The Steering Committee for the Home Birth Consensus Summit released the 9 statements that represent the Common Ground that was found as a result of an intense 3 day process. As a delegate to the Summit, I represented Midwives and had the honor to share conversation and ideas with physicians, consumers, advocates, and policy makers …

Pt 2 : Perspectives on Global Midwifery; A US midwife’s diary of the 29th ICM Triennial Congress [Click here for Pt 1] As an advocate for US midwifery and women’s health, I recently had the opportunity to be temporarily lifted out of the trenches of our national battle for access to midwifery care.  As an …

I recently had the opportunity to travel to South Africa as part of a delegation for the Midwives Alliance of North America as an Observer to the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) Triennial Council meeting. I had the unique privilege of listening and learning about the organizational processes that unfold as midwifery leaders from over …

The sad case involving a Maryland based Certified Professional Midwife and an infant death following a birth at home in Alexandria has ignited a tinder box of ongoing frustrations and accusations from both sides of a cultural divide between medicine and midwifery.  It is time for both physicians and midwives to re-examine their assumptions about …

The 4th Workgroup on Midwifery and Medications was held on May 5th. While some were celebrating International Midwives Day with picnics, parties, and fundraisers, some VA licensed midwives were engaged in the ongoing dialogue at the Board of Medicine regarding access to medications for women birthing out of hospital. The challenge of the cultural divide …

Last Friday, February 4 2011, the Board of Medicine of Virginia convened it’s 3rd workgroup on the issue of whether to allow CPMs licensed to attend births the authority to carry and administer the controlled substances they are trained to deliver. The draft minutes to the meeting are posted here. There are some inaccuracies, but it …

In Time’s American Women: Birthing Babies at Home, Catherine Elton discusses the “battle over birth” between midwives and obstetricians. As she reviews the recent skirmish related to a controversial meta-analysis by Dr. Joseph Wax published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology that throws the safety of home birth into question, she highlights the primary factor where …

When President Obama signed part two of the Health Care Reform Legislation [The Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 ("Reconciliation Bill")] on March 30th, a provision of the FSLA (Fair Labor Standards Act) was amended to require employers to provide space for working moms who need to express breast milk. A new paragraph …

Mountain View Midwives has moved.  We are no longer nestled in the womb of Brynne’s basement and have emerged into a real, live commercial space.  Our new home at 1111 Rose Hill Drive, Suite #1 has lots of sunshine and some extra space for gathering.  Join our facebook fan page to get news of our …

Not in the opinion of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As a follow up to last year’s passage of legislation that would require evidence-based informed consent for all women seeking home birth Evidence Based-It’s Now the Law, the Virginia Regulatory Townhall posted the first of two public comment opportunities. Please read the following open letter to …