Day(s) Late and A Dollar Short....

That's the FOIM blog this (last!) week -- I'm getting it to you a few days late, to suggest that one of the ways you can best help FOIM is by making a financial contribution to the cause.

Now, if you're coming to the Labor Day Picnic -- a week from today! -- ignore this plea. You'll be bringing a $5.00 per family donation that will help us fund our activities for the year. You'll also have the chance to bid on awesome silent auction items, donated from local and statewide businesses.

But, if you aren't going to make it to the picnic - consider sending a 5 - 10 dollar donation to FOIM.

That's the way, this week, I'd most like to see people helping make midwifery legal in Iowa.

Check out This Blog!

Do you want to see a terrific blog chronicling an activist family in South Dakota, working for midwifery care??

Of course you do!

Check it out here.

Hmm.... Iowa .... what could we do that is similar? Eat chocolate-covered bacon for midwives??? The Hy-Vee Triathalon Hombirth Team??

Thing to Do, #2

This is a fun one. Follow this link to a great short film on infant mortality and out-of-hospital birth. Then, send the link to your state legislators with a personal note.

Yes, I stole this thing to do from the Friends of Iowa Midwives Facebook fan page -- which leads me to Thing To Do 2.5 - if you're not already a fan of us on facebook, well, you know ....

We've got 395 fans right now -- lets make it 400 by the end of August!

URGENT ACTION NEEDED

Usually, I'd wait a week before posting another way to help FOIM - but we've received a message from the MAMA campaign that is time sensitive, and Iowa specific. Please consider whether you can spend an hour in the next few days to help with this important request.

Here it is:

******************************************************************************************************************************* The MAMA Campaign now needs people who live in Iowa to write special letters to Senator Grassley. This is so critical and only Iowans can help. The Midwives and Mothers in Action (MAMA) Campaign is working all out to call for federal recognition of Certified Professional Midwives in the health care proposals being worked on in Congress this summer. Congress members are, for the most part, on August recess and many are visiting their home states. We must get a batch of letters IN THE NEXT 10 DAYS (by August 21st) to the state offices of Senator Grassley who sits on a key Congressional committee currently playing a central role in drafting health care reform legislation. So, I am asking you to write a personal letter asking Senator Grassley, who is a member of the Senate Finance Committee, to weigh in with support for our amendment with the Senate Finance Committee chairman Senator Max Baucus. These personal letters from constituents are critical and make a huge impact. Please write and mail or fax a short letter TODAY! You will find letter writing instructions and talking points for your letter below. MAMA CAMPAIGN INSTRUCTIONS AND TALKING POINTS FOR MAILED OR FAXED LETTERS TO YOUR SENATOR'S LOCAL OFFICE 1. Handwritten letters are ideal, but a typed and signed letter would be great also. 2. Please fax or mail this letter to one of Senator Grassley's local offices. One of these local offices is listed below. Other local offices can be located on the Senator's website at http://grassley.senate.gov/iowa/grassley_state_offices.cfm . Cedar Rapids 150 1st Avenue NE Suite 325 Cedar Rapids, IA 52401 (319) 363-6832 Fax: (319) 363-7179 3. Please include the following language in the first paragraph of your letter: "I am a constituent and I am writing to ask if Senator Grassley would be willing to speak with Chairman Baucus to ensure that the amendment that would secure federal Medicaid recognition of the services provided by Certified Professional Midwives is included in the health care bill that will go forward in the Senate Finance Committee." 4. To help you write your letter I have provided some talking points to help you explain why Senator Grassley should weigh in with Chairman Baucus in support of this amendment. You do not need to use them all. Please make this letter a personal letter from you. We do not want these to look like form letters. Important tip: ALWAYS say “Certified Professional Midwife”; do not use “CPM” (which is frequently misinterpreted with the more familiar “CNM”). Talking Points: • Certified Professional Midwives are highly-trained, credentialed clinicians who provide effective, evidence-based maternity care. They are the only maternity care providers specifically trained in attending births outside the hospital and, by assisting in births at home and in birthing centers, offer women an important choice in how their babies are delivered. • Adding Certified Professional Midwives to the Medicaid list would cost nothing, but would start reducing health care costs immediately; each mother on Medicaid who chooses an out-of-hospital birth with a Certified Professional Midwife would lower Medicaid costs, since Medicaid would otherwise be paying for a hospital birth at greater cost and with much greater likelihood of an expensive cesarean section. The Washington State cost/benefits study commissioned by the Department of Health, demonstrates an overall cost savings of 3.1 million dollars to the state over a two-year period with midwives doing just under 2% of the births. • Several studies, including those commissioned by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), demonstrate that midwives who attend births outside the hospital (at home or in a birth center) have much lower rates of unnecessary and potentially dangerous medical interventions such as inductions and cesarean-sections with at least as good outcomes in terms of maternal and infant mortality, at substantially lower costs. • Because Certified Professional Midwives provide thorough individualized care that promotes healthy pregnancies, the babies are healthier – more are full term and full weight, avoiding costly health problems. • Of the twenty-five states that now provide a path to licensure for Certified Professional Midwives, only eleven include CPMs in their state Medicaid programs, so low-income women on Medicaid have difficulty obtaining services. This falls short of genuine and consistent patient choice and access. Certified Professional Midwives and women who want access to them are seeking federal Medicaid reimbursement for their services as one important step to increase access to this kind of maternity care. • All women deserve to have access to quality, comprehensive maternity care, in the communities where they live, with a choice of qualified provider and services that are fully recognized and reimbursed by both private and public payers. • Maternity care is the #1 reason for hospitalization in the United States, and yet we have declining quality outcomes for women and infants; it is essential for health care reform to include safe, high quality and cost-effective choices for women and families, such as Certified Professional Midwives. 5. Share a brief personal detail if possible and relevant—example: “Two of my children were born at home attended by Certified Professional Midwives. I believe all women regardless of their income should have access to the safe, high-quality, cost-effective care provided by Certified Professional Midwives.” 6. Sign off with your name, address, and contact information. 7. For more information: If Senator Grassley’s office would like more information about our efforts to pursue this important Medicaid improvement, please contact Mary Lawlor with the National Association of Certified Professional Midwives at president@nacpm.org or on her cell phone at 917-453-6780. She and other Campaign members will be in D.C. the week of August 17th and may be available to meet with the Senator or his/her staff. 8. Please send the MAMA Campaign a copy of your letter. Email it to info@mamacampaign.org or FAX to 802-536-4142. Email Renee.cramer@drake.edu, too, so FOIM knows you're helping the national movement for midwifery's recognition!

************************************************************************************************************************** Thank you, FOIM members, for taking the time to help out the MAMA campaign - having federal recognition for Certified Professional Midwives will help Iowa achieve legal status! -Renee

Way to Help #1

OK -- this one is easy. I promise.

Just get out your scheduler, day planner, blackberry, Quo Vadis, or whatever else you use to organize your life.

Turn to September 7th.

Write down:

FRIENDS OF IOWA MIDWIVES LABOR DAY PICNIC

Coneflower C Shelter at Raccoon River Park

West Des Moines, Iowa

4 - 8 pm

Then, start thinking about the yummy food you want to bring. About all the friends you'll see and meet at this statewide picnic in support of out-of-hospital birth, and about the great music and cool entertainment you'll see. I mean, really, have you ever seen a live Capoeira demonstration?

Start thinking about where you might want to camp if you're coming from out of town (Jester Park and Yellow Banks are both about a half an hour away from Raccoon River - both are great options for families traveling to Des Moines). Or, if you're from Des Moines and have a big back yard (like mine, pictured below!), maybe think about whether you're willing to host a family driving to be here.

Oh, and start saving a bit of money for the $5.00 per family donation and the awesome silent auction. We've got products from Praireland Herbs, professional photography sittings, a gift certificate to the Des Moines Social Club, and lots of slings, baby wraps, and nursing friendly products. Oh, and gift certificates to salons and yoga classes!

BONUS THING TO DO:

Do you have a talent you could share through the silent auction? Maybe you'd like to donate a craft, a skill, hard labor? Maybe you have a favorite store or farm or restaurant that you go to, and you'd like to ask the manager to donate to our auction? Or maybe you've just read the best book in the world, and want to buy a copy to put on auction in support of FOIM? We seek a diverse range of donations to interest our diverse range of families!

SECOND BONUS THING TO DO:

Wanna help flyer, paint the town red, and let everyone in Iowa know that we're having a picnic?Contact us and we'll hook you up!

Until next week -- be well,

Renee

How Can I Help Friends of Iowa Midwives??

What a great question – and its one we get from potential supporters, every week. I am inaugurating here, a weekly blog posting featuring 50 great ways you can support midwifery in the state of Iowa.

Sometimes, the action will require bravery, other times it will require spunk; sometimes, a supporter will need to use a special skill that maybe you and only you have, other times it is so simple anyone can do it.

Check back weekly for a suggestion about how you – yes you! – can help make out-of-hospital birth more accessible for more Iowa families.

--Renee