Advocacy Pointers

May 21

**Updated 2017 to reflect legal status. NOTE: Some of these links may be old. I know some of these organizations are no longer active. Feel free to delete and update links to reflect better websites and additional books to read on the subject.

Never Use the Term “Lay Midwife”: Always use the term “Certified Professional Midwife” or “professional midwife.” Try to use either than the entire term rather than the abbreviation “CPM” as often as possible.

We’ve been advised by The Big Push for Midwives, that it is important to address the “lay midwife” term head on when speaking to media. Even if they haven’t used that term in front of you, go ahead and say something like, “You may have heard the term “lay midwife”, so it’s important for you to know that it’s an outdated, pejorative term used to describe midwives who specialize in out-of-hospital birth.” If you’d like, you can explain that “lay” means someone without training, which is NOT the case for Certified Professional Midwives.

It’s also helpful to make clear the distinction between Certified Professional Midwives and Certified Nurse Midwives. Explain that we have two types of midwives in the US: Certified Nurse Midwives are trained to provide hospital-based care. Only a very small percentage attend out-of-hospital births in birth centers or homes.

Certified Professional Midwives are trained specifically to provide out-of hospital care. Certified Professional Midwives are a type of direct entry midwife, but they are not lay midwives. It is okay if you slip and say “direct entry midwife” but get in the habit of saying Certified Professional Midwife.

Say “Out-of-Hospital Birth” instead of “Home Birth” when possible: While there are no birth centers in Alabama, “out-of-hospital birth” has a broader connotation and comes across as less “fringe.” There are times, however, when “home birth” is the appropriate term. Use it when necessary.

Do Not Criticize the Choices Made by Others: Be clear that we respect the decisions families make regarding birth. The first purpose listed in our by-laws is to “provide education to the public to assist women in making fully informed choices among a freely available range of attendants, methods and settings in childbirth.”

This means we don’t judge women who choose hospital birth, epidurals, planned cesareans, or unassisted birth. At the same time we need to make clear the fact that unassisted birth does carry the highest risks and we do not endorse it.

Never Discuss Abortion: The issue of abortion has nothing to do with our issue. Furthermore, we try to avoid comparison by using the term “option” instead of the term “choice.” If anyone asks, make clear that ABC takes no position on the issue. We have supporters from a variety of political, religious, and philosophical backgrounds who are united around the issue of midwifery.

Resources:

These resources contain valuable background information. We hope that you will take some time to become familiar with them, as they will help you be conversant in the relevant issues when talking to potential supporters, the media, and legislators. In addition, we strongly recommend that you join The Big Push for Midwives Yahoo group and “listen in” on the discussions.

Books:

Listen to Me Good by Margaret Charles Smith

Motherwit by Onnie Lee Logan

Born in the USA: How a Broken Maternity System Must Be Fixed to Put Women and Children First by Marsden Wagner (2006).

Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth by Ina May Gaskin (2003).

Pushed: The Painful Truth about Childbirth and Modern Maternity Care by Jennifer Block (2007).

Websites:

The Big Push for Midwives - www.thebigpushformidwives.org*

Citizens for Midwifery - www.cfmidwifery.org (especially the Advocacy Tools section)

Childbirth Connection - www.childbirthconnection.org

International Cesarean Awareness Network - www.ican-online.org

If you have some extra time, these websites are worth looking at as well: