Massachusetts Friends of Midwives Blog

We need your help now!

 

Dear Midwifery Supporter/Friend of Midwives,

Are you alarmed at the rate of unnecessary medical intervention in birth today? Would you like to see  more nurse-midwives practice in Massachusetts hospitals? Would like to see homebirth legal, regulated and available to more women in Massachusetts?

We’re writing to you today to ask for your help.  Mass Friends of Midwives (MFOM) in conjunction with Massachusetts Coalition for Midwifery (MCM) is currently re-filing a bill to establishing a board of midwifery.  As you may recall, this bill was passed by the MA Senate last session and was approved by the MA Joint Legislative Committee.  It narrowly missed becoming law mainly due to the unusually large number of bills up for discussion at the end of last term.

This passage of this bill will create a Board of Midwifery, creating uniform standards for midwifery care across Massachusetts.  The bill will also–for the first time–give recognition to CPMs (home-birth midwives), broadening birth choices for women and their families.

This can be our moment.  With your help and the support of other like-minded people, this can be the year that women and their families across Massachusetts gain access to true choice in their birth options.

Can you help by contacting your Massachusetts State Senator and Representative requesting their sponsorship of A Bill Establishing a Board of Midwifery?  Having as many bipartisan bill co-sponsors as possible is the best way to ensure the bill’s passage and to help it easily move through the legislature.

The time is now.

We must have co-sponsors in place by 4 February 2009.  Please contact your legislator this week, asking him or her to join lead sponsors Senator Moore and Representative Khan in co-sponsorship of the Midwifery Bill.  Our elected officials welcome hearing from constituents and you can complete the call within 3 minutes.

 

Here’s what to do:

1.     Look up  your Massachusetts state Senator and Representatives

2.     Find your representatives address, email, and phone here: House and Senate listings.

3.     Call and ask to speak with an aide. Here is a sample  script you can use as needed.

4.     If the aide requests them, the supporting documents you can to email to the aide are:

         a.     Full text of bill

         b.     Bill fact sheet

         c.     Evidence-Based Maternity Care Report (AKA The Milbank Report)

 

When you’ve contacted your representative or his/her aide, please send us an email letting us know their response at info@mfom.org

Many, many thanks for your help.

What is the midwifery bill? 

The bill is to establish a board of midwifery in Massachusetts that regulates all midwives. Although a pretty dry “regulatory” bill, this is an important improvement for many reasons. First, there are about 400 certified nurse midwives catching babies in the state hospitals and two birth centers in Massachusetts who are currently regulated under the state nursing board. Unfortunately, nurse midwives are less than 4% of the state’s nurses, and their regulations have not been updated since the late 1980’s. Massachusetts is one of only six states that still defines the relationship between CNMs and physicians as “supervisory” rather than “collaborative”. This hinders nurse midwives’ abilities to manage thier own freestanding birthing centers, for example, so that the state has none. Currently, many Massachusetts moms to drive to New Hampshire for this type of birthing option. It also makes Massachusetts a less desirable place for nurse-midwives to seek employment compared to other states.

There are approximately 40 certified professional midwives who have received national certification from the North American Registry of Midwives who would receive licensure  to catch babies at home by this board. This ensures that families who choose home birth can have confidence in the standardized training of CPMs, ensure that CPMs have access to necessary emergency medicines, and are practicing legally.

The bill establishes a board comprised of nurse midwives, homebirth midwives, physicians, nurses, and consumers who can improve the choices, safety, and access of midwifery services by offering a far more specialized oversight invested in seeing midwifery flourish in Massachusetts.