The Midwives Alliance of North America (MANA) is proud to support The Women’s March on Washington, a self-described “women-led movement bringing together people of all genders, ages, races, cultures, political affiliations and backgrounds… to affirm our shared humanity and pronounce our bold message of resistance and self-determination.”

MANA, the professional organization representing home birth midwives since 1982, stands for self-determination and personal choice in healthcare decisions, and the right of all birthing families to give birth with their chosen provider in attendance, and in the setting of their choice.

MANA recognizes the fundamental right to safe, culturally appropriate healthcare for all people. We believe that inequities based on race, gender, financial status, sexual orientation, immigration status, and religion limit people’s ability to access those rights. We believe that violence against women, racial, and ethnic groups, and the LGBTQIA community further erode those rights.

MANA recognizes that pay inequity, disproportionate incarceration rates, the erosion of reproductive rights and attacks on providers of women’s healthcare, contamination of our water supply, and an increase in hate crimes affect us all, and particularly women of color. Research points to the effects of overt and institutional racism, socioeconomic disparities, and lack of access to quality maternity care as the cause of a US maternal death rate called a human rights violation by Amnesty International. We believe that all people have a right to the highest attainable standard of healthcare, and that the health of women and babies depends on reducing the inequities and challenges faced by people in marginalized communities.

MANA joins the many partners of The Women’s March on Washington as an expression of our commitment to develop, expand, and prioritize social justice principles and practices as basic elements of maternity care.