Support Midwifery in Massachusetts!

Massachusetts Senate Bill 847 will be heard at the State House on July 28. This bill, as it similarly does in 26 other states, protects midwives and their practice, as well as the women who choose to give birth with them and receive other well-woman care from them.

Right now, Nurse-Midwives are under the supervision of MD's, and this bill would give nurse-midwives the ability to practice collaboratively with MD's. Nurse-midwives are the only midwives who can legally attend births in Massachusetts.

Additionally, this bill will allow Massachusetts to license Professional Midwives, who are stringently licensed in 26 other states. Professional Midwives go through rigorous training and education in order to care for healthy, uncomplicated pregnant and laboring women in out-of-hospital settings, such as birth centers and private homes.

This bill will regulate the practices of both types of midwives so that they practice a standard of care that is SAFE.

Please get involved! Perhaps you received care from a midwife - at home, in a hospital, or at a birth center -- and can attest to the quality of the midwifery model of care. Maybe you, personally, would not choose care from a midwife or to have your baby in any place but a hospital, but you DO believe that the only way to ensure quality health care for women is through a variety of evidence-based care, dispensed by a variety of highly-skilled professionals. All women can support this bill, because it is NOT about natural birth vs. epidural, homebirth vs. hospital birth, or one woman being stronger/better/smarter/more concerned about her baby than another woman.

This bill is about mothers and babies being born safely.

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Massachusetts Friends of Midwives asks: "If you can join us at the State House for the hearing, please do! Babies andsmall children are welcome participants on visits to MA Senators and Repsand are welcome in the Gallery during the hearing. Please use your judgment,however, as the day can be long (we will not know when during the day wewill be testifying). While we would love to have as many families as possible, we also realizethat sitting still for a couple of hours may not be in everyone's skill sets--adults included! For more information and updates, please check out the MFOM blog(www.mfom.org) . Thanks so much for everyone's ongoing support!"

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