Utah Friends of Midwives

Mourning

2011-04-25T08:40:00.001-07:00

It is with great sadness that I share the news that our small home birth community has lost one of our own. Salt Lake City area home birth midwife Briana Blackwelder was killed in an accident on Saturday, April 24th. She was a devoted and caring midwife, an asset to our community and she will be greatly missed.

I don't think I could choose words to do Briana justice but I think Kristi Ridd-Young has done a brilliant job so I will instead share her words:

From MCU President, Kristi Ridd-Young
April 24,2011

It is with a heavy, sad heart that I share with you the death of one of MCU's most beloved. On Saturday afternoon, Brianna and her younger brother were in a car accident near Santaquin, Utah. Brianna did not survive the accident; blessedly her brother did.

Many of you who came to conferences got to experience the incredible way Briana, with her dear friend and soul sister Cathy, touched the lives of those families they cared for and in turn touched your life through the sharing of their wise women ways. From the time I met Briana years ago at a doula training until our last heart to heart a few days ago, I marveled at Briana's wisdom, intuition and serenity. How could a woman so young have accomplished and perfected that which most of us take a lifetime to learn?

I often teased Brianna that I was going to line her up with one of my sons so she could always be my daughter. . . I don't know if I'll be able to walk past her prenatal office to go to my desk without feeling her tender midwifery spirit emanating from within. From cradling the head of a newborn to holding a woman in her arms as she transitioned from pregnancy to motherhood, she truly honored that sacred space of midwifery.

There's a part of me that's a little bit angry right now; I want to stamp my foot and say, "I don't know the reason why and I'm not able to see the whole, big picture, but do you really need Brianna like we need her here?" What I do know is that Brianna loved and honored our heavenly parents. She is encircled in their arms while our arms ache for her. I know that her spirit will comfort her family and the many who are so painfully missing her. I am honored to have known her--truly a ministering angel.

The Midwives College of Utah will dedicate a scholarship fund in her memory to a young, single woman who has the vision Brianna did and can carry on the wise woman ways she taught each of us who were privileged to know her.

In contemplation of all we mean to each other,

Kristi

You are welcome to share your thoughts and condolences in the comments area.

With love,
Heidi and the Utah Friends of Midwives

UFOM at the derby!

2010-08-03T10:10:00.000-07:00

The Salt City Derby Girls invited the Utah Friends of Midwives to create an information booth at their June 12 bout at the Salt Palace. We had a beautiful display sharing information on midwifery, home birth and the freestanding birth center in Salt Lake. Many, many people stopped by to chat with our birth representatives. Many questions were asked and answered, and many other stopped by to share how much they had loved their midwifery care. It was a great opportunity to educate the community! Thanks again to the derby girls for inviting us!

Birth centers

2010-03-09T12:36:00.000-08:00

In case you didn't know the only licensed, accredited birth center in Utah closed this year. There are still unlicensed, single-room birth centers in existence, offering families another out-of-hospital option for their births. Unfortunately, many insurance companies and Medicare do not offer reimbursement to unlicensed birth centers. Many women/families cannot financially afford to give birth in a place that their insurance won't pay for, so home births and unlicensed birth centers are out of the question for those families. Mothers relying on Medicare also no longer have any out-of-hospital choices available for their births either. What a loss for the families of Utah.

If we want to continue to improve access to midwives we need to see insurance companies policies change so that they will pay for out-of-hospital births, no matter where the location. We also need the federal government to change Medicare's policies about reimbursing out-of-hospital providers (this would likely lead to changes among private insurers).

Getting insurers to pay for out-of-hospital birth is only part of the battle. We have to continue to make sure that the laws protect midwives rights to practice. In some cases we may need to work to change laws that restrict those eliminate choices for women.

I hope the members of Utah Friends of Midwives are ready to continue the fight to maintain and improve maternity care in our state!!

For more information about the next battle that women and midwives may be facing please read the following blog post from one of our members regarding potential changes in the birth center regulations:

http://birthbabiesbreastsohmy.blogspot.com/2010/02/meeting-at-department-of-health-health.html

Message from Citizens for Midwifery

2009-10-28T07:02:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,

As the Senate and House are in the final weeks and days of preparing their Health Reform bills for floor debate, THIS IS THE TIME to write letters and anything else you can do to make sure your Senators and Representatives in Washington, DC, know that you want CPMs included at the federal level!

This e-mail includes three things to as soon as possible!

1. The MAMA Campaign continues working in DC to have Certified Professional Midwives included on the federal list of Medicaid Providers. Please write a brief letter to your Senators and Representatives today! They need to hear from their constituents!
Even if you think your Congress people have already decided not to vote for any health reform bill, write to them anyway about CPMs. You can find all the needed information (including sample letter language and links for finding who your representative and senators are and how to contact them) at the Take Action page of
the MAMA Campaign website

2. The National Women’s Law Center has produced a brief video “A Woman Is Not a Preexisting Condition!” that you can see at: http://awomanisnotapreexistingcondition.com/

They have an email setup right on that page to send emails to Congress about this issue, which has a section to add your own words. This is a great opportunity to add some sentences about CPMs, birth centers, and out of hospital birth in general.
Thanks to Susan Jenkins for sending this information!

3. The Big Push for Midwives is encouraging everyone to sign their petition supporting CPMs and out-of-hospital birth. This is easy to do, and you are encouraged to forward this request to others. The petition sign-up is at: this link
Find the full text of the Big Push notice at the end of this message.

This is our chance! Let’s make sure Congress “gets it” about Certified Professional Midwives!

Sincerely,
Susan Hodges, “gatekeeper”

This is why we do what we do...

2009-09-09T12:01:00.001-07:00

I thought this story from Ohio was a good reminder of why midwifery and home birth advocates need to speak out about their birth choices and educate the public about the safety of out-of-hospital births. This situation would never have happened in a country like the Netherlands where birthing at home is considered a normal way to give birth and police officers would never think that the couple was endangering their child by making that choice.

A family in the Dayton area is entangled in a criminal prosecution as a result of their homebirth. Nine weeks ago, the Levier family welcomed the second child to the world at home with the assistance of a midwife. He was born safe and sound. A few hours later, they were a bit concerned about mom so they made the decision to call 911 just to be safe.
In Montgomery County, whenever 911 is called and a child is involved, the police show up as well. The EMTs insisted that the newborn baby needed immediate medical attention (despite being perfectly happy and healthy) so mom and baby transported in the ambulance and baby was monitored for a while to confirm his good health. Meanwhile the police further investigated, taking statements from Dad and the midwife, who identified herself as a doula.
Six weeks later, the Levier family was given asummons to appear in court regarding charges of child endangerment. Both parents have been charged and arraigned. The next legal step is in late September. Their attorney hopes to have the charges dismissed, but in the meantime, they are facing the expenses of attorney’s fees for representing BOTH of them while dad’s work schedule has been drastically reduced for September....

(Read the rest of the blog entry from the Ohio Families for Safe Birth at this link. This family needs help with their legal expenses. )

ACOG says it's OK to have more than ice chips!

2009-08-26T08:38:00.001-07:00

Another reason to choose midwives... read on...

WASHINGTON, D.C. (August 25, 2009)—Displaying a stunning lack of regard for patient autonomy, the American
College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) issued a statement this week declaring that the group
will “allow” laboring women to drink “modest amounts” of clear fluids during labor while continuing to
prohibit access to solid food.

“Once again ACOG has issued a position statement with little regard for the evidence or for the ability of
women to make decisions for themselves,” said Susan Jenkins, Legal Counsel for The Big Push for
Midwives Campaign. “It’s insulting that ACOG actually believes that laboring women should be grateful
that they will now be ‘allowed’ to have more than just ice chips, when we have long known how vital
nutritional sustenance is to mothers and babies not only during pregnancy, but during labor as well.”

Hospitals routinely adopt ACOG position statements as standard policy governing the treatment of
pregnant and laboring women, despite the fact that a number of the organization’s position statements do
not acknowledge all of the risks and benefits associated with common procedures.

To read full Press Release see link below.

http://www.thebigpushformidwives.org/_ccLib/downloads/8-25-2009_PushNews_RELEASE_Physician_Group_Pulls_the_Plug_on_Women’s_Autonomy.pdf

Passing along birth center legislation info...

2009-07-08T13:48:00.001-07:00

American Association of Birth Centers Legislative Alert

Senator Boxer Takes the Lead for Birth Centers in the Senate - Call you Senators to Co-sponsor!

The Medicaid Birth Center Reimbursement Act to be introduced in the U.S. Senate within two weeks!

U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) will introduce the Medicaid Birth Center Reimbursement Act in the Senate to ensure Medicaid birth center facility fee payments to states.

The Senate version will be identical to H.R. 2358 The Medicaid Birth Center Reimbursement Act.

We need your immediate help! We want to ensure that there is bipartisan support for the bill by adding your Senators as co-sponsors.

Critical Next Step

CALL YOUR 2 U.S. SENATORS at their D.C. offices.

Call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask for your Senator OR Click here to find your Senators and their contact information.

Keep trying if you don't get through. We must make our voices heard and there are many people calling about health care reform and the energy bill.

Speak with your Senator's legislative health assistant. Be sure to get his/her name. This is critical information for Karen to follow-up with the staff.

Ask that your Senators co-sponsor The Medicaid Birth Center Reimbursement Act being introduced by Senator Boxer. For additional information on the legislation and why it is important visit www.birthcenters.org

Call or email AABC's lobbyist Karen Fennell and tell her who you talked with and any comments or additional information requested. Call Karen at 301-830-3910; Send email to karenfennell50@yahoo.com.

We need EVERYONE to take action and ensure that our bill is passed as soon as possible!

Sincerely,

Jill Alliman, CNM, MSN

Chair, Legislative Committee

American Association of Birth Centers

Passing along birth center legislation info...

2009-07-08T13:48:00.000-07:00

American Association of Birth Centers

Legislative Alert

Senator Boxer Takes the Lead for Birth Centers
in the Senate - Call on your Senators to Co-sponsor!

The Medicaid Birth Center Reimbursement Act to
be introduced in U.S. Senate within two weeks!

U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) will introduce the Medicaid Birth Center Reimbursement Act in the Senate to ensure Medicaid birth center facility fee payments to states.

The Senate version will be identical to H.R. 2358 The Medicaid Birth Center Reimbursement Act.

We need your immediate help! We want to ensure that there is bipartisan support for the bill by adding your Senators as co-sponsors.

Critical Next Step

CALL YOUR 2 U.S. SENATORS at their D.C. offices.

Call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask for your Senator OR Click here to find your Senators and their contact information.

Keep trying if you don't get through. We must make our voices heard and there are many people calling about health care reform and the energy bill.

Speak with your Senator's legislative health assistant. Be sure to get his/her name. This is critical information for Karen to follow-up with the staff.

Ask that your Senators co-sponsor The Medicaid Birth Center Reimbursement Act being introduced by Senator Boxer. For additional information on the legislation and why it is important visit www.birthcenters.org

Call or email AABC's lobbyist Karen Fennell and tell her who you talked with and any comments or additional information requested. Call Karen at 301-830-3910; Send email to karenfennell50@yahoo.com.

We need EVERYONE to take action and ensure that our bill is passed as soon as possible!

Sincerely,

Jill Alliman, CNM, MSN

Chair, Legislative Committee

American Association of Birth Centers

Holly's report from her trip to DC

2009-06-25T07:31:00.000-07:00

The friends came through and raised the money for Holly's trip to Washington DC, and they did it in record time. Here is her posting about the trip:

First of all, let me say again, thank you, thank you, thank you for your generosity in getting me to DC on such short notice. This is a national effort and there were about a dozen people here from across the country going in to speak with their reps and Senators from their home state, as well as a lobbying team made up of professional lobbyists from DC and leaders of various midwifery organizations such as NARM and NACPM.

Most of the visits that were made were done with staff but because of the political work I have done in Utah, I was able to speak personally with Senator Orrin Hatch for 20-30 minutes. As I am sure you are aware, Senator Hatch has considerable influence as one of the longest-serving Senators in DC. Therefore, it was particularly gratifying to hear him say he believes we SHOULD have options in health care, we should have options in birth and that he fully supports midwifery. His office is now conveying that message to others on the Senate Finance committee, which is where current efforts are being focused. There are at least three potential bills being worked on where CPM's could be included and politics being what they are, no one yet knows what the final versions will look like - or if they'll end up starting over completely. The great news is we have a strong, powerful supporter in the Senate. Awesome.

I also talked to Sen. Bennett's chief of staff and will undoubtedly be talking to him personally back in Utah. Same for Congressmen Rob Bishop and Jason Chaffetz, both of whom have chiefs of staff who love - and use - midwives. I met personally with Congressman Chaffetz for an extended period of time. The only member of the Utah delegation that I did not connect with on some level was Congressman Matheson. If any of you are attending the Utah Democratic convention this weekend, try and grab him, would you? I have a packet of information for him and am happy to get that to him when we are both in Utah.

Again, thank you so much for your generosity. It was a very successful trip!

Holly

Thanks Holly for being so willing to drop everything and once again step up for the midwives! You are amazing!

URGENT ACTION NEEDED! Send Holly to DC

2009-06-15T10:26:00.000-07:00

Supporters of midwives! We have an amazing opportunity to advance the

availability of midwives not only in our state, but nationally.

Holly Richardson has been asked by the National Association of Certified
Professional Midwives (NACPM) to go to Washington, DC this Wednesday, Thursday,
and Friday to lobby Senator Hatch and Congressman Matheson to get Certified
Professional Midwives (CPMs) on the national Medicaid provider list. These two
leaders hold important positions on the committees that will make the decision
to add CPMs or not, and therefore we as Utahns can play a particularly
influential role on this issue.

What does this mean?

If Holly and the NACPM are successful and CPMs are added to the national
Medicaid provider list, CPMs would become eligible Medicaid providers in all
states, and all states would have to reimburse CPMs for their services under
Medicaid. This would make midwives and out-of-hospital birth much more
accessible to women who currently can't afford it, or who won't even look at it
because they feel forced by Medicaid to "go hospital." Midwives would be free
to choose whether of not to participate in Medicaid, of course, but at least
this way it would be a choice instead of an impossibility.

If President Obama is successful in implementing some form of national/universal
health care, the national Medicaid provider list will likely become the de facto
list of providers under that plan also. Anyone not on that list will have great
difficulty playing in the health care game. Whether you love the idea of
national health care or hate it, it's passage might be the death knell of
midwifery if midwives aren't included on the list of eligible providers.

If CPMs are included in the national Medicaid provider list, other private
insurers are more likely to reimburse for services. They don't have to, but it
does become more likely.

Even if the effort is unsuccessful in securing CPMs a spot on the provider list,
there is still great benefit to sending Holly on this mission. At the very
least, she can raise the awareness of our senator and congressman to the issue
of midwifery, and pave the way for lobbying on any midwifery issues that may
come up in the future.

Why send Holly?

Holly is in a unique position to succeed in this mission. Since she first
started working on legislation here in Utah she has been working her way into
other Utah politics and been unbelievably successful. She has run successful
campaigns, joined organizations, started a very influential blog, become a
recognized player statewide. She now has the kind of clout to ask for a meeting
and GET HEARD. We can't guarantee the senator and congressman will do what
she's asking, or that the committees they sit on will listen to them after she's
convinced them, but she has a better shot than anyone at making it happen.

This is an amazing opportunity. We need to send her, but she doesn't have the
money. The NACPM that has asked her to do this doesn't have the money to send
her. We estimate that it will take $1150. That's a doable amount if we all
share! Can we do it? Can we raise that in three days? I believe we can.

Here is what we need:

1. Send a check TODAY to Holly Richardson, 882 W 2800 N, Pleasant Grove, UT
84062.

We would love a large check, of course. But we'd love small checks, too. We
know times are difficult, so if $5 is all you can give, we'll accept it with
gratitude. It will make a difference!

Even better, WE HAVE AN ANONYMOUS DONOR who is willing to MATCH all donations up
to $500. This will double your contribution! $5 will become $10, $100 will
become $200. It won't take much to reach our goal if you'll all help.

Obviously, we aren't going to have enough time if everyone mails checks today to
get the money in Holly's account before she leaves. But she's willing to put
everything on her credit cards as long as she knows the money is coming to pay
the expenses off afterwards. So,

2. Post either to the list or to me privately at suzanne@betterbirth.com and
let me know how much you are sending.

This way we'll know whether we'll have enough to send her or not. If we can't
get enough commitments by Wednesday June 17 for her to feel comfortable that the
money will be there, she won't go and the money will be returned. DON'T LET
THAT HAPPEN! This is a huge opportunity, way too important to waste. I'll be
posting as the commitments come in so you can see how we're doing.

If we get more than the amount needed to finance this trip, we will turn the
extra back over to Utah Friends Of Midwives for the further advancement of
midwifery in the state.

Come on! We can do this. Ask everyone you know who supports midwifery to send
what they can. Send what you can. Make a difference. Please, please, please,
send a check right now. If we fail to act, the consequences could be terrible,
and the opportunity if we succeed is amazing. I believe in you guys.

Suzanne Smith, CPM LDEM

PS - If you were prefer to donate through Paypal - click on the link to the left...

A very important task - takes only 10 minutes - please help!

2009-06-02T11:36:00.001-07:00

Hello Friends -

It is time to make a difference again! Major changes the to structure of health care in the United States are being made in Washington DC right now. Whether or not we agree with all the changes being proposed it is a golden opportunity for Certified Professional Midwives to become integrated into the system.

Senator Hatch in particular has a position of power on this issue. We need his help to ensure that midwives are included and he will be more likely to listen to residents of Utah. That means you friends. The instructions laid out in my last blog post are really easy and quick to follow, the letters don't need to be long, short and concise is what we need. Add your own experience with midwifery care and why it is a fabulous, cost-effective choice!

In case it wasn't clear the Big Push for Midwives is coordinating this effort and would like the letters sent directly to them so that they can be gathered and sent as a package. Comment when you've sent your letter so that we know who has sent them and verify that the Big Push receives them all!

Thanks so much for helping Certified Professional Midwives!

-Heidi

ACTION ITEM: Letters to Senator Hatch

2009-05-28T07:01:00.000-07:00

This is important! Senator Hatch's office needs to see a bunch of emails - not one or two, but 100. :-) Please - help keep midwives at the national table!!

Hello friends,

As some of you may already know we (The Big Push for Midwives) just had an amazingly successful week in Washington DC. We had many meetings with key legislators and have an opportunity to be added to an extended list of Medicaid providers in the draft health care bill in the Senate.

We need to keep the momentum going!

Scroll down for a template letter to send to Senator Orrin Hatch, along with suggestions about what to say. So far his staff have been very open and supportive but they need to hear from their constituents. I will be putting a packet together so please send letters directly to me copied into an email.

Please note: this is a new action item, not a repeat of last week’s effort!

Letters should be copied into an email and sent to:

brielle@moonstonebirth.com

Many thanks!
Brielle Epstein,
Director of Federal Advocacy
The Big Push for Midwives Campaign

Letter format:

Please insert the date, your name and address here, followed by:

The Honorable Orrin G. Hatch
United States Senate
104 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C.

Dear Senator Hatch:

First Step:

Thank Senator Hatch’s staff for taking the time to talk to representatives of the Big Push for Midwives Campaign about the cost savings and excellent care outcomes that could be realized by expanding access to Certified Professional Midwives (CPMs) and out-of-hospital maternity care.

Next Step:

Pick one or two points to include in your own words:

Certified Professional Midwives are specially trained as experts in out-of-hospital maternity care and deliver babies in private homes and in freestanding birth centers.

Research consistently shows that low-risk women planning to deliver their babies at home under the care of Certified Professional Midwives experience outcomes equal to low-risk women who deliver in the hospital, but with far fewer costly and preventable interventions, including a five-fold decrease in cesarean section.

Babies delivered under the care of Certified Professional Midwives have significantly reduced rates of prematurity and low-birth weight, two of the leading contributing factors to infant mortality and the costs associated with long-term care.

The state of Washington reports a savings of $3.1 million dollars over a period of two years to the state Medicaid system when mothers experiencing healthy, low-risk pregnancies give birth with licensed midwives instead of in the hospital.

The recent Milbank Report conservatively estimates savings of $2.5 billion dollars a year if the cesarean surgery rate is brought down to 15% in the U.S.

David Anderson, Professor of Economics at Center College with a specialization in the costs of out-of-hospital maternity care calculates that including CPMs and of out-of-hospital birthing services in Medicaid and other plans would result in savings of $9.1 billion annually, while actually improving outcomes.

Certified Professional Midwives are the only providers specially trained in out-of-hospital birth in the event that hospitals become unsafe for healthy pregnant women during a disaster.

Final Step:

Ask Senator Hatch to support the addition of "Certified Professional Midwives" to the expanded list of Medicaid providers listed in Section IV, page 24 of The Senate Finance Committee's policy document entitled, "Description of Policy Options, Expanding Health Care Coverage: Proposals to Provide Affordable Coverage to All Americans” and thank him for his time and consideration. Please use the exact language in bold so that it is very clear where we are asking to be added.

Thank you to everyone who is reaching out—it only takes a few minutes but it is so very helpful. We are making amazing progress in DC and now is not the time to let up! So please forward this to family and friends who can help, and thank you for doing your part to get CPMs and OOH maternity care included in health care reform.

Happy International Midwives Day

2009-05-05T09:43:00.000-07:00

Thank you to all the midwives who give so much of their time, effort, money, love, support, and energy to the service of their fellow women!

It's a tough job and midwives around the world deserve a big pat on the back for all they do!!

Largest study to date on home birth

2009-04-22T14:51:00.000-07:00

A very exciting new study was released last week in the Netherlands proving once again that 'planning a home birth does not increase the risks of perinatal mortality and severe perinatal morbidity among low-risk women...'. Because the study included over 500,000 women, the findings will satisfy the argument that home birth safety can't be proven because the prior studies have all been too small. The entire study can be found at the following link:

http://www.cfpc.ca/local/user/files/{F249B8FE-6B6A-4426-BF21-57FA51A28796}/Home%20Birth%20Netherlands.pdf

More scientific peace of mind for families that choose home birth!

Open Board Meeting - All are Welcome!!

2009-03-05T09:07:00.001-08:00

Everyone is invited to an open board meeting for the Utah Friends of Midwives. We'll be taking nominations for this years officers and discussing our strategies and goals for the upcoming year. Please come and contribute your ideas and get involved!

When: Tuesday March 31, 2009 7-9 PM

Where: Ruth Vine Tyler Library in Midvale (8041 S Wood St. (55 West))

Call Heidi at 358-2797 for more information.

(Facebook members please forgive my mistaken notice saying March 3!)

Meeting on Birth Center Regulations

2009-03-03T14:35:00.000-08:00

The meeting at the Department of Health for discussion about changing the birth center regulations is March 25^th at 9am. The meeting will be at the Health Department Cannon Building, 288 N. 1460 W. We are still asking for all those that would like to see birth centers continue to be able to offer their services in the State of Utah to please plan to attend. We will have another informational meeting on March 11^th here at the birth center, please attend if you would like to know more about what is happening with regulations for birth centers in Utah. Thank you to all of you who are involved and willing to help the birth center cause.

For more information visit the Birth and Family Place website:

http://www.womenandbirthcare.com/politicalaction.html

Mid-session Update; No News is Good News

2009-02-20T03:55:00.001-08:00

I hardly dare say anything, so as not to jinx us, but so far we seem to be escaping midwifery legislation this year.

As usual UFOM is keeping in touch with legislators and watching the websites carefully for any signs of bills that would restrict or affect birthing women and midwives, and so far none has come across our radar.

Two weeks ago we hosted our annual snack time for the legislators, where we got to chat with some of the new members of the House and Senate, and remind veterans that our laws are working just fine! Both mornings were very successful and I'd like to especially thank the following women for their contributions.

Claire Grover, Dannika Hammons, Michelle Scharf, Pam Udy, Shelly Gramajo, Whitney McNeil and Holly Richardson. (if I've forgotten anyone I apologize!!)

If there's any news we'll of course post right away, but as for now we'll be grateful to have nothing to report.

Legislative Breakfasts

2009-01-20T14:25:00.000-08:00

Utah Friends of Midwives is looking for donations towards our annual legislators breakfasts. This is one of the few opportunities UFOM has for meeting with legislators and building our political capital. It is so important that we get the chance to share our information and educate legislators about the benefits of the midwifery model of care.

If you know of a business who might be willing to make a food or drink donation please contact me to make further arrangments (heidisylvester5@msn.com).

These breakfasts are our big budget expenditure every year, and we depend on the kindness of our members to help make it happen! It only takes a couple dollars to make a difference, please use the link on the left to donate $5 today!

Thanks so much for helping to ensure that midwives are part of the future of birth in Utah!

Heidi Sylvester

President, UFOM

January Rules Meeting

2009-01-16T07:07:00.000-08:00

The really short version is that the doctors wanted more restrictions on home VBACs but the midwives on the committee stood their ground.

They proposed that women who have had two c-sections for failure to progress/cpd should be risked out of home birth. The midwives said no, we will not give up anything else.

They proposed again to make an operative report an requirement, but the midwives said no.

There was a lot of discussion about numbers and it seemed like nothing was going to be accomplished, but in the final ten minutes of the meeting two proposals passed

The first was the specifics of the points that would be included into the informed consent document presented to women wanting a home VBAC.

The second was that midwives would make a good faith effort to obtain operative reports, but unless they had a good reason to believe the woman might have a vertical incision they would not be required to transfer care.

One physician member of the committee had said over and over that he wanted an operative report to be mandatory but in the end he voted to allow it to be waivable- "in the spirit of compromise".

Laura Poe at DOPL will put together the exact wording for how it will be written into rules and the committee will approve the exact language at the next meeting.

VBAC is not on the agenda for the next meeting, so hopefully this is the end of the discussion.

At the beginining of the meeting Laura shared some of the email commentary that she has been receiving from the public. They made it very clear that it wasn't just the midwives on the committee who were saying NO to any more compromise, so THANK YOU to the 'friends' who sent emails!

Rules Committee on Thursday

2009-01-07T08:40:00.001-08:00

The process of re-writing the rules governing licensed direct-entry midwives (LDEMs) continues on Thursday January 15 from 1-3 PM at the Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing (DOPL) offices. (300 S and 100 E. Rm 210 - go to the second floor and we'll help guide you the rest of the way).

Here is the story behind these meetings for anyone who doesn't know:

When the bill passed making direct-entry midwifery legal in Utah, the provision was also created giving midwives the option to license. Federal laws require professionals who want to have access to prescription medications to be licensed. Midwives that prefer to practice with legal access to drugs like Pitocin (for management for a postpartum hemorraghe) choose to obtain a license.

The law passed through the legislature spells out some of the rules governing what LDEMs are legally allowed to do, but it also says that the finer points of the rules will be decided by a committee. When the original midwifery bill was passed in 2005 rules were written and put into place. Last year when the 'compromise bill' (as I like to call it) was passed changes were made that required new rules be drafted. The law also says that the new rules commitee will be made up of 3 LDEMs, a Certified Nurse Midwife, and 2 obstetricians (appointed by the Utah Medical Association). The committe meets under the supervision of Laura Poe from DOPL who is ultimately in charge of drafting the rules that the committee agrees on. I don't envy Laura this task, because as you can imagine the committee does not agree on much!

The committee has already met a handful of times and made some of the required changes, the process continues on Thursday with the biggest hot button issue on the agenda, vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC). The doctors on the committee would obviously prefer that the midwives were not allowed to attend VBAC at all, but the law does make it clear that they can. The law also makse provisions for some restrictions. On Thursday the committe will be discussing what conditions will be restricted by the rules. Already agreed upon is women who have had more than two c-sections and women who have had anything other than a low transverse incision.

One physician committee member has requested that if the woman cannot provide documentation that her scar type is low and transverse that she shouldn't be eligible for midwifery care. The committee is divided 3 to 3 on that issue.

These meetings are open to the public and it is important that the committe members see consumers attending the meeting. They need to know that we will not stand idly by while they try to take away women's right to choose their care provider or where they will give birth. Spectators do get to comment and make sure the committee knows how we feel, but mostly we just observe, silently putting on the pressure.