Who is MANA?

Mission Statement

The mission of the Midwives Alliance of North America is to unite, strengthen, support and advocate for the midwifery community and to promote educational, economic, and cultural sustainability of the midwifery profession. (revised May 2020)

Vision Statement

The Midwives Alliance of North America envisions Midwifery as a thriving, diverse, autonomous profession in service to families throughout North America. (revised May 2020)

Goals

To engage midwives in dialogue and to encourage solidarity across North America
To recognize the diversity among midwives and to foster inclusive community building
To build an identity as a cohesive organization representing the profession as well as the tradition of midwifery at regional, national and international levels
To position midwives as acknowledged authorities, working to improve perinatal health in collaboration with other professionals
To collect and disseminate high quality research about midwifery care
To promote excellence in midwifery practice
To sponsor continuing education opportunities for midwives
To increase access to midwives in all settings
To endorse the Midwives Model of Care™ as the gold standard for childbirth
To affirm the rights of pregnant women to give birth where and with whom they choose

MANA Core Documents

The essential documents of the Midwives Alliance describe the core competencies for basic midwifery practice, as well as the standards, qualifications and ethics necessary to provide high-quality, evidence-based services to women, newborns and childbearing families.

History

In 1982, the Midwives Alliance of North America was established as a non-profit (501 c 6) professional organization for all midwives. MANA grew out of a grassroots coalition of diverse types of midwives including nurse-midwives, lay midwives, direct-entry midwives, and traditional midwives from across North America. The impetus to create MANA was a desire to establish a professional home for all midwives that would recognize and honor the diversity of educational backgrounds and practice styles within the profession.

MANA BOARD

Meet the MANA Board and access job descriptions for their positions

MANA Staff

MANA's staff is vital in keeping our organization running smoothly by supporting many of our administrative needs including: coordinating our annual conference, sustaining our online presence, and editing and facilitating our newsletters and communications.