Together with the world, Midwives Alliance of North America (MANA) celebrates the arrival of a new royal baby girl for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. While most news reports shared the names of the medical team, the reality is the baby was born into the hands of a midwife. In fact, Kate, The Duchess of Cambridge, was cared for by a pair of midwives, in a health system where midwifery led practice is the standard of care.
As a part of our Meet the MANA Board series, we've asked Treesa McLean, Director of Public Affairs, to tell us a bit about how she became a midwife and her goals and vision for MANA.
I live in southern New Hampshire with my husband of 24 years and my three children, ages 23, 21, and 14. I also have an adopted 23 year old son and daughter-in-law, who currently serve in the Army and live in California. I have developed two free standing birth centers with integrated home birth practices here, the second of which currently serves well over 100 families each year and is growing at an unprecedented rate.
I live in Phoenix Arizona where I currently attend homebirths. I have three beautiful boys, one courageous husband, amazing parents and wonderful there "in a pinch" friends that make my work and service as a midwife possible. It is my great honor and privilege to serve families during pregnancy, labor, birth and postpartum and like many midwives the calling to serve families has been both joyous and challenging.
Here in Massachusetts, midwifery supporters have been working for many years to pass a bill that would license Certified Professional Midwives (CPMs). We believe we now have a real shot at passing the bill into law in the current legislative session.
This January we re-filed the bill, An Act Relative To Certified Professional Midwives (SB 1825/HB 2941), sponsored by Representative Kay Khan and Senator Anne Gobi. If passed into law, the legislation would:
California midwives are going to the legislature with three midwifery bills this session. California Association of Midwives (CAM) and California Nurse Midwives Association (CNMA) have each sponsored legislation that will increase access to midwifery care for the families of California.
New California Legislation: Expanding Access To Midwifery Care Through Medi-Cal
As a part of our new "Update from the States" series, we asked Marijke van Roojen, president of the Wisconsin Guild of Midwives, to catch us up on the current activities of the midwifery community in this progressive midwestern state. Read on to learn about their current initiatives:
Wisconsin Guild of Midwives Current Initiatives (WGOM)
MANA Vice President Sarita Bennett, DO, CPM, shares with us her role on the board of the Midwives Alliance, her priorities for 2015, and ways to deepen your involvement at MANA.
