Homebirthing Families in MS Need Us NOW!

"Action isn't a burden to be hoisted up and lugged around on our shoulders. It is something we are. The work we have to do can be seen as a kind of coming alive. More than some moral imperative, it's an awakening to our true nature, a releasing of our gifts."  ~ Joanna Macy

Where were you when you found out that the state of MS was about to pass a law to outlaw direct entry (non-nurse) midwifery?
Twenty months ago, I recieved an email from my midwife alerting me that there was a fast moving effort in Jackson to restrict midwifery to nurse midwives only.  The law would outlaw the midwives who care for home birthing families.  Amazingly, the supporters of home birth in MS joined hands across the state and built a wall to stop that law from going any further.  Organizations across the country were impressed with our fast action. Where do we stand now?

We have been building relationships - with legislators, Department of Health, MS Nurses Association.  Here it is bluntly:  If we don't get this bill passed to license midwives, someone else is going to get a bill passed to make direct entry midwives illegal.  We have to pass the "Midwife Standrds Act" which requires midwives optain the CPM credention to be a Licensed MS Midwife. We have done a lot of work to make sure we have the very best law in the US.  One that improves home birth for mothers and babies while elevating the profession of midwifery.

To accomplish this, I need you each to take a moment to reflect.  What will MS be like in 10 years if the "Midwife Standards Act" is passed?  What if ACOG gets its way and puts an end to direct entry midwives?  I have a pretty clear picture in my mind of what I want to see for MS families.  Just talk to a midwife or homebirth family in one of the 26 states that has licensed midwives, like FL or TN.  Ask them what acess to and care from idwives is like in their state.

What is your role in this? 

To pass the "Midwife Standards Act" we need help from every corner of the state. We need YOU to contact your legislators right now to let them know how important this issue is to their constituents.  Personally, I am working my way from my own district out to other areas - calling legislators.   I am willing to spend several days a week in Jackson while they are in session (January-April).  However, I have had to ask myself, what will I do if we don't have money to pay for these trips?  I have turned down opportunities for paid work, so that I can dedicate more time to this.  So, I am already working with a reduced income.  In addition to the countless hours I dedicate, how much can I take from my family's budget to pass this legislation?

I am asking for your help.  There are several states working on passing similar legislation with big budgets and paid lobbyists.  Thankfully, we have a few families that are donating enough time to be "lobbyists."  We work on a very small budget.  Please read the options below and think about how your family can help the families on MS for generations to come.

Thank you, Bianca Wooden
Co-Founder and President
Contact me anytime: 228.233.0686, me@biancawooden.com

Can you offer your time?
1 min: CLick on "Update your Preferences" at the bottom of this email and make sure we have your address and phone number.

5 min: Forward this email to a friend that wants to keep homebirth legal

15 min: Write a note to your Senator or Representative and tell them how much the "Midwife Standards Act" means to you.

30 min: Call your Senator or Representative and tell them how much the "Midwife Standards Act" means to you
1 hour: Join a board member for a meeting with your Senator or Representative
5 hours: Set up a booth at a local park or farmers market to spread the word.
20 hours: Volunteer to be our "Fundraising Coordinator" and organize an online fundraising effort.

Can you donate money?
$3: Send you a bumper sticker so you let others know about us.
$10: Stamps and envelopes to mail 15 letters to legislators.
$20: Make 200 flyers to distribute to legislators.
$30: Gas for a board member to drive to Jackson (just one way).
$100: Hotel room for a board member to spend the night in Jackson.

Other: Donate an item or service for a fundraising auction.

Yes, You Really Need to Go to Jackson!!



Mississippi Friends of Midwives is pushing you to go to Jackson and you might be wondering why.

 Aren’t the calls and emails enough?

 Aren’t other people going and talking to the legislators?

Before we answer those questions, let's have a mini history lesson...

Last year, a bill was introduced that would have restricted childbirth attendants to OBs and CNMs (Certified Nurse Midwives) in hospitals. This would have made the Direct Entry Midwives (DEMs) that attend home births in MS illegal. The bill went right through the House of Representatives and over to the Senate without hesitation. Just then, word spread to the home birthing families in MS about the legislation and there was a strong outcry against the bill. Senators let the bill “die in committee” by not bringing it up for a vote by the deadline.

Fast forward exactly one year….After a lot of hard work by MS Friends of Midwives and the MS Midwives Alliance, House Bill (HB) 207 has been passed by the house and now sits in the hands of the very same, Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee with that same deadline approaching, March 1^st. (Learn more about the bill and why it is important here: http://biancawooden.blogspot.com/2011/02/why-do-we-need-hb207.html

So, to answer those questions,

Yes, there are a handful of the same people that have been to the Capitol repeatedly to speak with Legislators.

And, NO, at this point in the process, calls and emails are NOT enough!!

Let me tell you why.

The Medical community is at the Capitol every day lobbying AGAINST our bill. Women in Mississippi have enjoyed the right to birth at home with the care provider of their choice since the beginning of time. However, there are organizations in our state (such as the Mississippi State Medical Association and the Mississippi Nursing Association) that are working to see that right taken away and limited to their services in their hospitals. The organizations that tried to make home birth illegal last year did not and will not give up. They are working to kill our “pro-homebirth” bill and rest assured, they will take another shot at eradicating it next year.



We need your help to make a change.

 The legislators of MS are somewhat supportive of home birth and are willing to consider a law to recognize midwives and their role in the maternity care system.

We have some momentum, but we need to keep it going and gain the favor of the Senators.

The deadline for the bill to come out of committee and be voted upon by the Senate is March 1^st.

If we can’t convince the Senators in the Public Health and Welfare committee to bring this bill up for a vote, it dies.

All of our hard work and money is lost.

And, our opposition will be poised to make direct entry midwives illegal next year.

The future of midwifery care is in your hands.

I know you are busy and taking care of a hundred responsibilities.

So are we.

But, this is your chance to make a real difference in our state.

 It is the consumers that have the power to make this change, not the midwives.

The Senators are asking  to speak with their own constituents on the Midwife Safety Bill.

Lobbyists are at the Capitol EVERY DAY trying to kill this bill with faulty information and telling our Legislators that home birth in unsafe and should not be "approved" by the State by allowing this bill to pass.

 Are you going to let them stamp down families that support the right to birth at home?

We KNOW the system of maternity care needs to move forward and accept women who choose to birth at home and that by providing these minimum standards for midwives, we make that choice more credible to the consumer.

 Do something about it!

You may be saying to yourself, "I want to go. I want to help, but I just can't".

Well, we are here to help!

Let us know your reasons for not being able to go...

financial reasons, transportation, childcare, uncomfortable talking to Senators, have more questions about the bill...whatever your dilemma, Mississippi Friends of Midwives Board Members are available to help.

Contact us via email, facebook or by phone (numbers below & on our Contact Us page).

Let us help you get to Jackson!

Our state legislature is in session for 12 weeks.

We are halfway through with a SPRINT to the finish line.

THIS WEEK IS THE MOST CRITICAL TIME TO BE AT THE CAPITOL.

Our opposition will be there, will you???

RSVP HERE

Bianca Wooden: 228.233.0686
Vanessa Dudley: 228.282.3346

Mandi Sanders: 662.791.1663