Friends of Iowa Midwives

Here I am, getting ready to get on the airplane to Birmingham, Alabama – sitting in the Des Moines airport, wondering what I will learn in the next 2 days, and excited about the progress I have to report in our own state.

The purpose of The Big Push National Birth Summit is to help organize activists and advocates from every state where direct entry or Certified Professional Midwife attended homebirth is still illegal or unlicensed. We’ll spend all day Monday and Tuesday meeting with each other, as well as organizers from the national Big Push campaign, to talk strategy, success, and failure. We’ll gain nuts and bolts knowledge, as well as mutual support and solidarity!

We’ll learn what is going on at the grassroots in places like Florida and Ohio, and talk about the huge diversity of interests we have in making out-of-hospital birth an accessible option for families.

And, at the same time, we’ll have a lot of fun! Sunday night we are all meeting up at The Bottle Tree , a Birmingham venue, for a night of music provided by Vulture Whale , 13 ghosts ,Duquette Johnston , John Jeremiah Sullivan , and Kate Taylor in benefit of the Alabama Birthing Coalition. And, academic dork that I am, I am looking forward to the “fun” of hearing a lunchtime presentation on African American midwifery in the Deep South, by Shafia Monroe ofThe International Center for Traditional Childbearing .

I imagine a bit of fun and information sharing during informal times, too – especially with my roommate Debbie Pease, an amazing organizer for South Dakota Safe Childbirth Options .

I’ll keep everyone posted on what I learn, do, and see this week – and I can’t wait to share with members of Friends of Iowa Midwives when we have a general membership meeting and picnic this fall!