Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Cindy Crawford on Home Birth

Dear Cindy,

I saw your lovely video about how you came to home birth during your first pregnancy at http://www.mybestbirth.com. I'm so grateful that you are willing to open up your private life like that to help other women. It is this generosity to which I am appealing now for home birth mothers and babies in Illinois.

Your home state of Illinois needs you! Did you know that in your home state, Illinois, nearly 3/4 of the state has no -- zero -- access to legal home birth providers?

After years of heated legislative debate and negotiations the midwifery community came to terms with the state's nursing groups, lined up a crackerjack team to present evidence at a legislative hearing, only to have the doctors' lobby groups put politcal pressure and use hardball tactics to squash efforts to license Certified Professional Midwives in Illinois.

Apparently Illinois is a land of beauties (we knew that already, right?). Bo Derek was a huge hit at the state capitol when she showed up in Springfield to lobby the Illinois General Assembly against the horse meat industry. We think that you, too, Cindy could bring some much needed attention to this important issue!

So if your reading this, please come to Illinois in November 2009 or early 2010 to help home birth families accross Illinois have access to legal midwives!

Thanks so much for any assistance you can offer us in this struggle!
Colette