie Joseph, LM, CPM Founder and President of Commonsense Childbirth, Inc.

Jennie Joseph is a British-trained midwife who fights to ensure every person has their healthiest possible pregnancy, birth and postpartum experience with dignity and support. Jennie created The JJ Way®, which is an evidence-based, maternity care model delivering readily-accessible, patient-centered, culturally-congruent care to women in areas that she terms “materno-toxic zones”. Her focus and drive is to ensure that Black women and other marginalized people remain safe and empowered inside broken and inequitable maternity health systems that have become dangerous and all too often, lethal.

She is the Executive Director of her own non-profit corporation Commonsense Childbirth Inc. which operates a training institute, health clinics and a birthing center in Orlando, Florida, and is also the founder of the National Perinatal Task Force, a grassroots organization whose mission is the elimination of racial disparities in maternal child health in the USA. In July 2020 her school, Commonsense Childbirth School of Midwifery became the first and only privately-owned, nationally accredited midwifery school owned by a Black woman in the United States. Jennie is the founder and a proud member of The Council of Midwifery Elders, she serves on the Advisory Council for the Congressional Black Maternal Health Caucus, is a Fellow of The Aspen Institute, and has been recognized as a TIME Woman of The Year 2022 for her work in promoting perinatal equity.

Nicholas Rubashkin, MD, PhD UCSF Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, Division of Hospitalist Medicine  |  Human Rights in Childbirth

Nicholas Rubashkin, MD, PhD is an Associate Professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences at UCSF where he works as an obstetric hospitalist. He holds a PhD in Global Health Sciences, also from UCSF. In his clinical practice, research, and advocacy, he focuses on the provision of evidence-based and respectful maternity care. He seeks to address the social, cultural, and economic drivers of poor quality maternity care and mistreatment of women in birth facilities. He has published on such topics as informal cash payments in maternity care, uterine fundal pressure, and obstetric violence. His dissertation research concerned the ways in which a vaginal birth after cesarean prediction tool, called a “VBAC calculator” reproduced racism in American maternity care. Since 2015 he has served on the board of the international non-profit Human Rights in Childbirth (HRiC).

Chandra A. Adams, MD, MBA - Board-Certified Obstetrician/Gynecologist and Women's Health Economist  |  Physician Owner, Full Circle Women's Care of Jacksonville, FL  |  Medical Director, Transitions Birth Center of Jacksonville, FL

A direct descendant of two of the last granny midwives in southern Alabama, Dr. Adams believes in integrating the midwifery model of care with modern obstetrics. She works closely with midwives who perform in and out of hospital births, and has created a system at her private practice, Full Circle Women’s Care of Jacksonville, that boasts a labor-to-Cesarean conversion rate between nine and eleven percent per year. As a VBAC (vaginal-birth after Cesarean) mom of three young children at home, Dr. Adams is a strong proponent for evidence-based medicine and women’s safe choices in labor, with her practice averaging an annual VBAC-success rate around 85%. As a bonus mom to a college grad on a pre-med track, she understands the importance of inspiring the next generation to reach their full potential. To that end, serves as an Obstetric Preceptor for Family Medicine Residents in the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science.

Dr. Adams is a fierce community advocate, known for challenging the status quo on sensitive topics such as maternal mortality, surrogacy, trauma-informed care, the impact of maternity on healthcare economics, and mental health evaluation in all phases of care. She was named Women’s Advocate of the Year by the JAX Chamber Professional Women’s Council. She is a sought-after speaker, and has addressed the American College of Nurse Midwives at multiple state conventions. Dr. Adams often appears on WJXT in Jacksonville, FL as an expert on women's health. Expecting mothers travel hundreds of miles to be under the concierge care of her team for what Full Circle has coined, “The 180-degree Birth Experience.”

Dr. Chan Adams is a board-certified physician specializing in Obstetrics and Gynecology. She is an alumna of Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia, Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee, and completed her post-graduate training at Hahnemann University Hospital via Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She is a Lean Six Sigma green belt, with an Executive Healthcare Masters of Business Administration from the University of Miami. Dr. Adams is board-certified by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

P. Mimi Niles, Ph.D, MPH, CNM/LM - Assistant Professor, New York University

Mimi Niles, PhD, MPH, CNM/LM is an Assistant Professor at NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing. She is a theorist, educator, researcher and certified nurse-midwife. Her work explores the potential of integrated models of midwifery care in creating health equity in historically disenfranchised communities. She is trained in utilizing critical feminist theory, as theorized by Black and brown feminist scholars, and qualitative research methods as a means to implement policy and programming rooted in pro-social and anti-oppression frameworks. As a researcher, she hopes to generate midwifery knowledge as a tool to build equity and liberation for marginalized and minoritized people and grow the profession of midwifery globally.

Call for NACPM Board Nominations!

The National Association of Certified Professional Midwives (NACPM) is calling for nominations of CPMs to be considered to run for election to its Board of Directors.  Currently, the NACPM Board has five elected and four appointed Directors. Three Board positions are open for election in 2022.  NACPM by-laws are available here.  

You may nominate yourself or someone else. If you are nominating another CPM, please confirm the person's interest and capacity to meet the expectations of Board Directors listed below prior to submitting their name. You may nominate more than one person by submitting the online form more than once.  All nominations must be received by 7/15/2022.

NACPM is a mission-driven, values-based membership organization representing Certified Professional Midwives in the United States.  Founded in 2001, NACPM has adopted a public policy agenda for promoting access to midwives and the integration of CPMs into the perinatal care system in the U.S.; addressing barriers to practice; supporting equitable reimbursement and licensing of CPMs in all U.S. jurisdictions; promoting equity and social justice in midwifery and perinatal care; supporting quality care through clinical practice resources; and engaging in state and federal advocacy to improve the health of all childbearing people. 

NACPM is in an exciting time of transition and expansion. We are reimagining our future, assessing what has worked for us and learning about ways that we can be more supportive to the CPM community. We are building a board that will identify the next  steps in our strategic approach and our new Executive leadership. Serving on the NACPM board is exciting and rewarding work, providing opportunities to contribute to the profession and to develop leadership skills

 To qualify for consideration, the nominee must:

• Be a CPM and a current member of NACPM

• Attest to alignment with NACPM’s Commitments

• Commit to meeting the expectations (below) of NACPM Board members

• Have life and/or work experience/study/training/personal development in dismantling racism and colonialism prior to running for election to the NACPM Board.  NACPM has an ardent commitment to centering birth equity and reproductive justice in all our work.  We ask that nominees for the Board be on this journey prior to joining our leadership team. 

Expectations of Board members include: 

• Join two all day NACPM Leadership Team meetings each year, fall and spring, including the fall meeting this year on October 15, 16 & 17, plus travel days/time.  All meeting expenses are paid by NACPM

• Contribute approximately 2 - 6 hours each week to the work of the Board

• Support fundraising and membership growth to ensure the viability and sustainability of NACPM

• Participate in NACPM’s ongoing equity work to become a more racially and socially just organization, including structured conversations and trainings for our team.

Please consider running for the NACPM Board of Directors! 

Submit Your Nomination Below

Applications Now Open for NACPM’s New Tanya Khemet Taiwo Midwifery Student Scholarship Fund!

Applications due by July 15, 2022! - Six $5,000 scholarships will be awarded in September 2022!

NACPM is excited to announce a new initiative to grow the number of Black and Indigenous midwives in the CPM workforce: the Tanya Khemet Taiwo Midwifery Student Scholarship Fund. This scholarship fund is made possible by a generous grant to NACPM from Direct Relief International.

The Tanya Khemet Taiwo Midwifery Student Scholarship Fund will provide support for tuition and related educational expenses to second- and third-year Black and Indigenous midwifery students enrolled in programs accredited by the Midwifery Education Accreditation Council (MEAC).

This Fund is a celebration of the legacy of Dr. Tanya Khemet Taiwo, NACPM’s longest-serving Black Woman on NACPM’s Board of Directors, as well as an exemplary community health innovator, epidemiologist, researcher, and midwifery educator. Tanya served the maximum allowable three three-year terms on the Board of NACPM from 2012-2021, including as Secretary, Co-President, and President. NACPM has launched this fund in Tanya’s name as an acknowledgement of her legacy of outstanding service and her commitment to eradicating inequities in birth outcomes for Black and Indigenous birthing people and their babies in the U.S.

To hear directly from Tanya about her story and journey with NACPM, listen to this podcast from Shirley McAlpine’s She’s Got Drive with Dr. Tanya Khemet Taiwo and NACPM Vice President Dr. Keisha Goode.

This Fund expands on NACPM’s history of success in supporting midwifery students from communities most in need of midwifery care through our Bigger Table Fund, which as of Spring 2022 has provided over $43,000 to more than 50 midwives since 2018.

JOB POSTING: MEAC is hiring for a Director of Operations

About MEAC

The Midwifery Education Accreditation Council’s mission is to promote excellence in midwifery education through accreditation. It creates standards and criteria for the education of midwives. MEAC standards incorporate the nationally recognized core competencies and guiding principles set by the Midwives Alliance of North America (MANA), The International Confederation of Midwives (ICM), and the requirements for national certification of the North American Registry of Midwives (NARM). MEAC’s accreditation criteria for midwifery education programs reflect the unique components and philosophy of the Midwives Model of Care.

The purpose of MEAC is to establish standards for the education of competent midwives, and to provide a process for self-evaluation and peer evaluation for diverse educational programs. MEAC is a non-profit organization approved by the U.S. Secretary of Education as a nationally recognized accrediting agency.

Position Overview

The Director of Operations (DO), in collaboration with the Director of Accreditation, provides leadership to and management of the organization. The DO oversees all of the activities outside of accreditation work, supports the Board in its efforts to facilitate change and growth, and serves as a liaison to other leaders in the greater midwifery community.

Minimum Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in any field

• Five years of demonstrated experience in the nonprofit sector at any level

• Two years of demonstrated experience in a management role with responsibility for IT, finance, fundraising, and human resources

• Exhibited fundraising and development experience

• Two years of demonstrated experience using digital communication, project management technologies,

• computer hardware and software, and familiarity with systems such as Google Workspace, Microsoft

• Office systems, Dropbox file hosting service, Quickbooks, online payment systems

Desirable Qualifications

• Master’s degree or equivalent work experience

• Familiarity with higher education administration and/or accreditation

• Familiarity with the direct-entry midwifery profession and perinatal health systems

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities Needed

• Budget management skills, including budget preparation, analysis, decision-making and reporting and

• tracking to keep BOD aware and in alignment with the approved budget

• Bookkeeping knowledge including but not limited to accounts payable, accounts receivable, banking,

• reconciliation, online payment systems, and financial tracking.

• Strong organizational abilities, including planning, delegating, and task facilitation.

• Knowledge of diverse funding streams, such as donor contributions, grants, private entrepreneurships,

• membership fees, etc.

• Strong written, oral, and interpersonal communication skills

• Strong leadership skills

• Ability to successfully engage diverse stakeholders and engage in conflict resolution

• Ability to oversee and collaborate with staff

• Ability to work virtually with staff and BOD

• Demonstrable commitment to equity, access, and diversity

Duties & Responsibilities

Board of Directors and Strategic Alignment

• Collaborate with Director of Accreditation to develop working knowledge of MEAC’s role as anaccrediting body of midwifery schools and the role that MEAC staff play in fulfilling the organization’s mission

• In collaboration with the Board and the Director of Accreditation, implement MEAC’s program strategy and ensure progress on key objectives in a timely manner

• Provide information about the organization’s operations and finances to the Board

• Collaborate with the Board around any significant changes concerning personnel or financial conditions

• Support Board in the recruitment of new Board members and provide new Board member governance orientation and training

• Serve as staff liaison to the Board on business and operations committees.

• Support MEAC’s board recruitment and elections

• Ensure compliance with MEAC’s bylaws

Organization Operations

• Ensure implementation of policies and procedures related to business, finance, and operations

• Stay updated on developments and trends in nonprofit management and operations

• Manage a variety of operations functions for staff and Board, including technology, financial management, travel to meetings and site visits to schools, and all business administration issues

• Assist in recruitment of new ARC members (in collaboration with the Director of Accreditation) and CEU Reviewers and provide governance orientation and training

• Collaborate on development and implementation of a comprehensive technology plan

• In collaboration with staff and Board, conduct an annual review of MEAC as an agency including:

  • Strategic Plan progress

  • Programs success, goals, and needs

  • Finance and fundraising success, goals, and needs

  • Evaluation of the co-director structure

• Work with Staff and Board to complete an Annual Report

Staff and Volunteer Management

• Manage and supervise non-accreditation paid staff and consultants

• Collaboratively develop and implement HR improvements related to hiring, performance management, and exiting

• Share the responsibility with the Director of Accreditation and the BOD for the hiring and releasing of accreditation staff and consultants

• Develop a succession plan for management staff

• Promote a climate that attracts, retains, and motivates a diverse staff and volunteer organization

• Support participation by volunteers in relevant areas of the organization's work Financial Performance and Viability

• Responsible for the agency’s financial operations, including accounts payable and receivable, bank account management, and payrollWork with staff and Board to prepare an annual budget

• Oversee the agency’s fundraising and development efforts

• Oversee annual independent reviews and audits as well as year-end bookkeeping procedures and IRS 990 report filings

• Provide recommendations to the Board and Co-Director regarding improved financial management

Regulatory Compliance

• Maintain official records and documents, and ensure compliance with federal, state and local business regulations

• File state annual Reports and Charitable Solicitation with the State of MI, as well as any other required

• state-level reporting for businesses to operate therein

Public and Interprofessional Relations

• Work with staff and Board to communicate with member schools, associated professional organizations and diverse stakeholders

• Collaborate with the Director of Accreditation and other staff on publications, social media releases, and other communications products

• Oversee ongoing management of the MEAC website

• Serve as spokesperson and media coordinator for the agency

• Direct inquiries from interested and affiliated parties to the appropriate staff or Board liaison

Salary Range

$38 - $42 per hour/ 20 hrs per week

Benefits

• Flexible work schedule

• Paid PTO and time off between December 25 and January 1.

• Remote work stipend

• Health stipend

Supervision

• This position is responsible for the supervision and oversight of the Continuing Education Coordinator.

• This position is supervised by the Executive Committee and President of the Board of Directors.

To Apply

Email your CV or resume and a cover letter (1 page) to info@meacschools.org.

Candidates will also need to complete a screening survey to complete their applications:

https://forms.gle/MQipKrjFPKTDKUBt5

National Black Midwives Alliance to hold their first nationwide membership meeting

This week the National Black Midwives Alliance (NBMA) is holding their first nationwide membership meeting on Thursday, June 2, 2022. The meeting will cover organizational status, an analysis of the work that  they’ve done so far, opportunities for current members to join committees, as well an overview of their current goals.

NBMA members can RSVP here : bit.ly/nbmameeting

More information about becoming a NBMA member can be found here. 

Since 2012, NACPM has committed to investing in a strong, racially, ethnically and socially representative Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) workforce to meet the urgent needs of childbearing people and to eliminating unconscionable racial disparities in birth outcomes, especially within Black and Indigenous communities. 

We understand that this work demands collaboration! As an organization, NACPM supports and centers the work of people of color-led organizations and equity initiatives.  NACPM is a proud supporter of NBMA!  

Building on our history of success in providing scholarship support to overcome systemic barriers for student midwives of color, NACPM secured a $15,000 grant from Direct Relief International to partner with the National Black Midwives Alliance to support their Black Midwife Mentorship Program, providing student midwives of color with mentors. This partnership will help grow both the number of students served and the stipend paid to mentors. NACPM was also a proud supporter of Black Maternal Health Week 2022.

As our country has become all too aware, the U.S. ranks 50th in mortality for birthing persons in the world, and 37th in the world in infant mortality.  Black childbearing people are up to 4 times more likely to die of pregnancy-related complications than their white counterparts, regardless of level of education and income, and their babies are 2.5 times more likely to die in their first year of life. Perinatal mortality is the tip of the iceberg:  approximately 50,000 birthing people annually experience life-threatening complications that too often cause lifetimes of physical and emotional suffering and disability, with Black and Indigenous people affected disproportionately. 

Although a key cause of these disparities is unequal access to care, NACPM recognizes that societal and institutional racism, a system of power based on color, is the root cause.  NACPM is deeply committed to addressing racial oppression within our organization, the profession of midwifery, and the perinatal care system. A recent report on the demographics of the nurse-midwifery profession showed only 6.85%  of CNMs are Black and .58% are Indigenous; although we lack specific data, anecdotal evidence indicates a similar workforce composition of CPMs. 

Recognizing the impact of limited access for people of color to CPM care and the acute lack of diversity in the midwifery workforce, NACPM is committed to investing in the systemic changes needed to open pathways for more Black midwives to enter the profession, and for opportunities for midwives of color to build and sustain their midwifery practices.  

We urge NACPM members to consider supporting NBMA by becoming a member of their organization and attending their upcoming nationwide member meeting. 

You can also make a donation to NBMA here.

Meet NACPM Bigger Table Fund Recipient , Catrice Harris

Catrice Harris, a recent graduate of National College of Midwifery, is one of the most recent recipients of NACPM’s Bigger Table Fund Award.

NACPM’s Bigger Table Fund is a scholarship initiative to help grow a racially, ethnically and socially representative CPM workforce to meet the urgent needs of childbearing people in our country.  

We asked Catrice to tell us a bit about her midwifery journey . She explains, “My midwifery journey began about 6 years ago, after I had been working as a doula for about 8 years. I saw so many hospital processes turn a beautiful birth experience into an unnecessary medical procedure. Far too often, women were not dignified in the process, but were instead treated as if they were broken in many ways and needed be fixed. As a doula my hands were tied, and I wanted very badly to help affect change. After an accidental home birth with a doula client, I realized healthy babies "just get born", and I wanted to be a part of more experiences like that. That began my quest for the right education, and the right mentorship.”

Catrice will be working with all low risk women in the Houston and surrounding areas, with a special focus on improving the morbidity and mortality rates of Black women and babies. She hopes to one day own a birth and education center offering a community and services for pregnant, as well as non-pregnant women. These services will include a variety of classes, and holistic care options.

The Bigger Table Fund provides financial awards for student midwives of color, Indigenous and/or LGBTQIA2S+ student midwives for:

• the initial NARM examination fee

• the fee for retaking the NARM examination when needed

• one-time initial state licensing fees

The goal of the Fund is to remove some of the significant financial barriers faced by students and midwives of color and from Indigenous and LGBTQIA2S+ communities to entering the CPM profession.  This Fund is an NACPM response to direct community requests and feedback and from “Women of Color Entering Midwifery”, an assessment of unmet needs, by Nancy Anderson, MD, MPH, commissioned by NACPM.   Recognizing the impact of limited access for people of color to CPM care and the acute lack of diversity and representation in the midwifery workforce, NACPM is committed to investing in the systemic changes and direct support needed to open pathways for more Black, Indigenous, LGBTQIA2S+, and other midwives of color to enter the profession, and for opportunities for midwives of color to build and sustain their midwifery practices.  

• $3000 is distributed quarterly, according to a lottery system.  

• The maximum individual award is $1,000.  

To learn more and to apply, visit https://www.nacpm.org/the-bigger-table-fund.

Southern Birth Justice Network has been Nominated For the Weight Watchers Wellness Impact Award!!

Our friends at Southern Birth Justice Network (SBJN) have been nominated for The Weight Watchers Wellness Impact Award!

Please join us in casting your vote for them today!

Each vote will help them win a $15,000 grant to support their birth justice educational programs and birthing communities. Voting closes May 9th, 2022 and winners are announced June 8th, 2022.

SBJN works to narrow the dangerous disparities in maternal health and reduce maternal mortality by improving access to midwifery and doula care for Black mothers. They support these communities throughout the birth cycle, from preconception to postpartum care. 

"At the center of our theory of change is Birth Justice, which is a framework to shift the current obstetric violence culture of birth toward one centered on bodily autonomy and human rights, particularly for marginalized pregnant, birthing and parenting people.”
– Nerlande Joseph, Birth Worker

Happy International Day of the Midwife!

Today, NACPM joins you in celebrating the International Day of the Midwife!  We are marking this special occasion by announcing the launch this year of the Bigger Table Initiative, a scholarship program to help ensure that more Black, Indigenous, and students of color can become midwives. 

New NACPM Scholarship Programs - Tackling Perinatal Health Disparities by Growing a Racially Representative Midwifery Workforce 

This year NACPM is launching a new set of student supports: The Bigger Table Initiative.

Since 2012, NACPM has committed to investing in a strong, racially, ethnically and socially representative CPM workforce to meet the urgent needs of childbearing people and to eliminate unconscionable racial inequities and disparities in birth outcomes for people of color, Indigenous and LGBTQIA2S+ people, and their infants.  In late 2018, NACPM launched the Bigger Table Fund, which has since awarded over $39,000 to 49 students and CPMs to offset costs and barriers to midwifery by paying fees for the national certification examination and initial state licensing fees.  This year, with the generous support of a $50,000 grant from Direct Relief International, NACPM is expanding into the Bigger Table Initiative, to include:

• $30,000 to be awarded in 2022 to launch the new Tanya Khemet Taiwo Scholarship Fund for direct aid to Black and Indigenous midwifery students for tuition and related expenses for education. Watch this summer for more about this fund, applications for scholarships, and how you can help NACPM to grow this fund.

• $15,000 to partner with the National Black Midwives Alliance (NBMA) to support their Black Midwife Mentorship Program, providing student midwives of color with mentors. This partnership will help grow both the number of students served and the stipend paid to mentors.

• $5,000 additional support for the Bigger Table Fund  

100th Anniversary of the International Confederation of Midwives

NACPM, as a member association of the Confederation, today proudly joins midwives around the world in celebrating the International Day of the Midwife and the 100th anniversary of the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM).  Today, ICM is a global non-governmental organization representing more than 140 midwives’ associations in more that 120 countries and over one million midwives worldwide.  

Focusing and Promoting Inclusivity and Diversity as Core ICM Values

As the Confederation turns 100, ICM will conduct a Listening and Learning Series throughout 2022 and beyond, a collection of conversations to foster and promote inclusivity and diversity, to explore and learn together.  This series will explore issues of identity, race, gender, ability and inclusion, capturing the pulse of the global midwifery community and growing from the diverse perspectives that inform our age-old profession.  

Invitation to a Virtual ICM Party today, May 5, at 2:00 pm ET

Please join ICM and NACPM today at a Virtual Party, a global salute to midwives, with ICM President Dr. Franka Cadée and ICM Chief Executive, Dr. Sally Pairman.  Last year, midwives from around the world showed up and danced with colleagues from every corner of the globe.  Join this year’s celebration today!

NACPM wishes you all a Happy International Day of the Midwife!

National Report on Community Birth Settings Released Today

NACPM is proud to share the newest report from the National Partnership for Women and Families:  Improving Our Maternity Care Now Through Community Birth Settings, a companion report to Improving Our Maternity Care Now Through Midwifery.  NACPM is one of five national organization that partnered and contributed to both reports, including the American Association of Birth Centers, American College of Nurse-Midwives, Birth Center Equity, and the National Black Midwives Alliance.

The tragic reality is that our perinatal care system fails to provide many childbearing people and newborns with equitable, accessible, respectful, safe, effective, and affordable care.  More people per capita in the U.S. die or suffer severe injuries from pregnancy and childbirth than in any other high-income country in the world.  The system most spectacularly fails birthing people in communities struggling with structural inequities due to racism and other forms of disadvantage, including Black, Indigenous, People of Color, and those with low incomes or living in rural communities.

The good news shared in this report is that research shows specific models of care, including care provided in community birth settings (homes or at freestanding community birthing centers), led almost exclusively by midwives, makes a concrete difference in improving perinatal care quality and produces better outcomes.

From Khailylah (Kiki) Jordan, CPM, LM, NACPM President: “This report constitutes a powerful case for the critical role for the model, settings, and providers of community birth in addressing overall poor perinatal outcomes in our country, and especially in eliminating the unconscionable disparities and inequities impacting Indigenous and communities of color.”

This report outlines the evidence that supports the unique value of community birth settings across different communities, the safety and effectiveness of care in these settings in improving maternal and infant outcomes, the interest of birthing people in use of birth centers and home birth care, and the current availability of, and access to, community birth settings care in the United States.

From Jamarah Amani, Executive Director of National Black Midwives Alliance: “…The growing demands of Black families for access to community birth reflects a need to develop and expand the workforce of culturally centered, community-based midwives, providers who are trained to ground their practices in respect, dignity and autonomy.”

These settings are an essential part of the solution to the nation’s perinatal health crisis, especially when they offer culturally congruent care to people impacted by racism and other forms of discrimination. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that more pregnant people are taking control of their birth experience by choosing to give birth in a community rather than a hospital, with a rise of 20% between 2019 and 2020. The greatest increase was for Black parents (30%), Indigenous (26%), and Hispanic (24%) parents – especially striking as these are the communities currently with the least access to community birth.  Factors contributing to this increase like include, in addition to concerns about COVID exposure in hospitals, the desire to retain autonomy during birthing, deciding who will be present, preventing unnecessary interventions and restrictions, and avoiding the disrespect, discrimination, and structural racism that too often occurs in hospitals, resulting in lower-quality care.

From Birth Center Equity co-directors Leseliey Welch and Nashira Baril: "This report offers rich and compelling data to support the wisdom that Black, Indigenous, communities of color have long known: that the best way to ensure safe, culturally reverent, and liberatory birthing experiences is to invest in community-led solutions…”

The report provides two dozen policy considerations for federal and state policymakers to make access to community birthing more accessible and reimbursement more widespread for those services. NACPM looks forward to collaborating to promote these vital recommendations to policymakers and payers to ensure universal and equitable access to community birth and health for all childbearing people and their babies.

Colorado only has one Black Certified Professional Midwife. Here’s what she thinks of the health care system.

This Article, written by By Abigail Beckman on April 12, 2022, is reposted with permission - The original article can be found at CPR.org

Last year, Colorado passed three bills known as the Birth Equity Package. Part of that legislation expands Medicaid coverage for a year after birth. That's the time period with the highest number of maternal deaths in the U.S. 

Demetra Seriki is recognized as the only Black Certified Professional Midwife in the state, working out of Colorado Springs. She said the changes were absolutely necessary. She also said it's not enough.

"The system is just, it's inherently broken—burn it down. Burn it down," she said. "It's just broken. It's broken for anybody that bears any child in their womb."

Seriki says she knows firsthand the barriers people of color face in accessing medical care, whether that be to give birth or addressing other needs. 

"In general, most people of color are suspicious of the care that they're receiving, but they don't really have anything they can say that's concrete medical evidence," she said. "But there's suspicion or trauma that's already been placed on them through the system."

Demetra Seriki owns and operates A Mother's Choice Midwifery in Colorado Springs. (Image by Abigail Beckman/KRCC News)

According to the Population Reference Bureau, a non-partisan group that aims to improve health and well-being, Black women in the U.S. are over three times more likely to die in pregnancy or after giving birth when compared to white women. 

Sometimes, Seriki said, who the medical provider is might make a difference.  

"Statistically, we know that when people of color are cared [for] by people of color, they reduce their incidents of what we call a 'near miss,' meaning you almost died, but you didn't… or death,"  she said.

Research into the relationship between midwifery and birth outcomes shows midwifery-led care can reduce maternal mortality rates. But Seriki is limited in what she can do, assisting only in home births and soon, thanks to another law passed last year, at a birthing center. 

Shelby Irvin is one of her recent clients. She chose to give birth at home, with Seriki's help, after she said she had a traumatizing race-related experience at the hospital during her first pregnancy.

"Color does play a role," Irvin said. "And if we're saying color doesn't, then we're not being realistic. This was a difficult pregnancy for me and I genuinely believe that if [Seriki] was not there, that I would've had a different outcome."

Irvin, who is also Black, works as a doula, focusing on emotional and physical support during pregnancy and childbirth.

"I delivered at home just so that I can be seen and not just be a stereotype and just to have the experience that I deserve to have as a mother birthing," she said.

Last year, a survey from the Colorado Health Foundation found close to half of those polled believe Black Coloradans are more likely to receive poor quality or inadequate health care compared with white Coloradans. 

Seriki said folks are often lost in the system, and her role as a midwife can help.

"Our health care system is a capitalist system so they're turning over OB patients every 10 to 15 minutes. Not in this place, not in this space," she said. "The midwives model of care is a minimum of 30 minutes. So if I have somebody that needs an hour, they get an hour." 

The most recent data for the state of Colorado found outcomes for Black, white, Asian, and Hispanic Coloradans were roughly the same in terms of maternal mortality. Native Americans had a significantly higher percentage of pregnancy-associated deaths. They're nearly 5 times more likely to die than non-Native people who gave birth in the same period. The leading cause of post-partum death was suicide, followed by drug overdose.

"If it's preventable, we have a problem," Seriki said. "We can't continue to blame pregnant people. We have data that tells us different. So why is it that we know better, but we're not doing better? It's a fair, very good question. And nobody's gonna answer that."

Seriki said she's noticed a shift in who is seeking midwifery care, some of which was amplified by the pandemic when people avoided hospitals and health care centers, but her practice is not always convenient.

"So folks now know that they have other options, but there's a barrier. You know, there's a barrier with billable insurance," she said.

Seriki said 95 percent of her clients are BIPOC - Black, Indigenous, or People of Color. She sees folks from Lakewood to Pueblo. Of the 29 providers registered with the Colorado Midwives association, four publicly identify as BIPOC.

Webinar Recording Available : Postpartum Hemorrhage and Third-Stage Management in planned midwife-led home and birth center births in the United States

VIEW SLIDES 

Although postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) is always a potential childbirth complication, little is known about the availability and use of uterotonic medication during community birth. Unfortunately, the variability of access to uterotonic medication based on credentials of the midwife or state regulations governing midwifery can present barriers to safe care.

This is the 24th webinar in our Clinical Practice Series, where Dr. Cheney will presents research on midwives and postpartum hemorrhage conducted with her colleagues Elise N. Erickson and Marit Bovbjerg and published in the journal Birth. The research presented is based on data from the Midwives Alliance of North America 2.0 database from 2004-2009. Dr. Cheney’s presentation describes rates of PPH by midwifery credentials and by the presence of regulations for legal midwifery practice, information on PPH incidence in community birth, demographics and clinical characteristics of the studied population, and methods used by midwives to address PPH.

Dr. Cheney is an Associate Professor of Clinical Medical Anthropology at Oregon State University and an Oregon Licensed Midwife. She is Co-Director of Uplift – a research and reproductive equity laboratory at OSU, where she serves as Primary Investigator on more than 20 maternal and infant health-related research projects. She is the author of an ethnography entitled Born at Home (2010 Wadsworth Press), co-editor of Birth in Eight Cultures (2019, Waveland Press), and has published more than 60 peer-reviewed articles that examine the cultural beliefs and clinical outcomes associated with midwife-attended birth at home and in birth centers in the United States.

NACPM is Celebrating the 5th Anniversary of Black Maternal Health Week!

This year marks the fifth anniversary of Black Maternal Health Week, which will be held from April 11-17, 2022! In order to uplift Black women and their families, we at NACPM are joining forces with Black Mamas Matter (BMMA) to center Black women’s scholarship, maternity care work, and advocacy across the full-spectrum of sexual, maternal, and reproductive health care, services, programs, and initiatives. Join us today! Learn more at blackmamasmatter.org/.

Founded by BMMA, Black Maternal Health Week is a week of awareness, activism, and community-building aimed at amplifying the voices of Black Mamas, and centering the values and traditions of the reproductive and birth justice movements.

BMHW22 is, above all, a week dedicated to educating and advocating for Black Mamas. Through a series of digital events and community engagement, BMHW uplifts Black women-led organizations to focus on

the root causes of poor maternal health outcomes, while engaging Black voices to lead immediate conversations around community-driven policies and programs.

The #BMHW22 theme is “Building for Liberation: Centering Black Mamas, Black Families, and Black Systems of Care,” which reflects BMMA’s work in centering Black women’s scholarship, maternity care work, and advocacy across the full-spectrum of sexual, maternal, and reproductive health care, services, programs, and initiatives. Additionally, this theme reflects the critical need for learning about Black Feminist and womanist approaches in strengthening wellness structures within our communities and across the Diaspora as a revolutionary act in the pursuit of liberation, and in the global fight to END maternal mortality.

For a full schedule of events, visit: Blackmamasmatter.org

Webinar: Postpartum Hemorrhage and Third-Stage Management in planned midwife-led home and birth center births in the United States

Although postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) is always a potential childbirth complication, little is known about the availability and use of uterotonic medication during community birth. Unfortunately, the variability of access to uterotonic medication based on credentials of the midwife or state regulations governing midwifery can present barriers to safe care.

Please join NACPM and Dr. Melissa Cheney for the 24th webinar in our Clinical Practice Series, where Dr. Cheney will present research on midwives and postpartum hemorrhage conducted with her colleagues Elise N. Erickson and Marit Bovbjerg and published in the journal Birth. The research to be presented is based on data from the Midwives Alliance of North America 2.0 database from 2004-2009. Dr. Cheney’s presentation will describe rates of PPH by midwifery credentials and by the presence of regulations for legal midwifery practice, information on PPH incidence in community birth, demographics and clinical characteristics of the studied population, and methods used by midwives to address PPH.

Dr. Cheney is an Associate Professor of Clinical Medical Anthropology at Oregon State University and an Oregon Licensed Midwife. She is Co-Director of Uplift – a research and reproductive equity laboratory at OSU, where she serves as Primary Investigator on more than 20 maternal and infant health-related research projects. She is the author of an ethnography entitled Born at Home (2010 Wadsworth Press), co-editor of Birth in Eight Cultures (2019, Waveland Press), and has published more than 60 peer-reviewed articles that examine the cultural beliefs and clinical outcomes associated with midwife-attended birth at home and in birth centers in the United States.

Congratulations to the Midwives and Advocates in Washington State!

NACPM heartily congratulations the midwives and advocates in Washington State on their historic victory last week when state legislators passed SSB 5765, granting prescriptive authority to LMs/CPMs for medications and devices needed in normal pregnancies and contraception, a first in the nation. This kind of victory is not the result of one year of advocacy on the part of the Washington midwives but rather of decades of consistent, progressive, purposeful, strategic effort and relationship building with legislators, state agencies, and perinatal provider groups. We celebrate this legislative victory as well as the exemplary history of organized advocacy by the Washington midwives. Once again, Washington midwives lead the way!

Read more at Washingtonmidwives.org