Earlier this year, Midwives Alliance was contacted by the office of Rep Gwen Moore (WI-4) to help develop a bill to define doulas and midwives in the United States Social Security Act (SSA), which will improve access to Medicaid reimbursement for services. With input from the North American Registry of Midwives (NARM), the credentialing agency for the Certified Professional midwife (CPM), we drafted simple language defining the types of midwives not currently included in the SSA.
When mainstream media reported that a pregnant person had become “the laughing stock of a group of top US obstetricians”, what they didn’t understand was that they were witnessing an attitude that is foundational to the behaviors identified as obstetric violence.
At a key moment when maternal/child health, morbidities, and mortalities are being discussed in national health care arenas, birthing people and midwives are not being included in those discussions.
Portland, Maine is the home of MANA’s 36th Annual Midwives Conference! Mark your calendars now for Oct. 11 - 14, the height of the Fall Foliage Season, and come enjoy all that this coastal community has to offer for #MANA18!
