CPM Symposium and the voice of future midwives

so i've been talking for awhile now about the place midwives should take in public health. in canada, the U.K. and many other countries around the world midwives play an integral role in women's health beyond maternity care. 

i'll be writing more on this in the next few months, but in the meantime check out the Future Midwives Alliance. 

as student midwives we have to decide how we envision our future roles in public health. we also must recognise the role in public health we play today. we have a unique place in woman's life that goes beyond bettering reproductive health for mothers and babies, beyond creating a sacred space for which women can birth. 

we are moving into a position where we have a responsibility to function as a bridge for the public and other health care providers to increase the over all health of women and in turn our communities. this may not be a role that everyone wants to embrace, but it is a role that we all must support. 

take a look at the actions aimed at the upcoming CPM symposium in washington this coming march. 

although the intentions of the symposium are admirable, they are neglecting to include the voices of future midwives, those of us who will be supporting, working with in and moving these ambitions forward. the future midwives alliance is trying to get student representation present at the symposium so that our voices are heard. 

if i weren't going to be on call, and if my wonderful midwife wasn't going to be there, lobbying on the steps capital hill, i'd be there...someone has to be here for our mothers! leave it to the student midwives. thankfully there are two of us!

i encourage all student midwives out there to take a look at these websites, think about where you see yourself, and ask yourself what are your limitations to practice? 

is it possible for midwives to be primary health care providers? should we be?

Below is what CPM symposium aims to achieve:

Our Intended Outcomes

• a fresh, strengthened sense of ourselves as valuable and primary care providers and midwifery educators in the U.S.
• a dynamic new community of CPMs and educators where many more voices are engaged in creating the maternity care system of the future
• a mutually-held appreciation of the essential roles of education and professional association in strengthening the profession of CPMs
• a clear sense of being equipped to act to achieve our goals
• a deep appreciation of our past, our present situation, and an open thinking about where we can go from here
• a renewed vision and concrete next steps for effectively carrying forward the profession
• a variety of vehicles for engaging CPMs and educators beyond the scope of this event

We ask ourselves: What will success for the profession look like if....

• ...CPMs are fully established as primary maternity care providers in the U.S.? 
• ...the CPM workforce reflects the racial and cultural diversity in the U.S. population?
• ...CPMs serve underserved and vulnerable populations?
• ...CPMs serve childbearing women in all settings?
• ...educators and students have the resources necessary to prepare the CPM workforce of the future?
• ...CPMs achieve Federal recognition: for midwives, schools, educators, preceptors and students?
• ...CPMs are fully reimbursed for the range of services and care they provide by all private and public plans?
• ...CPMs attend 5% of U.S. births in the next ten years?
• ...CPMs schools and preceptors teach to evidence-based maternity care?
• ...CPMs fulfill their potential to improve outcomes for women and babies and reduce disparities in the U.S.?
• ...there are adequate educational opportunities to educate enough CPMs to fill the need for midwives?

Resolution Request

so as one of my resolutions, i want to send things, postcards and letters in the mail.


if you would like to take part in this, be a recipient. send me your address. 


i'm compiling a list. 

four days of yoga

so one of my resolutions was to yoga.

what does that mean?

for the last four days i have gone to my mat (actually i don't have a mat, just practicing on the carpet). 

i haven't had a dedicated yoga practice in somewhere in the range of three years. seriously.

my body hurts. i have chronic lower back pain. i look at my body and i see how it has changed 

i'm tired. i'm bitter. have battled depression. i'm judgmental. i'm insecure. i'm self-deprecating to the point where i am limiting my opportunities.  

i'm not that horrible. i've made it through my blue period. that at least i've done. 

i'm putting my worst foot forward.

but it's a truth.

it's part of me.

and it's time to turn that around.

strengthen my core, heal my back. 

lengthen and strengthen my muscles and stop the aches and pains. 

tone and shed excess fat and feel better about myself.

i love my curves. but there is a difference between curves and puckering. 

2012 is a new year.

it has started with heightened motivation and inspiration. 

2011 ended with a plague lifting and a load of changes that has brought about a clean slate. 

i'm challenging myself. committing to myself. my teacher once said. everyday step onto your mat. even if you do nothing. step on to your mat. 

so i have stepped onto my mat. and for four days i have lengthened and strengthened and moved my body in ways i haven't consistently for so long. and it feels so good. 

four days of yoga and counting. 

resolutions

• don't take life so seriously
• hike more
• take more pictures
• smile more
• listen to more music
• take days off
• send letters and postcards the old fashion way
• let myself be loved, unconditionally and in the moment, regardless for how long it may last
• yoga
• take a class, workshop or join some group
• stop being so self-depricating
• write more
• communicate more
• site by the water
• read books that i don't have to, but that i want to
• sew something
• knit something

Midwives. More than Baby Catchers.

Below is the introduction to the paper that I am writing for school. 


Would love to hear ideas, opinions, thoughts on this topic. Are you interested? Do you find this relevant? Do you as midwives and student midwives place yourself or desire to place yourself within the context or role of public health provider? 

What role do midwives play in public health?

The role of midwives within overall healthcare is seen to vary across nations. In some countries, UK and Canada, midwives are integrated into the overall maternity care system. In the UK for instance, midwives are the state mandated care providers for all normal healthy low risk women, the place of birthplace is irrelevant to the choice of care provider. In the US, midwifery varies from being fully integrated (CNM’s and CPM’s in some states) to unregulated and in some states the practice of midwifery is illegal. 

Midwives, if placed within the context of public health are in a unique position to screen women for psycho-social, and disease and illness risk factors, in addition to providing prenatal care. Pregnancy is a period of a woman’s life in which she will seek out the routine care of a primary health provider. Midwives have the unique opportunity to help women at a most critical period in their life.

The following is a historical review of the evolution of women’s health framed in the context of public health promotion. Through this review we will see how public policy has become shaped by the understanding women’s health is shaped by the biological determinants of a women’s biological. Understanding the specific demands that are placed on a woman, both physical and socially will help improve the health of women and in return the overall health of a population. Health professionals and policy makers, must focus their efforts in culturally appropriate ways in order to significantly improve upon the integration of preventative care in health promotion.

Through investigating the role of midwives in public health, I aim to show that even in the US, midwives are actively filling an integral role in maternity care and to differing degrees, general well woman care. The aim is to legitimize the place of midwives within a healthcare system, both in the eyes of the midwives themselves, but as well by other healthcare professionals and the community at large.

I seek to frame the context of this discussion in the ambitions set forth in the Ottawa Charter presented at the First International Conference on Health Promotion (1986), which first defined public health and initiated a platform for countries to implement public health. In addition, there will be a brief discussion of the numerous reports and bills that have come out in recent years including the Millennium Development Goals, the Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health, the State of the World’s Midwifery Report, the Affordable Care Act and more recently the agreements set forth in the Home Birth Consensus Summit that took place in Oct. 2011, It is my goal with this discussion to illustrate what is being done and has been achieved, while identifying areas of requiring further improvement.