Buena Vista County Fair booth

We had a successful booth at the Buena Vista County Fair in Alta, Iowa held July 22-25. 

Many people expressed their support for licensing Certified Professional Midwives in Iowa. 

85 letters were signed to the area legislators. 

This was a good opportunity for people to become aware of the issue that Certified Professional Midwives are not yet licensed in Iowa. 

Those interested in staying involved now know of our organization. 

A Practical Guide for Care in Normal Birth

"Skilled care in childbirth should be provided at or near to the place where women live, rather than bringing all women to a large obstetric unit. Large units that perform 50 to 60 deliveries a day would need to restructure their services to be able to cater to women's specific needs. Caregivers would need to reorganize work schedules in order to meet women's need for continuity of care and support. This also has cost implications and thus becomes a political issue. Both developing and developed countries need to address and resolve these issues in their own specific ways.

"In conclusion, normal birth, provided it is low-risk, only needs close observation by a trained and skilled birth attendant in order to detect early signs of complications. It needs no intervention but encouragement, support and a little tender loving care. General guidelines can be given as to what needs to be in place to protect and sustain normal birth. However, each country willing to invest in these services needs to adapt these guidelines to its own specific situation and the needs of the women as well as to ensure that the basics are in place in order to adequately serve women at low, medium and high risk and those who develop complications."

-General aspects of Care in Labour, WHO’s Care in normal birth: a practical guide, 1997

Midwifery Advocacy Video

Enjoy this great video put together in Massachusetts where they are working on a bill that would create a board of midwifery that would license both nurse midwives (CNMs) and professional midwives (CPMs). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJSbg2wYsSw

Northwest Iowa Chapter of Friends of Iowa Midwives

We are working on legislation to license Certified Professional Midwives in Iowa. 
Let me know if you would like to be part of the Northwest Iowa Chapter or have any questions.
joylandgraf@yahoo.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/foimnorthwestiowa