Amazing Supporters Come Through for Us!

We have been overwhelmed by the response we have had from individuals and businesses who have donated their skills, items, and talent for our fundraiser. With their help we have compiled a diverse Silent Auction for our Labor Day event! We wanted to give you a sneak peek of the auction catalog so you can plan ahead and see what will be available for your bids! We are so grateful for your donations and support. We'll see you on Labor Day!

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Friends of Iowa Midwives Silent Auction Items 2009!!

1) Prairieland Herbs gift basket
2) Moby D baby carrier from The Stork Wearhouse
3) Red Avocado restaurant $50 gift certificate, Dinner for 2
4) One Placenta Encapsulation from Sabbath Davies of Ganesa Birth Services
5) Natural Parenting Fiber Artists knitting gift basket
6) Des Moines Social Club T-shirt and $25 gift certificate
7) Gourmet Wine and Champagne Basket with Truffles and Stemware
8) Blown Glass jewelry pendent from artist Derek Akers $25 value
9) Size 24 mo. tie dyed one piece romper and newborn tie dye set from Foursquare Fibre
10) Infant cloth shoes from Wallypop
11) Children’s Board Book Basket with Homebirth Books
12) Cloth Snack Bag and reusable Sandwich Wrap from Wallypop
13) Glass Magnet Sets from Sarah Nevins
14) 7 Kenneth Huff prints from Amanda McGuire
15) One 60 minute Massage from Zachary Hoover of The Family Tree
16) Gift certificates for one month of adult classes and one month of children’s classes from Roots Capoiera Wellness Center
17) Gift certificate for four beginner guitar, bass or drum lessons from Central Iowa Music Lab-James Biehn $75 value
18) 3 packages of Soap Nuts natural laundry soap from The Stork Wearhouse
19) One pair of earrings from MC Ginsberg
20) Reiki Session by Mia Countryman
21) One handpainted bag from Cover Art by Mia Countryman
22) One glass sunflower picture frame from Amanda McGuire
23) One Japanese Maple or plantings of equal value; including labor to install and a landscaping consultation of the property. By Earth Designs - Beth and Rob Jackson valued at $200, opening bid is $50
24) Two glass candle holders from Amanda McGuire
25) Cross Pen Set and Blank Notecards from Syracuse Cultural Workers from Amanda McGuire and Jessica Bottenfield-Biehn
26) Satchel Paige Wooden Picture Frame from Simply for Giggles
27) Painted Wooden toy Rabbit from Simply for Giggles
28) One hardcover copy of the book “Pushed” from Diane Tinker of Birth Companion Doula Services
29) 6 pewter birth jewelry pieces
30) One piece of framed Birth Art/Kanji from Sabbath Davies
31) One piece of framed Goddess Art from Sabbath Davies
32) ICAN of Central Iowa gift pack including one ICAN 2010 Calendar, and books “Giving Birth” and “Cesarean Voices”
33) Gift Basket from The Possibilities Room
34) CD from singer/songwriter Mary McAdams
35)30 minute Imagine Peace Massage gift certificate- Maggie McGinnis
36) SMASH gift certificate
37) Diaper Dudee Diaper Service gift certificate from Andrea Foley
38) One comprehensive Well Woman Exam including Pap smear from Cosette Boone, CNM $150 value
39) Wildflower Massage gift certificate
40) Gift Certificate for belly dance classes from unda Belly Dance
41) Breastfeeding Basket for New Moms from Lauren Whitehead
42) Handmade hair bows from Sarah Nevins
43) Oasis gift basket w/ 2 t-shirts and $25 gift certificate
44) Oasis gift basket w/ 2 t-shirts and $25 gift certificate
45) Prenatal Massage gift certificate from Inner Balance $80 value
46) Family photograph package from Shuva Rahim of Accent Photographics
47) HUGS Selendang baby sling
48) HUGS Selendang baby sling
49)Size S long sleeve Breastmilk t-shirt & Size 2T shortsleeve Breastmilk t-shirt from The Stork Wearhouse
50)Two 6 month infant tie dyed short sleeve shirts from Wallypop
51) Instant Fiesta Basket with margarita mix, homemade salsa and 4 margarita glasses
52) Kid’s Craft and Snack Basket with Art supplies and workbooks from Jessica Bottenfield-Biehn
53) Belly Cast kit from The Stork Wearhouse
54) Red Avocado restaurant T-shirt
55) WAHM mai tai baby carrier with pink/tan dragonflies from Jenn Bowen
56) Women’s hair cut and 2 products from Blondies Hair Salon
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Central Iowa gets some Press!

The Des Moines Register did a brief piece today on natural birth options in the Central part of our state! It mentions our Potluck and Silent Auction coming up on Labor Day. Friends of Iowa Midwives Steering Committee member Sabbath Davies is quoted.

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