North Carolina Friends of Midwives
BIRTH FREEDOM MARCH
When: Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Time: 10:00 am assemble to march, 10:30 am begin march to convene at Halifax Mall for a moment of silence then disperse to meet Reps
Where: First at State Capitol (10:00 am), then at Halifax Mall (the lawn behind/through the Legislative Building)…There are several parking options. If you are unable to make it by 10:30 when we begin to march please go directly to Halifax Mall (the lawn behind/through the Legislative Building).
Why: Show law makers that we want them to license CPMs in 2011 and to show our support for recently arrested, Amy Medwin, CPM
Directions to the General Assembly (Legislative Building) – Here
Please note that we will FIRST be meeting at the STATE CAPITOL. Refer to the Map of Downtown Raleigh to familiarize yourself with where we will be meeting and marching. There are several parking options. If you are unable to make it by 10:30 when we begin to march please go directly to Halifax Mall (behind/through the Legislative Building).
Map of Downtown Raleigh PDF (Leg. Bldg. is #5)
Homemade Signs / Banners
Our Sherpa and Lobbyist, Rob said that homemade signs are fantastic! They need to be constructed out of poster board and printed with short messages that they can be seen easily from 100 feet away.It’s best to add a couple of heavy dowels for easy carrying. Please post on the Yahoo group for suggestions or instructions on making signs. NCFOM, Where’s My Midwife and others will be bringing banners.
Dress Code
- pay close attention to hygiene and grooming.
- if possible wear slacks, skirt with a sweater, blazer or button-up/collared shirt, and comfortable but professional-looking shoes. If wearing jeans make sure that they are clean and not torn.
- no shorts, tank-tops or tattered shoes or flip-flops.
- wear deodorant.
We want to make good first impressions and counter negative stereotypes about home birth families so our message is welcomed and received in the best possible way.
The main point is that you don’t want to dress in ways that reinforce stereotypes about home birth families being a bunch of hippies or a bunch of poor people who can’t afford to have hospital births (not that there’s anything wrong with either, but dismissing us as nothing more than a bunch of “fringe” people is the most convenient way to make sure our voices aren’t heard).
Meeting with Representatives
We are urging NCFOMers to make appointments NOW with their Representatives for between 11 am and when the session starts (think 1pm). After the moment of silence on Halifax Mall we will disperse for personal meetings with Reps.
Please bring a handwritten note for your Representative and Senator and/or a photo of your home born children.
Instructions for Photos – pictures need to be conservative, meaning NO just-after-the-birth photos! We may all love seeing a freshly born, wet newborn curled up against a mother’s chest but it scares the bejeebies out of the average person who is NOT used to seeing those kinds of images at all and who often find them shocking, and not in a good way.
NCFOM will be happy to provide someone to go with you to your meeting.
To find out who your personal representatives are please go to this website:
http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/
Click on “Who Represents Me?”. Enter your zip code (if you don’t know the entire 9 digits, just click on the link that easily helps you look it up). After you enter your zip code, the page listing your two representatives with their contact information will pop up.
Talking Points PDF
When meeting with your Representatives you can use these to direct the conversation. If you would like to have a seasoned NCFOM Team Member to accompany you at your meeting, they will be waiting under the tent on Halifax Mall.
- Planned home birth that is attended by a Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) is as safe, or perhaps safer, than planned hospital birth with a dramatic reduction in cesarean section, and other potentially harmful interventions, at one third (1/3) the cost.
- The CDC reported that rates of planned home birth are accelerating all across the U.S. and North Carolina is experiencing one of the largest relative increases.
- The CPM is the only healthcare professional who is explicitly trained to attend women that choose the home setting for birth and they are the primary caregiver to these women in North Carolina and all across the U.S.
- The CPM credential is accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies which accredits many credentials in the healthcare field including the Certified Nurse Midwife credential.
- Twenty seven (27) states legally recognize the CPM and twenty five (25) license and regulate them including VA, TN, SC and FL.
- North Carolina stands out in the region as the least safe state in the Southeast for women who choose this as the CPM is not licensed and regulated resulting in:
- Of the 29 CPMs residing in NC, only ~1/3 are practicing resulting in access to care problems.
- North Carolina mothers are traveling to our neighbor states of VA, TN and SC to receive care from licensed CPMs.
- Without licensure, we cannot manage transports to the hospital which degrades safety.
Women fear hostility and antagonism should they transfer care. - In the absence of regulation, consumers do not have recourse should there exist performance issues.
LICENSING CERTIFIED PROFESSIONAL MIDWIVES IS ONE OF THE FEW ISSUES IN WHICH NORTH CAROLINA CAN SOLVE PROBLEMS, IMPROVE QUALITY AND REDUCE COST ALL AT THE SAME TIME
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