My MANA roots were established sitting at the feet of Linda McHale, long-time MANA board member, hearing her stories of early MANA days and learning the importance of standing up for midwives and for our profession. Some of my most difficult lessons came from realizing that midwifery in itself is a political act when all I wanted to do was help people have babies. Twenty years later, I am honored to serve as the president of MANA.
Today, I think about what systemic change is needed so that we can get back to focusing our energy on helping people have babies.
Recent media coverage on risks of waterbirth has reinforced the need to ensure robust research on the safety of hydrotherapy in labor and birth, and the importance of appropriate infection protocols. We are saddened to learn of the two infants who contracted Legionnaires’ disease in Arizona after birth in the water. According to media coverage, both infants recovered after receiving antibiotic treatment.
The Midwives Alliance would like to express our sincerest congratulations to Drs. Bovbjerg, Cheyney, and Everson, who have been awarded the 2017 Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health Best Research Article Award for their published paper, “Maternal and Newborn Outcomes Following Waterbirth: The Midwives Alliance of North America Statistics Project, 2004 to 2009 Cohort.”
On Wednesday, May 24th 2017, the authors were honored for their work during the awards ceremony at the American College of Nurse-Midwives annual meeting in Chicago, IL.
I am deeply saddened, as is the MANA community of midwives, by the loss of Dorothea Lang, CNM, MPH, FACNM, past President of the ACNM. She was a courageous and inspiring midwife pioneer, an outspoken advocate for ‘a midwife for every mother,’ an inspiring nurse-midwife educator and mentor to hundreds of students and young midwives, and a visionary leader in the quest for alternate paths for professional midwifery education.
Long Beach is the home of this year’s MANA CAM 2017 Annual Midwives Conference (MANA’s 35th conference!). Mark your calendars now for Nov 2 - 5th and come enjoy all that this beachfront community has to offer.
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.”
“You row forward looking back, and telling this history is part of helping people navigate toward the future. We need a litany, a rosary, a sutra, a mantra, a war chant for our victories. The past is set in daylight, and it can become a torch we can carry into the night that is the future.” - Rebecca Solnit
A new resource providing guidance on hydrotherapy in labor and birth is now available, thanks to a consensus of maternity care experts, including Midwives Alliance of North America. The resource, A Model Practice Template for Hydrotherapy in Labor and Birth, is a part of a growing body of resources for providers working with families considering hydrotherapy.
