Illinois Families for Midwifery

Taking down blog

2011-03-24T16:38:00.000-07:00

Dear midwifery supporters and curious:

You may have noticed that this blog has not been very active as of late. With the new social networking craze, we are no longer going to manage this blog.

Please consider joining us on Facebook under the name Illinois Families for Midwifery and Coalition for Illinois Midwifery.

Or joing our yahoogroup http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/ILFAMFORMW/

Is Twitter next? (maybe)

ONWARD!!!

Springfield - what happened and what's next!

2010-11-18T23:45:00.001-08:00

Thank you to everyone who has tirelessly called, written and visited their legislators. Thanks especially to those who made the trip to Springfield. All efforts have really been paying off. So much has happened this week.

First, we made a big impression in Springfield Wednesday! Mothers, babies and "Got Midwife" T-shirts and stickers were everywhere. We spent the early morning visiting reps and responding to their concerns about the Home Birth Safety Act. Then, late in the morning, the bill was called. Before a debate could begin, west suburban legislator Patty Bellock requested a fiscal note. This is a procedure where the department of professional regulation (IDFPR) must estimate how much money our bill will cost the state before the bill can move forward.

The fiscal note was filed today, Thursday According to the note there will be a total fiscal impact to IDFPR of $115,896.00 Also today, Representative Bellock withdrew her request.
Our status now? The bill is not dead. Now that the fiscal note stalling tactic has ended, we will be asking for a floor vote when our legislators come back the week after Thanksgiving. We are not yet sure if it will be Tuesday November 30th or Wednesday, December 1st. Please hold both dates if you can, for now.
Between now and then we must gain as many new yes votes as possible in order to be certain of victory.

Here is what we have to do:

1 - Please call the Governor's office today and
Thank him for his support of the Home Birth Safety Act and
Ask him to PLEASE help us get it passed. The Governor's # is 217-782-0244

2 - We need to keep pushing.

Dan gave an inspiring speech in the Capitol yesterday. He mentioned that we have gotten farther than anyone thought we could. (When the secretaries were telling us the bill was dead, everyone really thought the bill was dead.) Dan reinforced that our progress is all due to our grassroots organization. When the legislators see our faces... when the legislators know we are following their votes on a bill; they respond. We saw that Wednesday. We saw legislators come out and talk to us for the first time ever. (And some of these guys have been hearing from us for years).

So.... We need to get our faces in front of these people. District office visits. Try to get an appointment with your rep for early next week. If you can't get an appointment, drop in. If your legislator is already a yes voter, stop in anyway and ask if they have any suggestions for convincing other legislators. Maybe your legislator could even talk to another legislator about the bill? If your legislator is not a yes, please try to find out what their objection is.

Please report back to the coalition for feedback and suggestions.

3 - It is URGENT that we increase the number of individuals calling their legislators.

PLEASE find a way to contact friends or family members today or tomorrow asking them to do ONE of the following things:

a) Call their Representative asking how they will vote on SB 3712. Let the Rep. know they support this bill and if the Rep. doesn't have a position on it, the friend would like a call back to know when the Rep. has decided.

b) Go see their Representative (either by making an appt. or just dropping in). Bring a handwritten note and maybe even a plate of m&m cookies (or just a bag of m&m's) and ask for the Reps. support. If you can get a group of friends to go in to the Reps. office together to do this, even better!

c) Have your friends write notes to their Reps. asking their support for SB 3712, the Homebirth Safety Act.

ALL forms of communication should be followed up by another phone call asking how the Rep will vote - unless you already got a firm yes or no on the phone previously. If your Rep. already supports, still have people call. Ask them just to thank their Rep. for his/her support. All Reps. need to hear from constituents because they are all being pressured by the ISMS to vote against our bill.

If you can help your friend by looking up their Rep for them, giving them the phone number and writing out a "script" for them, all the better. They need to know how easy is to make the call or write the letter.

Please report back any and all contact to the Reps to Jamie at charis490@gmail.coom

4 - Finally, please join in our fundraising efforts! Those of you who heard Dan speak at the capitol will know why we value his help so much. Fundraising helps pay his salary. The Upstate / Downstate challenge is still in place. Downstate families are ahead, having raised over $1000 with the help of matching donor funds. The Chicago women have sold over $500 in tickets to Saturday night's wine tasting and they have a wonderful night planned. Please join us if you can, or find a way to donate to either team - upstate or down.

Thanks so much and KEEP PUSHING!! The end is in sight. LET'S MAKE IT A VERY HAPPY ENDING!!

more to come soon

The Coalition Board -
Rachel, Toney, Vicki, Michelle, Jamie, Jennifer, Hilary, Audrey

PS - we made the news in Decatur Check it out!!

http://illinoishomepage.net/fulltext/?nxd_id=194017&shr=addthis

BIG MEDICINE IS TRYING TO KILL THE HOMEBIRTH SAFETY ACT!!

2010-11-16T16:57:00.000-08:00

We will be calling the bill for a vote tomorrow, Wednesday, November 17th. We need everyone to be in the capitol. Please try to get there around 9:00 am or 9:30 so you can visit your rep before the 11:00 am House Session. If you can't come to Springfield, please call your rep and ask them to vote YES no matter what you think their vote currently is. We need to FLOOD the capitol with calls between 9am and 11am.

thank you!!! LET'S MAKE HISTORY TOMORROW!!!

SPRINGFIELD WEDNESDAY!!

2010-11-13T08:08:00.001-08:00

It is VERY likely that our bill will be called on Wednesday - BE THERE to see history made!

When: Wednesday, November 17th

Where: Springfield - the Capitol Building

Where to find us: On the main floor in the north hall, we will have a table set up. You can also text or call Rachel on her cell phone at: 630-750-9444. (texting preferred)

What to bring: Three plates of cookies and three notes for your Representative, your Senator and the Governor. However, if you can not bring them, please come anyway!!! Baggies of M&M's are just fine too. Do not let not having cookies or M&M's keep you from coming though - we want everyone there! However for those who have the time and ability, please consider bringing extra cookies because there are a LOT of unknown reps and we will be sending willing individuals around to make sure all Reps get cookies and hear our message.

Bring lots of quarters for parking. Some meters are only good for a few hours. Some several blocks away last longer.

Bring business cards or index cards with your name so that you can leave them with secretaries or use them to call your Rep. out of the session.

Be sure to wear comfortable shoes and if you have a Got Midwife or Home Birth T-shirt or Button, please wear it. We will also be selling Got Midwife T-shirts for $10 each.

Please note: Amtrak trains are filling up - reserve now, however be aware the Bloomington to Springfield leg of the trip is by bus.

If we can help you in anyway, send us an email ahead of time and we'll get back to you asap. Email Jamie at Charis490@gmail.com

Thank you for all you do and keep up the hard work!

Rachel, Toney, Vicki, Michelle, Jamie, Jennifer, Hilary, Audrey
The Coalition Board

PS - if you can't come Wednesday, we'll be there Tuesday and maybe Thursday too. If you wish to either of these days, please call Rachel at the number above.

Rachel Dolan Wickersham, CD(DONA), LCCE
president, Coalition for Illinois Midwifery
vice president, Illinois Council of Certified Professional Midwives
Jiandra@aol.com
630-750-9444

DOWNSTATE / UPSTATE CHALLENGE!!

2010-11-09T00:18:00.000-08:00

DOWNSTATE / UPSTATE CHALLENGE!!

Want to support your favorite midwife but don't want to drive to Chicago for a wine tasting?

We have just the thing for you!

DONATE TO CFIM NOW AND YOUR DONATION WILL BE DOUBLED

Yes, doubled - and you'll have the chance to show everyone who rules - Illinois upstaters (Chicago) or Illinois downstaters (everyone else).

On November 20th, Chicago area midwifery supporters will attend an Elegant Evening of wine tasting, appetizers and desserts hosted by the Illinois Council of Certified Professional Midwives. There will be a silent auction as well. The evening will be hosted by the Illinois Council of Certified Professional Midwives and proceeds will go toward lobbying expenses for SB3712 - the Home Birth Safety Act. The last time this group did fundraising they brought in several thousand dollars.

Knowing that downstate supporters cannot easily attend the event, an anonymous donor has offered a challenge grant. If downstate supporters can collectively raise $500, the donor will match it. This will be just the beginning because rumor has it we will have another matching donor later this month! The last time the Coalition had a matching donor drive like this several thousand dollars were brought in!

With thousands coming in from each group last time, this looks like an excellent opportunity for a little bit of friendly intrastate competition! We are inviting downstate Illinoisans to try to beat the Chicago women in their fundraising game. Between now and November 20th, all donations to the Coalition from anywhere outside Chicago proper will be tallied as downstate donations.

After the November 20th Chicago event is over and the proceeds are tallied, we will see which group Chicago or Downstate will be featured as the RULING FUNDRAISING GROUP on the Coalition website.

So join us please - a little friendly competition never hurt anyone. And it could help home birth mothers, babies and midwives have safer and healthier home births in Illinois. Any sized donation, big or small, counts. Remember, whatever you give will be doubled.

Let the race begin! You can donate by paypal at www.illinoismidwifery.org or you can mail a check to CFIM c/o Vicki Johnson, 6092 Torchlite Trail, Loves Park, IL 61111.

If you are mailing a donation, in order to be sure you'll be counted in the challenge, you must postmark your donation by by November 19th. If you mail it after that date, please send Vicki an email letting her know what's coming in the mail. Vicki is at Babylady55@aol.com

BUT WAIT! THERE’S MORE!! As extra incentive, donors who give $100 or more will not only see their donation matched, they will also receive a free copy of the Ten Year Anniversary Edition of the Illinois Midwives Calendar produced by the Illinois Council of Certified Professional Midwives. This beautiful Black and White calendar juxtaposes photographs showing the beauty of homebirth with words describing the hard realities of being a home birth attendant in Illinois. Calendars are in production and will be released in December, though an advance batch will be sold at the wine tasting. Additional calendars may be purchased for $20 each plus $2 postage. All proceeds from sales will go to ICCPM for expenses related to the Home Birth Safety Act. Calendar Purchase requests for other than $100 donors (who will automatically receive them) should be directed to ICCPM CALENDAR c/o Vicki Johnson, 6092 Torchlite Trail, Loves Park, IL 61111.

ONLY FOUR WEEKS LEFT!!

2010-10-20T01:12:00.001-07:00

Dear Midwifery and Home Birth Supporters,

We are moving into the home stretch. We have only four weeks left to gain enough votes to call SB 3712 for a House floor vote in the November veto session. We’ve gained a few yes votes. We’ve even gained a new co-sponsor, Eddie Lee Jackson, Jr. from East St. Louis. But we need more declared yes votes before we can call the bill for a vote on the House floor.

NOW is the time to call your legislator and ask for a clear yes or no vote on this bill. If you run into any road block (calls not returned, legislative aides telling you the bill is dead, legislators giving neither a yes nor a no vote) please mark your calendar for November 4th or 5th so you can try calling again at that time. We anticipate that after the election, those who won will feel freer to commit to controversial bills, like our own, and those who did not win (who are lame ducks) will also feel more free to cast a yes vote for our bill on their way out. It could be a very nice win-win situation for us after November 2nd.

But we need to keep midwifery and home birth in front of them until then. So please, keep calling your state rep for answers and keep forwarding our messages to your friends and neighbors – to anyone who might be willing to write a letter or who might live in some of our unknown districts. If you gave birth at home this year, send both your Rep and your Senator a copy of your birth announcement with a note on it – “another constituent born at home – vote YES, Home Birth Safety Act – SB3712.” If you see a good article about home birth, print and mail it to your legislator. If it’s on facebook, put it in your status line and be sure that you’ve ‘friended’ your state Rep and Senator. LETS KEEP MIDWIFERY FRONT AND CENTER FOR THE NEXT FOUR WEEKS!!

This week please also try to help us turn 10 LIKELY YES VOTES into 10 YES VOTES. Please forward this email to anyone you know, homebirth family or not, who lives in the following Rep’s districts: Edward Acevedo – (D) Chicago Suzanne Bassi – (R) Palatine Marlow Colvin – (D) Chicago Sarah Feigenholtz – (D) Chicago Careen Gordon - (D) Serona, LaSalle County Lou Lang – (D) Niles Joseph Lyons – (D) Norwood Jack McGuire – (D) Troy, Will County Dan Reitz – (D) Centreville, St. Clair County Chapin Rose – (R) Blue Ridge, Champaign County Carole Sente – (D) Warren, Lake County Ronald Wait – (R) Belvedere, Winnebago County These reps are very close to a yes vote as far as we can tell. Please help us be sure they receive a printed copy of the New York Times article http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/24/us/24cncmidwives.html

Please also watch for our upcoming fundraising events. Each will offer you a great opportunity to help shape the future of homebirth in Illinois. In the mean time you may always donate through paypal via our website, www.illinoismidwifery.org or you may mail checks to CFIM, c/o Vicki Johnson, 6092 Torchlite Trail, Loves Park, IL 61111.

There is only one way to get this done and that is to go through it. We’re hoping everyone will step up and help us with this last big push. We thank you on behalf of the home born babies of Illinois!!

The Coalition for Illinois Midwifery Board

We made the New York Times!!!

2010-09-24T23:53:00.000-07:00

We made the New York Times!!!

Please see this amazing article about home birth in Illinois at www.nytimes.com/2010/09/24/us/24cncmidwives.html

It is urgent that we get this article into the hands of as many Illinois legislators as possible. Please help us by printing two copies of this article and mail one each to your State Representative and your State Senator. Include a note with each asking your legislators to vote YES to SB 3712 when they see it during the November veto session.

To find your State Rep and State Senator, go to http://www.elections.il.gov/DistrictLocator/DistrictOfficialSearchByAddress.aspx

Mail the article to their LOCAL office - not Springfield.

Please forward this email along to anyone, anywhere in Illinois, who you know would be willing to print and mail a copy along with a one or two line note. Let's SWAMP their desks with copies of this article! It's time for our legislators to finally see that this issue is not going away and it's getting more and more attention.

thank you in advance for your help.

The Coalition Board

Rachel Dolan Wickersham, CD(DONA), LCCE
president, Coalition for Illinois Midwifery
vice president, Illinois Council of Certified Professional Midwives
Jiandra@aol.com
630-750-9444

Eight Weeks Left - SB3712

2010-09-21T21:05:00.001-07:00

Dear Home Birth and Midwifery Supporters,

We are getting down to the wire. Over the next 8 weeks we still need to gain more than 20 additional YES votes for SB3712, the Home Birth Safety Act.

There are 45 Representatives whose votes are unknown. In order to have hope of passing the bill, we must reach these legislators and find out their intentions. This may be difficult because it is the election season, but we must try. We believe we should be able to gain enough votes, but without contact in these districts, we will never know. PLEASE HELP US REACH THESE REPS!

If you knows ANYONE who lives in the districts listed below (with township and county names), please pass this message along. We need anyone in these districts to call their representative or send email (we’ve provided email addresses and phone numbers where available).

Because districts overlap into certain areas, to help people verify their rep, have them go to http://www.elections.il.gov/DistrictLocator/DistrictOfficialSearchByAddress.aspx

When they contact their legislators via email or phone, we need them to simply say:

“I live in your district. I believe that regulation of home birth midwives will make home birth safer for mothers and babies. Can you please tell me how you will vote for the Home Birth Safety Act, SB3712, when it is called for a vote during the veto session?”

If they get a secretary or aide who is discouraging about the possibility of the bill being called, they should just say “yes, I understand, but IF the bill gets called, what will the Representative’s vote be?”

Whatever the response, we need the information to come back to us. Please post to the Illinois Families for Midwifery email list or send directly to Jamie at Charis490@gmail.com

WE CANNOT DO THIS WITHOUT YOUR HELP!! Thank you, as always!

The Coalition for Illinois Midwifery Board

UNKNOWN
7 - Yarbrough (D) - River Forest, Oak Park, Proviso, Chicago Townships (Cook)
kyarbrough@ilga.gov (708) 615-1747

13 - Harris (D) - Chicago Township (Cook) (773) 348-3434

15 - D'Amico (D) - Northfield, Niles, Maine, Chicago Townships (Cook) johnd@ilga.gov (773) 736-0218
20 - McAuliffe (R) - Maine, Norwood Park, Chicago, Niles Townships (Cook) (773) 792-0749
22 - Madigan (D) - Lyons, Stickney, Chicago Townships (Cook) (773) 581-8000
28 - Rita (D) - Lyons, Stickney, Chicago Townships (Cook) (708) 396-2822
36 - Carberry - Palos, Worth, Chicago Townships (Cook) (708) 907-5157
37 - McCarthy (D) - Orland, Bremen, Rich, Frankfort Townships (Cook, Will) (708) 226-1999
38 - Riley (D) - Bremen, Thornton, Rich Townships (Cook) rep.riley38@sbcglobal.net (708) 799-4364
41 - Biggins (R) - York, Proviso, Riverside Townships (Cook, DuPage) (630) 941-1278
44 - Crespo (D) - Schaumburg, Hanover Townships (Cook) (630) 372-3340
45 - Coladipietro (R) - Bloomingdale, Milton Townships (DuPage) (630) 582-0045
47 - Bellock (R) - Downers Grove, Lisle Townships (DuPage) (630) 852-8633
49 - Schmitz (R) - (Kane) info@timschmitz.org (630) 845-9590
50 - Hatcher (R) - Virgil Township (Kane) (630) 553-3223
53 - Mathias (R) - Wheeling (Cook) repmathias@hotmail.com (847) 222-0061
55 - Ramey (R) - Elgin (Cook) staterepramey55@aol.com (630) 876-0703
57 - Nekritz (D) - Wheeling (Cook) enekritz@repnekritz.org (847) 257-0450
60 – Rita Mayfield (D) - Waukegan (Lake) (847) 599-2800
61 - Osmond (R) - Antioch (Lake) (847) 838-6200
68 - Winters (R) - Shirland, Rockford, Roscoe, Rockton, S. Beloit (Winnebago) (815) 282-0083
72 - Verschoore (D) - Drury (Rock Island) (309) 558-3612
73 - Leitch (R) - Wyanet (Bureau) davidleitch@ameritech.net (309) 690-7373
76 - Mautino (D) - Mendota (LaSalle) patti76th@ivnet.com (815) 664-2717
78 - Lilly - Chicago (Cook) statereplilly@yahoo.com (773) 473-7300
80 - DeLuca (D) - Bloom (Cook) repdeluca@scb.global.net (708) 672-0200
82 - Durkin (R) - Lyons (Cook) jimd@ilga.gov (708) 352-7700
84 - Cross (R) - Owsego (Kendall) (815) 254-0000
87 - Mitchell (R) - Sand Prairie (Tazewell) repmitchell@earthlink.net (217) 876-1968
88 - Brady (R) - Normal (McLean) dan@rep-danbrady.com (309) 662-1100
89 - Sacia (R) - Dunleith (JoDaviess) JimSacia@aeroinc.net (815) 232-0774
91 - Smith (D) - Fairview (Fulton) repmikesmith@gmail.com (309) 353-6276
93 - Tracy (R) - Lima (Adams) (217) 223-0833
94 - Myers (R) - Abingdon (Mercer) (309) 836-2707
95 - Fortner (R) - Geneva (Kane) (630) 293-9344
96 - Senger (R) - Naperville (DuPage) sengerstaterep@gmail.com (630) 219-3090
97 - Watson (R) - Levee (Pike) (217) 243-6221
99 - Poe (R) - Gardner (Sangamon) poe@ilga.gov (217) 782-0044
100 - Brauer (R) - Corwin (Mernard) Brauerr@housegopmail.state.il.us (217) 782-0053
107 - Cavaletto - Seminary (Fayette) (618) 548-9080
109 - Eddy (R) - Ros, Prairie (Clark, Edgar) (618) 563-4128
112 - Hoffman (D) - Granite City, Nameoki, Collinsville, Edwardsville (Madison) (618) 345-2176
113 - Holbrook (D) - Granite City, Venice, Nameoki (Madison) (618) 394-2211
114 - Jackson (D) - Venice, Stites, E. St. Louis (Madison) (618) 875-9950
117 - Bradley (D) - McLeansboro, Crook (Franklin, Hamilton)
repjohnbradley@mychoice.net (618) 997-9697
118 - Phelps (D) - (Hamilton, White) bphelps@yourclearwave.com (618) 253-4189

Rachel Dolan Wickersham, CD(DONA), LCCE
president, Coalition for Illinois Midwifery
vice president, Illinois Council of Certified Professional Midwives
Jiandra@aol.com
630-750-9444

Home Birth Safety Act Update - summer 2010

2010-07-08T12:15:00.000-07:00

Dear Home Birth and Midwifery Supporters

Summer is well underway as we continue working toward CPM licensure in Illinois through passage of the Home Birth Safety Act. This letter will update you on the current status of the bill as well as tell you what you can do to help us push the bill the rest of the way through our state legislature so it can finally become law.

First and foremost, to all of you who called your legislators and went to Springfield this year and also those who participated in the Walk for Midwives and other fundraising efforts this spring, Thank You! We are now in the best position we’ve ever been. Not only has the Home Birth Safety Act passed a House committee for the first time in 30 years of trying, but our Coalition has earned a new level of respect in Springfield. What legislators once saw as a little group of mothers and others for midwives has evolved into an active and dynamic entity that is turning the tide against one of the state’s most powerful lobbies – the State Medical Society. This is largely due to your participation in this effort. Again, thank you.

To remind you of recent changes, the Home Birth Safety Act which has been HB 226 since January of 2009, is now SB 3712. This change occurred in April 2010 when the language from HB226 was amended to an existing bill that was no longer needed. That bill still carries its original name, Veterinary Records, but the language has been gutted and replaced with ours. For anyone wishing to look the bill up, go to www.ilga.gov and look up SB3712. Then click on full text, then click on House Amendment 001.

Here is the bill’s current status. SB 3712 passed out of the House Health Disparities Committee on
May 6, 2010. The next stop is the House chamber for a full floor vote. As of right now, if we can count upon our yes votes to stay yeses, we have 36 of the needed 60 votes to pass the House. We also have a number of “Likely Yeses” If they vote with us, that leaves about 10 more YES votes needed.

You may notice the numbers have changed a bit since our last writing. This is because of the Medical Society’s strong lobbying after our bill passed in committee, as well as because of the sad loss of one Representative, Eddie Washington, who passed away unexpectedly last month.

We have from now until the last few days of the 96th General Assembly – the first few days of January – before the next General Assembly is sworn in, to earn a total of 60 votes and pass SB 3712. If the bill passes the House, it will go to the Senate for concurrence (since the original bill already passed the Senate). But to get there, we need your help.

Here’s how you can work with the Coalition to help make the dream of licensed home birth Certified Professional Midwives in Illinois, a reality:

• FIRST CONTACT AND WORK WITH YOUR OWN STATE REPRESENTATIVE AND HELP OTHERS CONTACT THEIRS.

o Check the list at the end of this email to find out if your rep is listed as a YES vote.
(go to www.ilga.gov then click on legislator lookup to find out who your rep).

o If your rep is listed as a YES vote, please contact their office by phone and let them know you wanted to verify that they will be supporting the Home Birth Safety Act when it comes up for a vote sometime during veto session, and of course thank them for that yes vote. If you hear anything other than yes, ask if you might have an appointment to come talk to them about it. Let us know what they say. If you get an appointment we may be able to come to that appointment with you or coach you over the phone if needed. Contact us by sending email to Jamie at Charis490@gmail.com.

o If your representative is not listed as a YES, please contact their office and ask for an appointment to come speak to them about SB 3712 – the Home Birth Safety Act. Contact us at Jamie’s address above and hopefully we can come with you or send someone knowledgeable.

o IF YOU HEAR FROM YOUR REPRESENTATIVE THAT THEY HAVE JUST HEARD THAT A NEW STUDY SHOWS THAT HOMEBIRTH IS NOT SAFE, PLEASE MENTION THAT THIS STUDY HAS COME UNDER FIRE FOR BEING EXTREMELY FLAWED AND POLITICALLY MOTIVATED, THEN GO TO THE FOLLOWING LINK TO PRINT AND BRING WITH YOU OR SEND TO YOUR REP. http://www.thebigpushformidwives.org/_ccLib/downloads/7-7-2010_PushNews_RELEASE_OB-GYN_Journal_Fast_Tracks_Publicity_on_Deeply_Flawed_Study.pdf

o If you are just not able to make a visit, please send your legislator a letter (email Jiandra@aol.com for a sample letter) Then follow up with a phone call a week later asking the secretary if your rep received the letter and can you count on their yes vote when the bill comes up? If you hear the bill is dead, please don’t believe it – remember we’ve already proved that wrong this year. Let them know you realize it’s late but “IF”
the bill comes up how will they vote? Let them know you’d like them to make a public show of support for this piece of legislation that will improve the health and safety of home born babies.

o BECOME A MENTOR. If you are someone who has visited your rep before and are comfortable going along to help someone else who has never visited their rep before, please consider becoming a legislative visit mentor. With your coaching, someone who might not otherwise have gone, might bring in the final needed vote!

o Finally, we strongly encourage you to find out THIS WEEK if your rep is running for re-election. If you are comfortable supporting them, ask their secretary to put you in touch with their campaign volunteer office. If you feel more comfortable supporting another candidate of the same or opposite party, do that instead, but please do consider volunteering. Even two simple hours of stuffing envelopes or checking signatures will go a LONG way toward supporting the Home Birth Safety Act. Working campaigns is one of the keys to getting support. We’ve seen proof of this in other states that have successfully passed midwifery legislation. If you do not have a local campaign you can support, let us know. We can direct you toward other possibilities.

o If you do plan to volunteer, let us know with email to Jiandra@aol.com so we can send you list of hints and suggestions that will optimize your presence.

• SECOND, HELP US REACH THE MORE THAN 50 REPS WHO ARE COMPLETE UNKNOWNS IN TERMS OF THEIR VOTE FOR THIS BILL.

o Please forward this email around to everyone you know who believes that women who have a home birth should have nationally certified professional midwives available to attend their birth legally, as opposed to underground, in the state of Illinois. Send to people outside of your local community – acquaintances across the state, your aunts and cousins, old schoolmates, anyone. We must reach as many state legislators as possible.

o Encourage anyone you reach to visit their legislators also. If they are not comfortable doing so, encourage them to download the attached letter, print, sign and send to their legislator. You can make this easy for them by looking up their legislator’s local address for them.

o Watch for our messages on Facebook, Meetup.com and various blogs. Watch also for a message through change.org. Please pass these messages along using your social media connections. This will increase the number of constituents, and therefore legislators, that we reach. We are looking for a conservative website similar to change.org to pass our message along. If anyone knows of a site, please let us know by contacting Rachel at Jiandra@aol.com

o Finally, help us find groups or create groups – anywhere that five or more people can come together – where the Coalition can come speak about the licensure bill and answer questions. We’d like to reach all kinds of groups, alternative and main stream – anyone who might think birthing mothers should have control over where and with whom they have their babies. If you find a group willing to invite us, please contact Rachel at Jiandra@aol.com.

• THIRD AND FINALLY - HELP US RAISE FUNDS

o Right now, thanks to everyone’s generosity, we have our lobbyist paid in full, but we still must spend the summer meeting with state agencies and other professional groups in preparation for our upcoming attempt at a floor vote. To accomplish this, we will be engaging our lobbyist as needed throughout the rest of the year. This means a continued need for funds. Please contact us if you can put together a “Labor Day” picnic in your area or hostess an autumn open house, a pancake breakfast, a garage sale, a film showing (we have a number of film we could lend) or other. Let us know if you can help by contacting Rachel at Jiandra@aol.com.

o If you have crafts or other items you are willing to donate for sale or for raffle, the Illinois Council of Certified Professional Midwives will be attending the regional conference for the Midwives Alliance of North America on the weekend of July 16th – 18th. The Council is part of the Coalition and donates most of its proceeds to lobbying. Please contact Vicki Johnson at Babylady55@aol.com with any donations. You must be able to get them to Evanston or Rockford by July 14th.

o Make a personal donation. If everyone reading this donated $10 today we would have the rest of this year covered. Please donate $10, or more if you can. Ask friends and family members to as well. Let them know it will help make home birth safer for mothers and babies. Go to www.illinoismidwifery.org and click on the paypal link to make a donation or mail a check to CFIM, c/o Vicki Johnson 6092 Torchlite Trail, Loves Park, IL 61111

o Or if you are a midwife, doula, massage therapist or other provider, please consider donating a small portion of each client fee. Check out Community Counts – Better Birth Initiative at http://communitycountsbetterbirth.wordpress.com/2010/01/

We look forward to hearing from you this summer. Watch for more communication from us as the bill continues to move forward. And finally, thank you. We are full of gratitude for your support of the thousands of Illinois mothers, babies, families and midwives that the Home Birth Safety Act will help over the coming years.

Best Wishes,

Rachel Dolan Wickersham
president, Coalition for Illinois Midwifery

LIST OF STATE REPRESENTATIVES WHO ARE CURRENTLY EXPECTED TO BE “YES” VOTES FOR SB 3712, THE HOME BIRTH SAFETY ACT:

Arroyo, Berrios, Beaubein, Black, Boland, Burke, Chapa LaVia, Collins, Coulson, Cultra, Currie, Davis, Davis, Dunkin, Flider, Flowers, Ford, Froehlich, Gabel, Hannig, Hernandez, Howard, Jakobsson, Jefferson, Joyce, Mell, Mendoza, Osterman, Rita, Sommer, Stephens, Tryon, Turner, Walker, Winters, Zalewski

Rachel Dolan Wickersham, CD(DONA), LCCE
president, Coalition for Illinois Midwifery
vice president, Illinois Council of Certified Professional Midwives
Jiandra@aol.com
630-750-9444

THE MIDWIVES BILL IS MOVING!!!

2010-05-05T16:17:00.000-07:00

Dear EVERYONE

THE MIDWIVES BILL IS MOVING! TODAY IS THE DAY TO CALL YOUR LEGISLATOR!!

EVEN IF YOU'VE CALLED BEFORE PLEASE CALL AGAIN BECAUSE THERE IS A NEW BILL NUMBER.

Here's the scoop. The language from HB 226, the Home Birth Safety Act has been amended to another bill. This bill has already passed the Senate and is on the House floor. (it’s a bill that is no longer needed by its sponsor, so he turned it over to us. We’ve removed the current language and amend it with our own)

THE NEW BILL IS SENATE BILL 3712

EVERYONE PLEASE CALL YOUR STATE REPRESENTATIVE TODAY! Ask them to “vote YES for SB3712 which will be amended with the Home Birth Safety Act (HB226) language.”

THERE COULD BE A FLOOR VOTE AS EARLY AS TOMORROW MORNING so please call right now.

WE NEED 60 FLOOR VOTES. PLEASE PASS THIS ALONG TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW!! - please literally send to everyone in your address book. It is vital that we get our known YES votes switched over to the new bill number. It's also vital that we gain at least 10 more YES votes from the many reps who have never had constituent contact.

These unknown reps reside in Alton, Antioch, Arlington Heights, Belleville, Bloomingdale, Bloomington, Broadview, Carbondale, Chicago, Collinsville, Countryside, Crete, Decatur, Des Plaines, Dolton, East St. Louis, Elmhurst, Elmwood Park, Freeport, Harrisburg, Hazel Crest, Hutsonville, Jacksonville, Macomb, Marion, Mokena, Olney, Orland Park, Pekin, Plainfield, Quincy, Rock Falls, Rock Island, Salem, Springfield, Spring Valley, Streamwood, Sycamore, West Chicago, Westmont, Yorkville

To find out who your rep is if you've never called, go to www.ilga.gov and click on "Legislator Lookup" on the lower right side of the screen.

PLEASE BE SURE TO CALL TODAY. If the switchboard tells you they have left for the day, ask to leave a message. Then call back tomorrow to make sure they got your message.

Thank you for all you do!!

Rachel

ps - If you called Rep Dave Winters this morning, send him a quick THANK YOU note via email repwinters@aol.com He turned the bill over to us today

Rachel Dolan Wickersham, CD(DONA), LCCE
president, Coalition for Illinois Midwifery
vice president, Illinois Council of Certified Professional Midwives
Jiandra@aol.com
630-750-9444

MIDWIFERY BILL UPDATE!! April 30th 2010

2010-04-30T22:57:00.000-07:00

Dear Homebirth and Midwifery Supporters,

We've just learned that the Illinois House has cancelled it's Saturday workday. Unfortunately, this is just how things go near the end of the session. Thank you to all of you who had planned to come.

Next week the House will be in session Monday through Friday. This will be the week we hope to reach the 60 votes we need to pass the floor. Please come if you can.

We have 40 solid YES votes and more than 10 likely yes votes that we need to get committed.

THAT LEAVES LESS THAN 10 MORE YES VOTES TO GO!

Time is running out for getting those yes votes but we are not giving up hope. Only a few weeks ago, we had only 30 total. In the past several weeks we've gained a new chief sponsor and TWELVE new co-sponsors including Barbara Flynn Currie, second only to the Speaker of the House, Michael Madigan. This is progress, but we still need those last few committed votes. We need them THIS COMING WEEK.

Please plan to come to Springfield this coming week to help us with this. Earlier in the week would be most helpful but anytime is good. Also please watch for one more action alert (later tonight or tomorrow) that will identify approximately 30 legislators who haven't had any constituent contact at all.

Help us find people in their districts and you may help us get that final YES that we need!

Finally, please remember we have a lobbyist working for us. He has opened doors for us we never would have reached and is continuing to do so. Please donate one of the following if you can:

$100 to commemorate the 100 years that midwives have been fighting a system that turned against them in the early 20th century.

$60 to reflect the number of votes we hope to have by the end of this week

$30 to recognize how many votes we had just a few weeks ago. - WE'VE COME SO FAR!!

$10 to thank the current and recent Coalition board who have been working hard on your behalf, for 10 years.

or any amount you can. We are grateful for all donations, no matter how small.

Please visit http://illinoismidwifery.org and click on paypal or mail a check made out to CFIM (or Coalition for Illinois Midwifery) to:

CFIM c/o Vicki Johnson
6092 Torchlite Trail
Loves, Park, IL 61111

Or if you are a midwife, doula, massage therapist or other provider, please consider donating a small portion of each client fee. Check out Community Counts – Better Birth Initiative at http://communitycountsbetterbirth.wordpress.com/2010/01/

Illinois Mothers, Babies and Midwives benefit from all you do to help pass HB 226, the Home Birth Safety Act.

Thank you for all you do!

Rachel

Rachel Dolan Wickersham, CD(DONA), LCCE
president, Coalition for Illinois Midwifery
vice president, Illinois Council of Certified Professional Midwives
Jiandra@aol.com
630-750-9444

EVERY DAY IS LOBBY DAY!!

2010-04-15T23:00:00.000-07:00

Be Part of the Buzz for Midwives in Springfield

We are making history!! For the first time in 30 years, Midwives have enough votes to get out of a House Committee. If we can get ourselves assigned to that committee, we will be able to pass!!!

After the committee comes the House floor. We need 60 votes there to pass. In just three days we’ve gotten 30. With your help we can earn the rest!

We need everyone to come to visit their legislators in Springfield. It's the only way we will pass this bill.

Find time in April – any day that works for you - to come to Springfield and show your support for the Home Birth Safety Act (HB226). The Coalition for Illinois Midwifery will make sure someone is there to meet you and show you what to do.

Click the link below to view the legislative calendar. Make sure that your travel date is a day the representatives are in Springfield. http://ilga.gov/house/schedules/calendars/2010_April_Schedule.pdf

Go to www.ilga.gov then click on Legislator Lookup in the lower right quarter of the page, to look up your state Representative and State Senator.

Contact Jamie charis490@gmail.com to let CFIM know who your rep is and when you are coming.

WHEN YOU COME:

If you are a CNM or CPM dress professionally (business or business casual). Otherwise, if you have a “Got Midwife” T-shirt or similar, please wear it. Please bring 3 plates of M&M cookies if you can for your legislators and the governor. If you can’t that’s ok, we may have extras plates for you.

Once you’ve visited your legislators, please stay and help. We will need someone to man our table in the rotunda while others are up at the rail talking to legislators. (we’ll coach you on this)

Bring a friend (even if they are not part of the home birth community) and make a day of it. There are many things to do in Springfield. See ideas below.

DIRECTIONS:

If you drive, use this link to map your drive: http://maps.google.com/maps?oe=UTF-8&ie=UTF8&q=map+illinois+state+capitol&fb=1&gl=us&ei=vCPDS9uBFpakM5iUoIoM&ved=0CBYQpQY&hl=en&view=map&geocode=FQ1HXwIdp_mn-g&split=0&iwloc=A&sa=X

Bring plenty of quarters for hours of metered parking.

If you wish to take Amtrak, trains leave from Chicago Union Station at 7:00 am and 9:25 am. You must have an ID to travel and tickets must be purchased before boarding, so leave plenty of time. There can be a line. Tickets can also be purchased online but you must print out the email confirmation and bring it with you. There are quick track machines that will scan the confirmation bar code and print your ticket. This is a bit quicker. Sometimes these trains sell out so it is best to purchase or reserve ahead of time.
Go to www.amtrak.com for information.

When you leave the train, walk south along the direction the train is traveling in, then turn right and cross the tracks at either Washington or Adams. Walk two blocks west and you will see the capitol building on your left, two or three blocks away.

WHILE IN THE CAPITOL:

If you or your family need sustenance, there is a cafeteria beneath the basement floor of the complex. Ask for directions at the information desk. If you would like breakfast or lunch at excellent coffee house run by a former Illinois home birth attendant, check out the Trout Lily Café at 218 S. Sixth Street. Ask for Kate and say hello from the home birth midwives.

If you are looking for additional Springfield fun, check out the Lincoln Museum – described as a “major experience museum” “visitors are offered an engaging, emotional and educational experience through immersive, "you-are-there" exhibits.” (from www.lincolnlibraryandmuseum.com) Check out their official website at www.alplm.org for more details. You can also tour the Lincoln home, see Lincoln's tomb and check out many other historical sites. See www.visit-springfieldillinois.com for more details.

Please also donate. Lobby Month could be the thing that puts us over the top, but there will be expenses. Can you donate any amount today to help make passage of the Home Birth Safety Act a reality?

Please visit http://illinoismidwifery.org and click on paypal or mail a check made out to CFIM (or Coalition for Illinois Midwifery) to:

CFIM c/o Vicki Johnson
6092 Torchlite Trail
Loves, Park, IL 61111

Or if you are a midwife, doula, massage therapist or other provider, please consider donating a small portion of each client fee. Check out Community Counts – Better Birth Initiative at http://communitycountsbetterbirth.wordpress.com/2010/01/

See you in Springfield!!

LOBBY DAY - WED April 14

2010-04-12T08:05:00.000-07:00

Lobby Together with the Coalition for Illinois Midwifery

WHAT: Ask your State Representative to vote “yes” on the Home Birth Safety Act (HB226)

Ask for a public position of support by Co-Sponsoring HB226

WHEN: Wednesday, April 14, 11:00 am*

WHERE: Springfield Capitol Complex Rotunda

301 South 2nd Street, Springfield, IL

Look for our table in the Rotunda or in one of the side hallways.

BRING: 3 plates of M&M cookies (for your Senator, your Representative and Governor Quinn);

Pictures of your children born at home (if this applies); notes with your personal stories

of support for the bill. Mention the bill by number in your note and ask them to co-sponsor

in order to help make home birth safer than it is now.

Please look-up the name of your state representative and state senator before you leave. Go to ILGA.GOV and search the legislative look-up.

*Arrival before or after meeting time is OK. Someone will be at the table starting at 9am.

If you need to speak with one of us, call Jamie at 217-521-6731. Cell phones do not always work well in the capitol, however. So keep trying.

DIRECTIONS:

If you drive, use this link to map your drive: http://maps.google.com/maps?oe=UTF-8&ie=UTF8&q=map+illinois+state+capitol&fb=1&gl=us&ei=vCPDS9uBFpakM5iUoIoM&ved=0CBYQpQY&hl=en&view=map&geocode=FQ1HXwIdp_mn-g&split=0&iwloc=A&sa=X

Bring plenty of quarters for hours of metered parking.

If you wish to take Amtrak, trains leave from Chicago Union Station at 7:00 am and 9:25 am. You must have an ID to travel and tickets must be purchased before boarding, so leave plenty of time. There can be a line. Tickets can also be purchased online but you must print out the email confirmation and bring it with you. There are quick track machines that will scan the confirmation bar code and print your ticket. This is a bit quicker. Sometimes these trains sell out so it is best to purchase or reserve ahead of time.

Go to www.amtrak.com for information.

When you leave the train, walk south along the direction the train is traveling in, then turn right and cross the tracks at either Washington or Adams. Walk two blocks west and you will see the capitol building on your left, two or three blocks away.

WHILE IN THE CAPITOL:

If you or your family need sustenance, there is a cafeteria beneath the basement floor of the complex. Ask for directions at the information desk. If you would like breakfast or lunch at excellent coffee house run by a former Illinois home birth attendant, check out the Trout Lily Café at 218 S. Sixth Street. Ask for Kate and say hello from the home birth midwives.

If you are looking for additional Springfield fun, check out the Lincoln Museum – described as a “major experience museum” “visitors are offered an engaging, emotional and educational experience through immersive, "you-are-there" exhibits.” (from www.lincolnlibraryandmuseum.com) Check out their official website at www.alplm.org for more details.

For more information about Lobby Day contact Rachel Wickersham 630-750-9444

If you cannot travel, PLEASE CALL YOUR STATE REPRESENTATIVE IN THEIR SPRINGFIELD OFFICE on Lobby Day and ask them to co-sponsor HB226.

WE HOPE TO SEE YOU IN SPRINGFIELD!!

Rachel Dolan Wickersham, CD(DONA), LCCE
president, Coalition for Illinois Midwifery
vice president, Illinois Council of Certified Professional Midwives
Jiandra@aol.com
630-750-9444

HB 226 - Community Update

2010-04-08T04:35:00.001-07:00

House Bill 226 – Home Birth Safety Act – April 7th 2010 Update

PROGRESS – WOW!!!

How’s that for the title to our update? At this point the Coalition for Illinois Midwifery is closer than it’s ever been to passage of its midwifery licensure bill, despite being past the usual deadline for doing such things. Over the past two weeks, with a lot of help from all of you, we’ve managed to revive our bill and add FOUR NEW CO-SPONSORS!!

We’ve also managed to identify a committee that may be most favorable and count 6 of the 7 needed “yes” votes to get through that committee. In addition, since we are past the usual deadlines, we’ve needed to count the floor votes ahead of time too. And guess what? Between our “yes” votes and our “likely yeses” we have 47 of the 60 we will need to get passage in the Illinois House of Representatives!! And there are many legislators we still haven’t asked yet. We are confident that with your continued help, we can find the remaining votes.

WE ARE CLOSE – close to finally having the support in the House that we need to get through. Every year we’ve gotten stronger. This year we are on the brink.

Our next plan is a lobby day. Watch for an email in the few days with an invitation to join us in Springfield with M&M cookies (stands for mothers and midwives) in hand. The most likely date for this will be Wednesday, April 14th. Please save the date in your calendar.

In the mean time please keep forwarding our latest action alert to anyone you know who may help.
I’m attaching it to this email. We still do need to reach many legislators – especially those outside of the Chicago metropolitan area.

IF YOU HAVEN’T CALLED YET, PLEASE CALL YOUR REP AND ASK HIM/HER TO CO-SPONSOR THE HOME BIRTH SAFETY ACT – HB226. SEE OUR ACTION ALERT ON www.illinoismidwifery.org FOR MORE INFO.

Please also donate. Lobby Day could be the thing that puts us over the top, but it there will be expenses. Can you donate just $10 dollars today to help make passage of the Home Birth Safety Act a reality?
Please visit http://illinoismidwifery.org and click on paypal or mail a check made out to CFIM (or Coalition for Illinois Midwifery) to:

CFIM c/o Vicki Johnson
6092 Torchlite Trail
Loves, Park, IL 61111

Or if you are a midwife, doula, massage therapist or other provider, please consider donating a small portion of each client fee. Check out Community Counts – Better Birth Initiative at http://communitycountsbetterbirth.wordpress.com/2010/01/

Thank you to all of you who have helped and will help in the future. YOU are the reason we are doing this and YOU are the reason we are succeeding.

Best wishes,
Rachel

Rachel Dolan Wickersham, CD(DONA), LCCE
president, Coalition for Illinois Midwifery
vice president, Illinois Council of Certified Professional Midwives
Jiandra@aol.com
630-750-9444

ROLL CALL - PLEASE CALL YOUR REP TODAY!

2010-03-30T10:50:00.001-07:00

DEAR HOME BIRTH AND MIDWIFERY SUPPORTERS

Last week we asked you to send a letter. Now it's time to follow up with a call. Can you help us by calling your state Rep? We are continuing to work to get a full House role call (head count to see if we have enough votes) for the Home Birth Safety Act, HB 226.

Our momentum is building! If we get just 30 more votes on the floor and 1 more in committee, we will have what it takes for us to get the bill through the House this year. There are 75 reps who not yet been counted, so there are many opportunities to get the votes we need. BUT WE CAN'T DO IT ALONE. WE NEED YOUR HELP!!

Here's what you can do:

Forward this email to everyone you know. We need to reach as many people as possible or we won't get a full roll call.

Then, if you haven't done it already, look up your legislator. Go to www.ilga.gov, click on Legislator Lookup and then put in your address to find your state Rep's information.

Next, call your Rep's local office and ask him/her to co-sponsor HB226, the Homebirth Safety Act. Please do this even if you've called / asked before. Let them know that Rep Beth Coulson, a long time opponent, has changed her mind and supports the bill. She changed her mind after reviewing the new educational requirements inserted by the Advance Practice Nurses.

If they says no, ask if they will please vote yes for it. Say that the midwives are trying to get a roll call.

If they says no to that too, ask for an appointment to come hear about their concerns and to possibly bring someone from the midwives to try to address some of their concerns.

If you do not reach anyone, please keep trying.

If you hear "that bill is dead" please point out that there were 3 new co-sponsors added last week and say that the midwives are confident they can get a committee assignment if they can get a good floor count, so could s/he please co-sponsor or vote yes?

If they want any details about the issue over the phone, the following are some good details.

There are not enough legal providers to serve the approximately 800 - 1000 babies born at home in Illinois every year. Unlicense midwives fill in the gaps in the underserved areas - "delivering" babies for many families, But without regulation there is no assurance that a particular midwife is skilled. There is no smooth mechanism for transport and transfer of care if the woman needs to go to the hospital for a C-section. There is no easy way to get a birth certificate that is filled out properly. And there is no easy way to do the baby's blood test that screens for metabolic or genetically inherited disorders (such as cystic fibrosis). Failing to screen and treat certain disorders early on, can be devastating for baby’s health.The Homebirth Safety Act, HB226 can remedy these issues in a way that our current system does not.

Please contact us to let us know of any response you get from your rep. If you get a meeting, we'll try to send someone with you or coach you ahead of time. Let us know by sending email to Jamie at Charis490@gmail.com

Home Birth mothers and babies in Illinois are counting upon you to make this phone call.
Remember your Reps work for YOU. THANK YOU!

Rachel

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rachel Dolan Wickersham, CD(DONA), LCCE
president, Coalition for Illinois Midwifery
vice president, Illinois Council of Certified Professional Midwives
Jiandra@aol.com
630-750-9444

Update - more great news!!

2010-03-26T02:03:00.001-07:00

We've got more great news! Our momentum is building. The Homebirth Safety Act now has two more co-sponsors - one from each side of the aisle - Representatives Mike Tryon (R) and Mike Boland (D). If they are your reps, please send them a thank you! If they are NOT your reps, please keep helping us build momentum by contacting your rep TODAY! Be absolutely sure to tell them about HB226's new co-sponsors. Then ask them to co-sponsor too!

While you're waiting for their return call, enjoy this fantastic article by Illinois Times journalist Amanda Robert. She follows the life of one Illinois midwife of 30 years ago and reports on the state of midwifery in Illinois over a 30 year span. The article can be found at this link:

http://www.illinoistimes.com/Springfield/article-7111-home-delivery.html

Once your rep does return your call, if they say anything but YES to co-sponsoring, send them a copy of this article.

Thanks for all you do!!!

Rachel

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rachel Dolan Wickersham, CD(DONA), LCCE
president, Coalition for Illinois Midwifery
vice president, Illinois Council of Certified Professional Midwives
Jiandra@aol.com
630-750-9444

UPDATE - WE NEED A ROLL CALL!! HB226

2010-03-23T15:29:00.000-07:00

UPDATE – WE NEED A ROLL CALL!!
HOMEBIRTH SAFETY ACT – HB226

Dear Home Birth and Midwifery Supporters,

It's time. We are pressing the entire House Floor for support. If you've been disappointed that your legislator has not been listed on previous action alerts, NOW is your time. We need a FULL ROLL CALL of the Illinois House of Representatives. We are asking each and every legislator to COSPONSOR HB226, the Homebirth Safety Act.

When you call, you may hear "the bill is dead". NOT TRUE. We’ve learned that no bill is ever truly dead until the general assembly actually adjourns and goes home for the summer. Because of your support and dedication thus far, our bill has life! Your work, targeting specific legislators, has created a "midwife" buzz in Springfield!! Now we need to keep it alive with strong, continuous ACTION.

But, because the “official” deadline for getting bills through committee has passed we have to be absolutely sure we have the votes necessary to pass the bill before putting everyone
(you, ourselves, our chief sponsor) through the process required to get a bill assigned to committee at this point in the session. Basically we have the next three weeks to work it all out.

This will require everyone’s help. We need constituents in each and every legislative district to write their legislator this week asking their legislator to co-sponsor the Homebirth Safety Act, HB226. This means not only must you write a letter but to truly help us get the head count, you must ask everyone you know who might be remotely supportive to write a letter too. We are going to make this as easy as possible by supplying the text of the letter (see below) but we need you to pass it along and follow up with your friends, family and anyone else who believes that women who choose homebirth, should have access to safe, nationally certified providers. Here is the letter:

Dear Representative

I’m writing today to ask you to co-sponsor HB226, the Homebirth Safety Act. Recent developments have given this bill new momentum. State Representative Beth Coulson, a legislator known for her expertise in healthcare issues and a long time opponent of the Homebirth Safety Act, has reviewed the latest changes in the bill - educational requirements added last year by the (now supportive) Illinois Society of Advance Practice Nurses - and has shifted her position. Representative Coulson now supports HB226.

The supporters of this issue are fairly confident that if we are able to count 60 votes on the House floor, we will be able to get the bill assigned to committee. So I am asking you to please co-sponsor the bill.

With the number of homebirths rising nationally (the CDC reports a 5% increase recently) and the number of Illinois counties with licensed providers remaining the same – still only 5 out of 102 counties covered - and with recent news that yet another home birth practice will soon no longer be attending home births, we are creating a recipe for disaster.

Every year in our state homebirth families have their babies without medical assistance, hire midwives from out of state, cross the border to give birth out-of-state, or hire underground midwives in their own communities. Having part of our maternity care system remain underground makes it much less safe and secure. Without regulation there is no assurance that a particular midwife is skilled. There is no smooth mechanism for transport and transfer of care if the woman needs to go to the hospital for a C-section. There is no easy way to get a birth certificate that is filled out properly. And there is no easy way to do the baby's blood test that screens for metabolic or genetically inherited disorders (such as cystic fibrosis). Failing to screen and treat certain disorders early on, can be devastating for baby’s health.

The Homebirth Safety Act, HB226 can remedy these issues in a way that our current system does not. Please support it by adding your name as a cosponsor. I await your reply and can be reached at _________________.

Sincerely….”

1) When sending this letter, you may add more text if you wish but please keep all of the text above if at all possible. Please send your rep a copy of this letter to both their Springfield and local addresses. You can find your rep’s name, address, fax number and sometimes email address by going to www.ilga.gov Click on legislator lookup and use your address to find your state Representative.

2) After sending the letter, please call your legislator’s secretary on Monday or Tuesday March29th or 30th. Say you are following up on your letter and wanted to know whether your rep will co-sponsor the bill or not. If the answer is no, ask if your rep will commit to voting yes for the bill if it makes it to the floor. If still no, ask for an appointment in the local office during the two weeks of legislative spring break, so that you can learn about their concerns and bring someone along who can possibly address their concerns.

If your rep says the bill is dead, politely let him/her know “The supporters of this issue are fairly confident that if we are able to count 60 votes on the House floor, we will be able to get the bill assigned to committee. So I am asking you to please co-sponsor the bill.”

3) Whatever your outcome, yes, no or meeting, please let us know via email to Jamie at charis490@gmail.com If you have a meeting we’ll try to send someone with you if at all possible.

4) REMEMBER YOUR REPRESENTATIVE WORKS FOR YOU! You pay his/her salary with your taxes. Do not be afraid to talk to them or ask for a meeting.

5) Forward this email to everyone you know who may be interested in helping homebirth mothers, babies and midwives. Follow up with your friends. See if they need help contacting their legislator. Also ask if they’ll allow us to add their email to our action alert list. If yes, please send their names, legislator names, and email addresses to Jamie at charis490@gmail.com

6) LAST BUT NOT LEAST – NOTHING SHOWS YOUR LEGISLATOR YOU CARE AS MUCH AS A TRIP TO SPRINGFIELD TO VISIT THEM THERE. IF ANYONE IS INTERESTED IN MAKING A DAY TRIP TO SPRINGFIELD TO VISIT THEIR LEGISLATORS THIS WEEK, PLEASE CONTACT OUR BOARD MEMBER TONEY CROSS. She will be in Springfield this Wednesday and Thursday and can help you navigate when you get there.

Please let Jamie know at the email address above if you intend to go to Springfield this week. She will connect you with Toney’s cell.

7) Finally, please consider donating. If we DO get our bill out of committee this year, we will desperately need our lobbyist. Right now we are working without him in order to continue working off last year’s fees. BUT WE MAY NEED HIM NEXT MONTH. Please donate. Give $5 if that’s all you can do. Please give more if you can. Plan to donate $5 next month and every month thereafter until the Homebirth Safety Act has passed.

Please visit http://illinoismidwifery.org and click on paypal or mail a check made out to CFIM (or Coalition for Illinois Midwifery) to:
CFIM c/o Vicki Johnson
6092 Torchlite Trail
Loves, Park, IL 61111

Or if you are a midwife, doula, massage therapist or other provider, please consider donating a small portion of each client fee. Check out Community Counts – Better Birth Initiative at http://communitycountsbetterbirth.wordpress.com/2010/01/

THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU DO! HOMEBIRTH MOTHERS, BABIES AND MIDWIVES IN ILLINIOS WILL BE SAFER BECAUSE OF YOU .

BEST WISHES,

THE COALITION FOR ILLINOIS MIDWIFERY

Great News!!

2010-03-21T17:22:00.001-07:00

NEWS and ACTION ALERT!!! HOMEBIRTH SAFETY ACT House Bill 226 (HB226)

Dear Homebirth and Midwifery Supporters:

Great News!!! State Representative Beth Coulson, a long time opponent of the Homebirth Safety Act, has reviewed the latest changes in the bill (educational requirements added last year by the Illinois Society of Advance Practice Nurses) and has shifted her position. She now supports HB226.

Representative Coulson is known as a legislative expert on health care licensing. She was a lead sponsor on the Birth Center Bill. Her support for the Homebirth Safety Act may make a big difference in the outcome for this bill.

The bill remains in Rules for the moment but with this new level of support and with your help, we may be able to get a positive committee assignment. If we do, we could be as close as needing only one or two more votes to pass!

Here’s what you can do to help:

1) Find out who your legislator is. If you don’t know, go to www.ilga.gov Click on legislator lookup and use your address to find your state Representative. Find your rep and take note of their two phone numbers and their email address if they display one.

2) If your representative is on the list below, PLEASE CALL THEM in their Springfield office TODAY.
Ask them if they will support HB226 the Homebirth Safety Act if it should appear before them. If they say the bill is dead, let them know that we are yet hoping to have it assigned to one of the Healthcare committees and if (for argument’s sake) it DOES appear, how will they vote? (the truth is, nothing is ever absolutely impossible until the session is over)

3) If you’ve called before or if on your first call you manage to engage in discussion with your rep or their secretary, mention Rep Coulson’s change of heart. Mention the new CDC report that shows homebirth is increasing (you’ll find it attached to this alert). Mention also Amnesty International’s new campaign against maternal mortality specifically in the US where we fall behind 40 other countries, and that access to safe, nationally certified, REGULATED midwives is part of the key to reducing such shameful outcomes. Let your rep know Amnesty International has found that the excessive number of unnecessary cesareans in our country contributes to our maternal mortality rate. Certified Professional Midwives have only a 3% rate of c-section while the national rate is almost 33%. THE HEALTHCARE COST REDUCTION IN MATERNITY CARE WOULD BE PHENOMENAL AND OUR MOTHERS AND BABIES COULD BE HEALTHIER IF OUR STATE EMBRACED CERTIFIED PROFESSIONAL MIDWIVES.

4) Report back to us. Please either hit reply to this email if you’re on a email distribution list, or better yet, send mail to Jamie at charis490@gmail.com letting us know what your rep said in the end. Hopefully you will be able to get him/her to give a clear yes or no on the bill. When you report back, we may give you information to call your rep back with or a few handouts to email to your rep along with your thank you for their time. Please help us with that follow up as it is usually very important.

5) Forward this email to everyone you know who may be interested in helping homebirth mothers, babies and midwives - especially those in the districts we are listing below. Follow up with your friends. See if they need help contacting their legislator. Also ask if they’ll allow us to add their email to our action alert list. If yes, please send their names, legislator names, and email addresses to Jamie at charis490@gmail.com

6) Once again, please consider donating. If we DO get our bill out of committee this year, we will desperately need our lobbyist. Right now we are working without him in order to continue working off last year’s fees. BUT WE MAY NEED HIM NEXT MONTH. Please donate. Give $5 if that’s all you can do. Please give more if you can. Plan to donate $5 next month and every month thereafter until the Homebirth Safety Act is through.

Please visit http://illinoismidwifery.org and click on paypal or mail a check made out to CFIM (or Coalition for Illinois Midwifery) to:
CFIM c/o Vicki Johnson
6092 Torchlite Trail
Loves, Park, IL 61111

Or if you are a midwife, doula, massage therapist or other provider, please consider donating a small portion of each client fee. Check out Community Counts – Better Birth Initiative at http://communitycountsbetterbirth.wordpress.com/2010/01/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

HERE IS THE LIST OF REPRESENTATIVES WHO NEED THE ATTENTION MENTIONED IN THIS EMAIL. If your rep is not one this list, sit tight! If we get out of committee, there will be a lot you can do next week.

• Representative William Davis(D) (Riverdale, Dolton, Harvey, East Hazel Crest, Homewood, Robbins and Posen)

• Representative Robert Rita(D) (Calumet Park, Blue Island, Crestwood, Midlothian, and Oak Forest)

• Representative Jehan A. Gordon(D) (Peoria Area, Peoria Heights, West Peoria, Bartonville, Edwards, Norwood, Kickapoo, and Bellevue)

• Representative Elizabeth Hernandez(D) (Berwyn, Cicero)

• Representative David R. Leitch(R) (Peoria Area of Indiantown, Evans, Greene, Kickapoo, Trivoti, and Millbrook)

• Representative Randy Ramey,Jr.(R) (Bartlett, Carol Stream, and Hanover Park)

• Representative Angelo Saviano(R) (Bensenville, Elmwood Park, Franklin Park, North Lake, River Grove, Rosemont, and Schiller Park)

• Representative William Burns(D) (Bronzeville/Grand,Hyde Park,Kenwood,South Shore,Woodlawn, and the Loop)

• Representative Lisa Dugan (Kankakee, Monee, Peotone, Manteno, Pembroke, Beaver)

• Representative William Burns (Bronzeville/Grand, Hyde Park, Kenwood, South Shore, Woodlawn, Loop)

• Representative Greg Harris (Uptown, Ravenswood, Lincoln Square, North Center, Andersonville, Bowmanville)

• Representative Karen May (Bannockburn, Deerfield, Glencoe, Highland Park, Highwood, Lake Bluff, Lake Forest, Northbrook, Riverwoods)

• Esther Golar (Englewood, Back of the Yards, Bridgeport, Chicago Lawn, New City, Canaryville, Fuller Park)

• FOR Representatives Mary Flowers, Elizabeth Coulson, Ron Stephens and Matthew Boland – SEE BELOW

If your representative is Mary Flowers, please call her to thank her for her years of unwavering support of midwives. Let her know you hope to see the bill in committee this year and hope you can count upon her continued support.

If your rep is Elizabeth Coulson, please call her to thank her for her new support for the Homebirth Safety Act.

If your representative is Matt Boland or Ron Stephens, call to thank them for their prior sponsorship. Let them know you hope to see the bill in committee this year and you hope you can count upon their continued support.

If you’ve read this far THANK YOU!!! Thank you ALL for caring about this cause. Believe that whatever you are doing, even if you’ve done it before, really matters – and you are making a difference for someone in the future who wants to have her babies safely at home.

Thank you and please keep your ears out for our next action alert.

Best wishes,

Rachel Dolan Wickersham
The Coalition for Illinois Midwifery

CDC finds cesarean section triples newborn deaths

2009-09-27T21:43:00.000-07:00

In a recent Associated Content Article, CDC Says Cesarean Triples Neonatal Death Risk, Misha Safranski reports on a sadly expected outcome to a large study about the risks of cesarean section surgery for the babies it is supposed to save.

The study was well-designed (of course, this is the CDC!) and only looked comparable low risk pregnancies that resulted in either cesarean section or vaginal delivery.

Even more astounding than the simple fact that cesarean section raises the risk of infant death - regardless of the reason the cesarean was performed - is that even when the researchers adjusted for sociodemographic, medical and congenital factors, and removed infants with APGARs under 4, the risk of death was only reduced "moderately". A stark difference in the death rates between cesarean born infants and vaginally born infants remained even with no medical explanation.

Compare a triple death rate for cesarean section with home birth, which has been shown to be equally safe to hospital birth, and one has to wonder when the state of Illinois will license certified professional midwives to help women across the entire state access safe care for home birth. If women can choose surgery which puts her infant as such greater risk, why can't women hire certified professional midwives for a safer choice?

Bear in mind that this article doesn't even address the drastically increased risks for second, third or high order cesarean sections.

Cindy Crawford on Home Birth

2009-07-08T21:30:00.000-07:00

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

What if ... the buzz on social networks

2009-04-29T08:43:00.000-07:00

There is a buzz beginning on major social netowrking sites like facebook and twitter that is growing with the news of a toddler flu death in Texas.

What if I go into labor, and the hospital is full of flu patients? What if hospitals become overrun with contagious carriers of a deadly virus? Who has the specialized portable equipment and knows how to help women give birth safely without all the risky drugs that most American hospital staffs rely on? Obstetricians do not understand natural childbirth nor how to help women avoid the need for risky pain relief. If we want our babies to be truly safe during epidemics, the answer is clearly making sure that those midwives who are certified in home birth can serve moms and babies.

The H1-N1 flu has many in the birth community collectively thinking, saying or typing ... "we told you so!"

With nearly half the country failing to license certified professional midwives, our nation's experts in low-tech out-of hospital birth, we are left to wonder: who will care for women giving birth in times of disaster? Do we really want our most vulnerable and precious newborn babies coming into this world where sick people are being housed?

“Thankfully, the hospital where the toddler died doesn’t provide obstetric services. But if the flu continues to spread at predicted levels, it’s just a matter of time before healthy mothers and newborns are going to start getting exposed. It’s absolutely critical that we begin recruiting Certified Professional Midwives to our local, regional and national disaster preparedness plans,” stated Katherine Prown of the national Big Push Campaign, which advocates independent, legal practice for certified professional midwives and nurse-midwives alike. "It was only reported later that the child was treated in a children's hospital, but that's no comfort when a woman is in labor and hears a vague new report about flu in her area."

Prown's thoughts are echoed by many birth advocates like Jacque Shannon-McNulty, a childbirth educator, doula who is also with the groupChicago Commuity Midwives posted a link to a USA Today article about the 91 cases confirmed in the U.S, along with her own comment:

Healthy moms and babies need special protections in place for birth during a flu pandemic. We need to ensure that these women and their babies have safe out of hospital birth options available to minimize the risks of swine flu transmission to vulnerable, healthy populations. What's the best way to minimize needless neonatal deaths from a flu pandemic? Keep healthy moms and new babies away from sick people and the virulent flu viruses flooding the hospitals. It's a simple, cost-effective and appropriate measure. Moms are already thinking about this- our elected officials need to be proactive here, protect these moms and babies and pass the Homebirth Safety Act as soon as possible.

The Coalition's president, Michelle Breen, MHS, is driven not only by data and science but also common sense:

"The Chicago area could have about 90 cases of swine flu in the next three weeks". ([quoting National Public Radio} How long will it take for the General Assembly to pass the Home Birth Safety Act?

Shouldn't Illinois do everything possible to increase the number of licensed home birth experts so that families can decide about place of birth and associated risks?

Do you have a pithy comment or profound statement? Post it here! Blog about it. Facebook it or Tweat! Let's make sure that the proven safe solution of certified professional midwives is recognized and utilized!

Worried about the flu?

2009-04-28T12:29:00.000-07:00

Let your state representative know. Concerns about hospitals being inaccessible or too dangerous for healthy birthing women, we see this as yet another reason to license certified professional midwives and include them in disaster preparedness planning.

Visit Illinois State Board of Elections (click on By Address) to look up who your state representative is. Call your Illinois state representative's office TODAY and ask the best way to send this press release (email, fax if you can, or snail mail), and then let us know what you did!

Include a small hand-written note asking (or thanking) them for their support. If your rep is a republican, you can include a quick statement that, even if this flu scare turns out to be nothing, this is just one more reason that Medical lobbying groups should NOT be steering public policy and interfering with your family's childbirth decisions.

Send Colette Bernard a facebook message or email me at birthnews@earthlink.net. Tell us any small detail of what happened so we can keep track!

Big Push Flu Press Release Big Push Flu Press Release Colette Bernhard Press release. As the country braces for a possible flue pandemic, advocates call on local, state and federal authorities to include certified professional midwives in disaster preparedness, due to their expertise in low tech, out-of-hospital birth.

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Health & Medicine Research infant welfare maternal welfare

SPRINGFIELD HEARING (first 30 minutes)

2009-04-19T21:43:00.000-07:00

Our hearing has a real buzz surrounding it in Springfield ... still! Now you can see the first thirty minutes and witness the travesty of the Illinois House Health Care Availability Access Committee voting this legislation down! This video was shot with a small, hand-held camera and was not mic'd up to the microphones, so be prepared to put your listening cap on! Also, you can hear all the families waiting, Our supporters filled the room and spilled out into the hallway. Lobbyists and other legislators came to witness this hearing, and anyone present could not comprehend why anyone would vote against this desperately needed piece of legislation.

We would like to thank the following legislators for their especially strong support for licensing midwives:

Senator Bill Haine
Represetnative Julie Hamos
Represetnative Mary Flowers
House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie
Represetnative Daniel Burke
Senator Martin Sandoval
Senate President John J. Cullerton
Representative Paul Froehlich
Representative Toni Berrios
Senator Willie Delgao
House Assistant Majority Leader Joseph Lyons
House Assistant Majority Leader Jack McGuire
House Assistant Minority Leader Ron Stephens
Senator Pamela Althoff
Representative Mike Tryon
Reprsentative Luis Arroyo
House Deputy Majority Leader Art Turner
Senator Donne Trotter
Representative Deborah Mell, and
Representative Eddie Washington

2009-03-30T12:28:00.000-07:00

Greetings home birth supporters:

We have an exciting update from Springfield!

Last Thursday, Tonesha Cross and I traveled to Springfield to lobby the bill and let House members know that Senator Haine and Representative Hamos are still committed to continue working the issue. We touched base with several legislators including Edward Acevedo, Mike Boland, Anazette Collins, Barbara Flynn Currie (who was delightful), Kenneth Dunkin, Mary Flowers, LaShawn Ford, Esther Golar, Greg Harris, Cynthia Soto, Betsy Hannig and others.

The morning began by distributing fliers to house members and checking in with a few of our cosponsors who have not yet signed on to the current bill.

We were excited to do some initial coalition building with other groups. We were even able to lobby the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, who were happy to be working with us thanks to Governor Quinn's support of our issue.

We also met with Senator Haine. He is pleased with our new talking point that legislators who vote against the Home Birth Safety Act are contributing to the harm of mothers and babies. He feels that now is the time for us to begin focusing more on the risks inherent in hospital birth that are completely avoided at home. Senator Haine informed us that he is determined to pass this bill and is going to start lobbying himself even harder in the House. (yay!)

Because the House had an extra long session, we found a little time to sit in the gallery, so I could point out several dozen legislators to Toney, explain their positions on our bill. We also were able to observe some of the personality and political dynamics involved in the legislature. There was vigorous debate, so we really got to see them in action.

While there, we picked up an audio disc of the March 3, 2009 Health Care Availability Access Committee Debate, or hearing. Senator Haine has charged us with producing a two to three page flier full of quotes from the hearing with the highlights -- by the middle of this week.

At the end of the day, we had a very long talk with Representative Will Davis. He was very interested and asked a large number of detailed questions. Our biggest surprise of the day came when Rep. Davis informed us that State Senator Toi Hutchinson (Chicago Heights) had her children at home! (We have already followed up with her office and have a tentative appointment scheduled.)

Following our "after hours" talk with Rep. Davis, we walked around in half-dark offices passing out another set of fliers for legislators to receive Friday morning.

All in all, it was an extremely productive day. As you can see, contrary to a couple of new reports that were written immediately following our hearing, our bill is far from dead! We really need to ramp up our presence in Springfield to continue to promote it. Senator Haine is fully committed to seeing our bill pass, but to continue this effort we need more money in order to be effective.

Together we can do this! If each of us does what we can, no matter how big or small, we will be able to be in Springfield with a steady presence. We will be able to continue to distribute high quality materials to legislators. We will be able to retain our lobbyist, who is our eyes and ears and a vital part of the equation!

We hope that each and every one of you is taking part in our TEN FOR TEN campaign. Find ten friends who will each donate $10 for the Coalition. It's helpful if you collect it and send it in to the Coalition for them. Many times our friends are well-meaning but taking the final step of actually sending the contribution will slip our minds. So if you can collect your friends' donations and send them in, we can really make a lot of headway quickly. (Truly can't think of ten friends to ask? Don't worry about it! Just do what you can!)

Also please keep planning your local fundraisers large and small. Remember that Mother's Day is coming up. Any weekend in May would be a good time to have a mothers & midwives pancake breakfast, bake sale or spaghetti dinner. You can have a father's day bbq or brunch. A car wash, freedom picnic or ice cream social is great in July. Please think about what you can do in the future, and let us know! Provide us with the details of anything you plan, and we'll post it on our blog, our new google calendar, and facebook to help promote your efforts.

To donate on-line via PayPal visit
http://illinoismidwifery.blogspot.com/2009/02/make-donation-to-coalition.html

or send a check made out to CFIM to:
Vicki Johnson, Treasurer
6092 Torchlite Trl.
Loves Park, IL 61111

Thank you!
Colette

Urbana Garage and Plant Sale for Mothers and Midwives May 1 & 2

2009-03-27T22:40:00.000-07:00

URBANA, IL -- Garage and Plant Sale to support HB 226, the Home Birth Safety Act. Help families who choose to birth at home have access to licensed midwives.

May 1st and 2nd 8am-2pm
706 E. Fairlawn, Urbana IL

DONATE ITEMS TO THE SALE (50/50 see below)
Do your spring cleaning, get good deals, and support something you believe in!

Help by letting your friends and family know of the sale, volunteering to help, donating items beforhand or coming to the sale to purchase gently used items and plants.

RIGHT NOW WE NEED SELLERS!
Anyone can sell items and we will do all the advertising, set up, clean up, etc. Household and children's items (no big appliances) can be dropped off at 706 E. Fairlawn on April 28-30 from 4-6:30. Half the proceeds go to support the Bill, you keep the other half. You can price items yourself or you can leave that to us.

After noon on Saturday everything is 1/2 price or less. Anything not picked up by 1pm on Sunday gets donated to a local agency.

If you wish to sell plants, want to help with the sale, or have any other questions call Sarah at 217-384-0429. Thank you!

Warmly,
Sarah Stalzer Arcoleo

In which we keep going despite what we thought!

2009-03-19T12:56:00.000-07:00

Dear Illinois Home Birth Supporters:

We just heard news from our very own Senator Haine and Representative Hamos that they want to keep working on our bill this session to see if we can still move it! This just proves that we don't need a roller coaster, because the political process is much more surprising, with all sorts of twists and turns.

Procedurally, there are ways to work around the deadline, and our legislators and lobbyist can navigate those details. What we must do is to continue to meet with our own state representatives and keep asking them to commit to a yes vote! So ... we are going to start working things more politically instead of trying to have evidence-based discussions, and we will be going back down to Springfield starting next week. Also, we will be developing new talking points for you to use when contacting your own state rep.

We will know a lot more details after talking more with our sponsors, but I wanted to let everyone know that, despite the bitter disappointment we experienced earlier this month in the hearing, the bill is alive and kickin'!

This development also means we will have to continue to pay our lobbyist, and we are already three months behind with him, so we have to ask you if you want us to continue. Do you want midwives to be licensed in Illinois? We know your generosity has come through in a big way for us in the past, and we are asking you again to support our work in Springfield on your behalf.

TEN FOR TEN
That is why we are launching a new fundraising campaign called Ten for Ten! We are asking you to please ask at least 10 of your family and friends to donate $10 each to the Coalition. Even if some people turn you down, you can still help a lot by collecting $10 donations from as many people as you can!

Think of the power of us banding together and refusing to let the money and power of organized medicine continue to push us around! Think if everyone reading this found ten friends to give $10 each. That, alone, would get us all caught up with our lobbyist, and will help us begin to pay him for April. We know a lot of you have friends who might not share your passion for midwives and home birth, but at least want you to have legal access to a qualified provider. This is a great way that they can help without having to invest a lot of time (or even money).

You can send a donation to the Coalition for Illinois Midwifery via PayPal by visiting our blog http://illinoismidwifery.blogspot.com/2009/02/make-donation-to-coalition.html and clicking on the Donate button.

Or make your check to CFIM and mail it to:
Vicki Johnson, Treasure
6092 Torchlite Trl.
Loves Park, IL 61111

Thank you for your continued support!
Colette

The Coalition for Illinois Midwifery is a lobbying entity in the state of Illinois; therefore your donations are not tax deductible but still support a very important cause.

Results of HB 226 House Hearing

2009-03-05T11:44:00.000-08:00

Click on the picture to see the official

Illinois General Assembly Bill Status Page

After what was characterized by many present, of some of the most fabulous and compelling testimony that has ever been presented in the Illinois General Assembly for any bill, the Health Care Availabilty Access Committee voted 4 - 8 to keep HB 226 in committee. (In other words, it did not pass).

The room was packed with home birth families from across the state. We all witnessed the truth finally revealed in all its glory before committee. And still eight voted against this bill that would keep our babies safe at home.

The vote count was as follows:

YES

Julie Hamos (who was substituting in for Esther Golar)

Mary Flowers

Mike Zalewski

Keith Sommer

Karen May

JoAnn Osmond

Greg Harris

Rosemary Mulligan

Timothy Schmitz

Michael Connelly

Will Burns

Lisa Dugan

Please take the time to thank our wonderful legislative sponsors and supporters, listed below. In the next day or two, please send a quick thank-you noet to the following people ESPECIALLY OUR LEGISLATIVE CHAMPION IN THE HOUSE Rep. Julie Hamos of Evanton, Illinois!!!

In your thank you note, be sure to include a photo of your children (printed on regular paper from a digital file is fine) or a child's drawing or painting or hand-made thank you card. If you prefer, you can send a Hallmark type thank you card. The point is, please send something to show your appreciation as soon as you can.

Also, if you are on facebook, you can search for and become a supporter of Rep. Jullie Hamos.

PLEASE SEND A THANK-YOU TO THE FOLLOWING (or as many as you can manage)

Representative Julie Hamos
256-W Stratton Office Building
Springfield, IL 62706

Representative Mary E. Flowers
251-E Stratton Office Building
Springfield, IL 62706

Representative Paul D. Froehlich
279-S Stratton Office Building
Springfield, IL 62706

Representative Daniel J. Burke
233-E Stratton Office Building
Springfield, IL 62706

Representative Deborah Mell
280-S Stratton Office Building
Springfield, IL 62706

Representative Eddie Washington
200-8 S Stratton Office Building
Springfield, IL 62706

Representative Keith P. Sommer
216-N Stratton Office Building
Springfield, IL 62706

Representative Michael J. Zalewski
231-E Stratton Office Building
Springfield, IL 62706

Pre-Hearing Rally

2009-02-28T17:30:00.000-08:00

Pre-Hearing Orientation and Rally

For HB 226, the Home Birth Safety Act.

March 3, 2009, 1pm

East entrance of the Capitol

Along S. 2nd St. (by the corner of S. 2nd St. and E. Monroe St.).

Following the rally, we will head inside and lobby our own state representatives (senator is optional), and "be seen on the scene". Be sure to look up who your state rep is at home. We will NOT have a way to look that up for you in Springfield. Visit http://www.elections.il.gov/DistrictLocator/SelectSearchType.aspx?NavLink=1 and click on the By Address tab.

After you find and talk with your state representative, you might wander around, or sit up in the House or Senate gallery if they are in session (or even just go in to see the House and Senate floosr, which are both gorgeous). You also might take a free architectural tour of the capitol; check at the information booth for details

Please bring a letter for Governor Quinn! State that a lack of licensed midwives has been a problem for decades in our state, and all efforts to license midwives have been held up in the Illinois House by organized medicine (or you can name the Illinois State Medial Society, although they have their sub-specialty auxiliary groups working on it now, too). You can choose to go to the governor's office on the second floor to drop it off yourself, or leave it with us, and we will deliver it for you.

The committee hearing will start at 4pm in room 118 of the Capitol. If you are a licensed physician or advanced practice nurse, please be prepared to sign in as a "record or appearance". There are several bills up for consideration before this committee. We do not know the order in which bills will be called, but we hope we will be one of the first. Dr. Minkus will be testifying on behalf of the bill. We have also asked a high-risk OB from Southern Illinois to testify, but he is out of town and has not confirmed.

We are looking for a few people to volunteer as ushers to politely remind anyone whose child is fussing or even talking above a whisper to exit the hearing. We hate to be strict about it, but the hearing is considered a serious matter. Most of the legislators love children, but don't like it if they interrupt a hearing. Anyone who needs to settle a fussy baby or toddler should please respectfully do so out in the hallway. Nursing is your legal right in Illinois, and women openly nurse in the hallways, but, we do ask that you be as modest as possible during the hearing.

(BTW -- I suggest you bring nutritious snacks and bottled water, which can be eaten in the cafeteria and in the hallways but NOT in the House or Senate gallery or hearing room.)

SUPER URGENT - Hearing for Home Birth Safety Act next Tuesday!

2009-02-25T19:05:00.000-08:00

Greetings home birth supporters. We have an extremely urgent message.

PLEASE DROP ALL YOUR PLANS AND HEAD TO THE STATE CAPITOL NEXT TUESDAY, MARCH 3, 2009!

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
@ We cannot overstate how important this is. @
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

The Home Birth Safety Act (HB 226), which will license Certified Professional Midwives (CPMs) for home birth, is going to be heard in the Health Care Availability Access Committee next Tuesday, March, 3, 2009, at 4pm. This will either be the beginning of a great era or the final chapter in our decades long efforts to pass a CPM licensure law. The next time after this year to introduce a viable bill will be years from now, so we must make our best efforts now.

We have gone down every possible avenue over the past few years, to get as much support as possible, and even reached agreement with our state's nursing groups. We have built a strong coalition with many state groups including Illinois Public Health Association, Illinois Maternal Child Health Coalition, Health and Medicine Policy Research Group, and Health and Disability Advocates, among others. We've even managed to get our bill placed in a better committee. So it all comes down to this: will we make it out the House Health Care Availability Access Committee, or will our bill die?

We have just received word from our people on the ground in Springfield that individual doctors have been traveling to Springfield to lobby against our bill. A lot of them. And they are making an impression. This is unprecedented in Illinois and even across the whole country that large numbers of individual doctors are actually going to the state capitol to lobby against a CPM licensure bill. So please PLEASE if you value home birth and want the option available for your future pregnancies or for your daughters in the years to come, then make it your number one priority to come to Springfield, Illinois next Tuesday, March 3, 2009!

We need EVERYONE to take a vacation day or call in sick, pull your kids out of school, and bring your sister, your best friend and your mother to Springfield that day to pack the hallways and the hearing room! We have to show Illinois legislators that the people of Illinois need access to licensed midwives!

Please forward this message to everyone you know and ask them to do the same!

See you there!
Colette

We have a new committee!

2009-02-23T18:18:00.000-08:00

Earlier today, the Illinois General Assembly's website posted that our bill, HB 226, the Home Birth Safety Act, has been assigned to a different committee, Healthcare Availability Access. This is a good sign, but we still have an uphill battle.

Please look over the list of the targeted legislators again to see if you or anyone you know lives in these districts. Make sure that you and your family and friends immediately contact their state representative to support HB 226, the Home Birth Safety Act. Then let us know what you hear! You can contact Colette on facebook or via email at birthnews@earthlink.net or Pat Colet at colefam@gmail.com.

The Healthcare AA committee usually meets the first session day of the week in the afternoon, so we will most likely call the bill NEXT TUESDAY, March 3, 2009. Assuming we (along with our sponsors and lobbyist) believe that we are ready, and soon as the General Assembly's website posts the hearing notice, we will pass on the final details of the hearing time.

Please pencil in the date and plan to attend with your QUIET children. Children are very welcome so long as they are quiet, but due to the legal nature of the proceedings, you must be prepared to exit the room immediately if your child starts to make any sound whatsoever. That said, we hope that you will be able to attend to show your support! We will post more details later.

Colette

Huge Increase in Health Groups Supporting Certified Professional Midwives

2009-02-17T16:10:00.000-08:00

As reported by The Big Push for Midwives Campaign, there has been a sudden increase in nationally prominent health organizations joining an already the burgeoning list of prominent health organizations which support licensing or acknowledge the safety of home birth with a CPM. (see a pdf of the Big Push's press release here.)

The Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN), a highly respected national nursing group, recently published an editorial blasting the American Medical Association and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists for their outdated and out of touch policies trying to restrict home birth and Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) licensure.

In the editorial published in thecurrent issue of the Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, & Neonatal Nursing, the official journal of AWHONN, Nancy K. Lowe, CNM writes, “I am very proud to be an American, but I am embarrassed that our country, founded on the ideals of individual liberty and freedom, can also support ‘authoritative’ initiatives such as these by the ACOG and AMA, initiatives that are founded on neither science nor an understanding of the physiologic and psychosocial needs of mothers and babies.” Lowe adds, "What is most risky about home birth in the United States is that for most women who desire it there is a scarcity of qualified providers of home birth services.”

The National Perinatal Association, a multi-disciplinary health advocacy group, issued two supportive Position Papers:

(1) "Choice of Birth Setting" (download the pdf here), which highlights a comprehensive Cochraine Database Review of peer-reviewed scientific studies, pointing out that the Cochrane Database concluded:

"... there was no strong evidence to favor planned hospital birth vs planned home birth for low-risk preg nant women.“ Planned hospital birth may even increase unnecessary interventions and complications without any benefit for low-risk women“

(2) "Position Statement on Midwifery" (download the pdf here), which explains the different types of midwives:

"The designation “midwife” is therefore accompanied by a qualifying term such a Certified Nurse- Midwife (CNM), Certified Midwife (CM) or Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) which shows the midwife has successfully passed a national certifying exam and is competent to practice."

Groups that have long supported the concept of home birth with a CPM include:

American Public Health Association
WebMD
Our Bodies Ourselves
Consumer Reports Health
Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (U.K.)
Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada
Coalition for the Improvement of Maternity Services

These national and international groups are joined by several Illinois groups including :

Illinois Public Heallth Association
Illinois AFL-CIO
Illinois Nurses Association
Illinois Nurses Association 2008 Statement: "The INA has changed its position from oppose to neutral because they feel the current proposal adequately protects the public, including sound education and certification requirements, and does allow women to choose to have a licensed certified midwife to provide prenatal and childbirth services in their homes."
Illinois Society for Advanced Practice Nursing
Illinois Maternal Child Health Coalition
Health Medicine Policy Research Group
Health Disability Advocates
Illinois Families for Midwifery
Chicago Women's Health Center

Seeing the groups line up, it is interesting to note the only groups opposing are the American Medical Asociation and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists who are pouring their vast resources into supporting state medical groups in utilizing, not rational argument, but scare tacticts and political strong-arming in an attempt to tamp down grass-roots consumer movements whose time has come.

Consumer Reports Looks at American Childbirth!

2009-02-13T17:50:00.000-08:00

In October 2008, the respected Consumer Reports, known for its unbiased and accurate reports that consumers can rely on, published at report, Maternity Care - High tech vs. high-touch, about childbirth services in the United States. It comes as no surprise to home birth advocates that hospital birth is fraught with peril, and midwives at home are very safe.

First, they give a good description of the advantages of a physiologically normal birth.

When it's time to bring a new baby into the world, there's a lot to be said for letting nature take the lead. The normal, hormone-driven changes in the body that naturally occur during delivery can optimize infant health and encourage the easy establishment and continuation of breastfeeding and mother-baby attachment. Childbirth without technical intervention can succeed in leading to a good outcome for mother and child, according to a new report.

Then they conclude:

The report found that, in the U.S., too many healthy women with low-risk pregnancies are being routinely subjected to high-tech or invasive interventions that should be reserved for higher-risk pregnancies ...In fact, the current style of maternity care is so procedure-intensive that 6 of the 15 most common hospital procedures used in the entire U.S. are related to childbirth. Although most childbearing women in this country are healthy and at low risk for childbirth complications, national surveys reveal that essentially all women who give birth in U.S. hospitals have high rates of use of complex interventions, with risks of adverse effects. (emphasis ours)

They also included a "True/False" Maternity Care Quiz that included the following:

An obstetrician will deliver better maternity care, overall, than a midwife or family doctor.
False. Studies show that the 8 percent to 9 percent of U.S. women who use midwives and the 6 to 7 percent who choose family physicians generally experienced just-as-good results as those who go to obstetricians. Those who used midwives also ended up with fewer technological interventions. For example, women who received midwifery care were less likely to experience induced labor, have their water broken for them, episiotomies, pain medications, intravenous fluids, and electronic fetal monitoring, and were more likely to give birth vaginally with no vacuum extraction or forceps, than similar women receiving medical care.

Epidural anesthesia is a low-risk way to make labor easier.
False. Many women welcome the pain relief, but might not be well-informed about the increased risk of its side-effects, including lack of mobility, sedation, fever, longer pushing, and serious perineal tears.

Epidural anesthesia presents risks to newborns.
True. Babies whose mothers received epidurals during labor are at risk for rapid heart rate, hyperbilirubinemia (the presence of an excess of bilirubin in the blood), need for antibiotics, and poorer performance on newborn assessment tests.

Targeted Action Alert

2009-02-12T20:14:00.000-08:00

We have ~~thirteen~~ eight calendar days to gain enough votes to move our bill to license certified professional midwives out of committee and onto the House floor. That is not a lot of time, so we are targeting specific legislators. We need to concentrate our energy over the weekend to see who we can find in the seven districts listed below. Our goal is to get their phones and faxes ringing off the hook on Monday morning (or sooner) with our supporters! If you live in one of these districts, please do your best to visit Springfield next Wed - Fri or the following Tues - Fri.

That means now is the time to immediately contact everyone you know in one of the following districts who might do you the favor of placing a quick phone call. Ask them to call or fax a letter to their state representative to support HB 226, the Home Birth Safety Act by next Tuesday in the district office (or Springfield Wed - Friday morning).Tell them you would like to know the exact details of what took place -- any feedback or reaction is helpful, no matter how inconsequential it might seem, it helps us refine our message. (We compile it all and analyze it and respond appropriately, changing week to week or even day to day.)

It only takes three minutes to place a call, and maybe 5-7 minutes to write and fax a letter. Here are some quick instructions of what to say in your call or faxed letter:

Include your name and home street address.
If you are a doctor, nurse, chiropractor, physical therapist or childbirth educator say so!
Mention that are a constituent (or that you live in the district).
Ask your state rep to vote YES on HB 226, the Home Birth Safety Act.
If you are asked what your interest is, you can tell your own story.
If you did NOT have a home birth but still support this bill state so! (shows legislators the support among the general public as well)
It is okay to say something like your sister, friend or cousin had a home birth, and you are doing this to support her, or you want her to have access to licensed care.
If you are asked a technical question that you can't answer (or aren't sure what's best to say), it is perfectly okay to say you don't know. Just let us know, and we will follow up on the subject.
Please make a note of what happened and pass it along to the Coalition or Illinois Families for Midwifery

Karen May (D, 58th district)
North Shore suburbs, including: most of Glencoe, Northbrook, Deerfield, Highland Park, Highwood, Lake Forest, Lake Bluff.

Springfield Office:
255-S Stratton Office Building
Springfield, IL 62706
(217) 782-0902
(217) 557-7214 FAX
karenmay58@aol.com

Greg Harris (D, 13th district)
North side of Chicago, Uptown area. From Lake Michigan to Lincoln Ave., and from approximately Irving Park Rd. to Foster Ave.

Springfield Office:
258-W Stratton Office Bldg
Springfield, IL 62706
(217) 782-3835
(217) 557-6470 FAX
Greg@GregHarris.org

Rosemary Mulligan, (R, 65th district)
Near Northwest suburbs including Maine, Elk Grove, Niles, and Norwood Park Townships, and portions of the municipalities of Des Plaines, Park Ridge, Niles, Mt. Prospect, Arlington Heights, Rosemont, Norridge, Harwood Heights, and Chicago. (District map at http://www.repmulligan.org)

Springfield Office:
217-N Stratton Office Building
Springfield, IL 62706
(217) 782-8007
(217) 782-4533 FAX
repmulligan@usa.net

William Burns, (D- 26th district)
Chicago. From the Gold Coast down through the East side of the Loop from the Lake Front as far West as approx. State St./King Dr., as far South as approximately 71st St.. Includes Miegs Field, Soldier Field, McCormick Place, Museum Campus, Grant Park, Navy Pier and the Magnificent Mile. (Also think of anyone you know who owns a business in this district.)

Springfield Office:
284-S Stratton Office Building
Springfield, IL 62706
(217) 782-2023
(217) 782-8569- FAX

Esther Golar (D, 6th district)
South side of Chicago. From the Dan Ryan Expressway to a little bit west of Western Ave. And from 25th Pl. to approximately 65th St.

Springfield Office:
250 Stratton Office Bldg
Springfield, IL 62706
(217) 782-5971
(217) 558-6370 FAX

Michael J. Zalewski (D, 21st district)
Western suburbs and part of Southwest side of Chicago. Includes the South half of Berwyn, the West half of Stickney, SouthEast portions of Riverside and the South half of Brookfield, the SouthEast quarter of LaGrange Park and the far East sections of LaGrange, most of McCook and Summit, and the Southwest side of Chicago from approx. 71st St up to I-55 and as far East as Cicero Ave.

Springfield Office:
231-E Stratton Office Bldg
Springfield, IL 62706
(217) 782-5280
(217) 557-1934 FAX

Michael G. Connelly (R, 48th district)
Far Western Suburbs. South parts of Wheaton, East half of Naperville, West half of Lisle, Northern sections of Bolingbrook, and West half of Woodridge.

Springfield Office:
208-N Stratton Office Building
Springfield, IL 62706
(217) 782-8028

Big day at the capitol!

2009-02-11T20:16:00.000-08:00

From Sara Baum, who attended the Feb. 10 Mother of All Rallies:

It was really interesting and amazing to participate in this process and to realize that we as individual constituents can have a big influence on what information our legislators have and whether they support an effort or not. Our lobbyist said that legislators sometimes reconsider their position on a bill when they know that even one constituent is paying attention to the bill and cares about it and takes the time to go all the way to Springfield to say so.

I was nervous to talk to my legislator for some reason. One of my fellow mamas reminded me that HE works for ME, and that he needs to hear what I and other constituents care about, because that is what him representing us is all about. Sometimes it's easy to forget this simple fact. I enjoyed talking to Harry Osterman, and he was really nice! I think our representatives enjoyed seeing us there and knowing we cared about the work they are doing. And now that I've gone and talked to my legislator, I'm not afraid to do it again.

I have often felt that there is not much I can do to help support legislation that I care about, or that there is no connection between us and our government. But if we create a connection, there can be one. And creating it is easier than it seems.

It was great to be there with others who care about mothers and babies and birth options in our state and are working hard to change things for the better.

We had a terrific rally and lobby day! Thank you to everyone who traveled to Springfield to support certified professional midwives! Our theme was "got midwife?". We lobbied our state representatives, and we passed out m&ms and cookies to the Illinois House.

There were an estimated one hundred home birth supporters, packing the halls of the capitol including nearly twenty members of the Amish community.

View pictures here! http://www.flickr.com/photos/21451753@N00/sets/72157613649229995/detail/

We began the day with a large crowd gathering in the cafeteria for a pep talk and marching orders from two of our fearless sponsors -- Rep. Julie Hamos and Rep. Paul Froehlich. After materials were distributed, our caravan of moms and dads with strollers, slings and babes in arms set out on the adventure of tracking down their reps and sharing their stories. Everyone was wearing black got midwife teeshirts and/or buttons.

Throughout the day we heard mostly good reports back from everyone! Our information table we well visited, because who can resist pictures of our gorgeous born at home children? We owe a very special thank you to Judy Cole for tirelessly managing the table and Jacque Shannon-McNulty for helping us distribute t-shirts!!!

In the afternoon reinforcements arrived as a second wave of supporters joined us! We met many people who wanted to buy our teeshirts, including a professional lobbyist whose wife had a birth with a midwife at West Suburban. (West Suburban is where the midwife who passed the free-standing birth center bill works, and all their midwives have been encouraging their patients to support our bill!!) Also in the afternoon, we were joined by Rep. Dan Burke.

There were a large number of health care professionals in attendance today, including several nurses, chiropractic physicians, nurse-midwifery students, doulas and certified professional midwife students.

At the end of the day, we heard a report from a very supportive senator that in his meeting with our new governor, he made sure they knew the cookies they were eating were from the midwives!!

Today we began to process all that we learned on Tuesday, while our sponsors continue to work on their end. In the next few days, we will have more details about how best to proceed from here, so stay tuned ...

Colette

Teeshirt details

2009-02-05T11:54:00.001-08:00

got midwife?

Make a statement! Be seen, and let the whole capitol know that we need midwives! Buy your got midwife? teeshirt on your way into the rally!

Teeshirt Details: We will be selling a limited number of black teeshirts that say "got midwife?" in white letters across the chest. They will be availabe on a first-come, first-served basis only (except for the two pre-orders that were placed when we made the original announcement last month). Sizes available range from Children's XS (2-4) through Adult XL (and we have one XXL). We are sorry; we cannot guarantee to have your size, but stop by and see what we have!

Hours: 10:30 am - 1 pm. We will try have someone there, even if shirts sell out, until 1 pm.

Cost: $12 each.

Location: The teeshirts will be for sale on the sidewalk down by the street, on Monroe St, on the North side of the capitol, near the parking meters. You can stop by there on your way into the main North entrance into the capitol building. (We are not allowed to sell anything on state property, which is why the teeshirt sales will be outside.)

Don't worry if teeshirts are sold out before you arrive, we will have free buttons for everyone attending! Everyone will have something to wear that matches.

Can't wait to see you all there!
Colette

IFFM & CFIM launch facebook group

2009-01-22T19:20:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Illinois Families for Midwifery and the Coalition for Illinois Midwifery launched a facebook group. In just a day, we have nearly 100 members, including three state legislators!

If you belong to facebook, please visit http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=58673657801 and join our group

Help us spread the word! Put our group url in your facebook status status.

(facebook.com is a social networking sight. We are not affiliated with facebook in any way, other than spreading the word about the great need for licensed home birth midwives in Illinois, or individually, for personal reasons.)

Contact your State rep and ask him (or her) to sponsor HB 226 today!

2009-01-20T15:13:00.000-08:00

Dear everyone who values childbirth freedom:

We have a new bill number! For this session, we will be working on, and hopefully passing (!) House Bill 226, the Home Birth Safety Act.

As the new legislative session begins, we are nearing the end of our journey. I am enclosing a message from our lobbyist, about the progress we made at the end of the last session.

As you may already know, our opponents, many of the state's doctors groups, spearheaded by the Illinois State Medical Society, have been lobbying very hard against the Home Birth Safety Act. Legislators are used to relying on these groups, particularly the ISMS, for information regarding the healthcare needs of Illinois. Sadly, the Medical Society has not entirely accurate in their portrayal of the issues surrounding home birth. Legislators, particularly in the House, do understand the need to support home birth by licensing midwives.

We are working diligently to bring accurate, and true information to your state rep, but there's something we will never be able to do, that only YOU can do ... meet with your own state representative, face-to-face, so they can see that people in their own district, normal, every day folks, need midwives, and that licensing certified professional midwives is the answer to the shortage crisis that grips our community.

Organized medicine is painting home birth as a patently bad choice, and, like the majority of the population, most representatives only know hospital birth. Now that our bill has gained new momentum, representatives are being more forthcoming about their hesitation to voteyes to license midwives; home birth seems to many state representatives like either an out-of-date practice or something weird. Yet we know that home birth families are normal, healthy families that deserve access to licensed midwives, making a reasonable choice!

No one can take your place!

So please take the time to see if you have the same, or a new, state representative. First look up your zip+4 at usps.com and then visit the Illinois Legislator Lookup Page, (or visit ilga.gov and click on Legislator Lookup), click on the "By Zip+4" tab and enter your zip+4 (no dash). Your state representative is the third listing.

Next check to see if your state rep is was of the following cosponsors of last session's bill (SB 385) -- Julie Hamos - Arthur L. Turner - Mary E. Flowers - William B. Black, Jack McGuire, Shane Cultra, Mike Boland, Cynthia Soto, Paul D. Froehlich, Lou Lang, Karen A. Yarbrough, Luis Arroyo, Harry Osterman, Maria Antonia Berrios, Daniel J. Burke, Ron Stephens, Careen M Gordon and Joseph M. Lyons

Then, pick up the phone and try to set an appointment to meet with your rep! PLEASE DO NOT HESITATE. Every single meeting is vital. Nothing can show your state representative that his/her own constituents need licensed midwives like an in-person visit with you! Only you can help normalize home birth in their eyes.

If your state rep was a sponsor or cosponsor last session, please meet them, shake their hand, and thank them for their support, and ask them to cosponsor again. Also, ask them to reach to their colleagues to explain to them how important this legislation is.

If your state rep did not cosponsor last session, please meet them, shake their hand, stress how important this bill is to your and your family, and ask them to cosponsor this time.

Also, plan to come to the capitol on Tuesday, February 10, 2009, for our Rally and Lobby Day! Please make time in your schedule for this all-important event. The only thing more impressive to a legislator than an in-district in-person meeting is seeing you travel to Springfield to meet with them.

And, last, but not least, keep in mind that the Med Society has nearly two dozen paid lobbyist in the capitol full-time, and this serves as a grim reminder that we, too, need money to operate

PLEASE DONATE TODAY We need your financial help to keep the Coalition for Illinois Midwifery's professional lobbyist representing us, to cover expenses to produce and distribute materials to legislators every week, and to pay back modest travel expenses for our unpaid volunteer lobbyists, who must be in Springfield each week as "subject matter experts" to support our professional lobbyist. This is no small undertaking, and it is only with the collective support of all of you that this can continue to move forward.

To donate on-line via PayPal, visit and click on the PayPal Donate button on the lower left. To send a check, please make it out to CFIM and mail to

Vicki Johnson - CFIM

6092 Torchlite Trl.

Loves Park, IL 61111

We know many of you have donated multiple times already, and we are very grateful. However, we need your support again. Please give what you can. Please give again next month. If you've never donated to support the Coalition before, now is the perfect time, as we mount a great effort to pass this legislation!

Don't let the Medical Society outlast us. Give today, and set that appointment with your state representative!

Rally Date confirmed: Tues. Feb. 10, 2009!

2009-01-20T11:41:00.000-08:00

Let's get ready to rock the capitol on
Tuesday, February 10, 2009!!!

Please plan to come to Springfield and show our legislature how much we need midwives!

-- Please forward far and wide --

Now is the time to pull out all stops and show your support for home birth in the good ol' USA! Please join us at the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield, Illinois for a very special day.

We have heard from a film maker that they might be interested in filming a large midwifery rally, and wanted to know what our turnout on Feb. 10 would be.

We understand that dates have been bounced around causing last minutes changes over the past few months, but this time, THIS IS IT. We are at the beginning, rather than the end of the session. There is no looming impeachment, and we are confirmed for our date of Tuesday, February 10, 2009, 11 am.

If we can get 100 adults to commit to attending the Mother of All Rallies in the next day -- by 10 am, Wed., Feb 3, 2009 -- perhaps we can take part in this film project!

This year six states are poised to pass legislation, including us. We have the opportunity to be part of a huge surge, and if we hold a big rally in the home state of the American Medical Association, we could make a huge impact not only for our bill, but possibly the entire country.

But we can't do it without you, so please make every effort to attend. You can rsvp by emailing us directly (see emails below) or joining the facebook event at http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=38861329499

Colette -- birthnews@earthlink.net (birthnews at earthlink dot net) or
Pat -- colefam@gmail.com (colefam at gmail dot com)

Please immediately invite everyone you know who is supportive of home birth. Now is the time to show legislators how much we need midwives!

THE MOTHER OF ALL RALLIES
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Illinois State Capitol
S 2nd St & E Monroe St
Springfield, IL 62701
11 am - Stratton Building Cafeteria

Plan for the day
11 am - noon Orientation in the Stratton Building Cafeteria.

After orientation - lobby your state representative, state senator, and leave a letter for our new Governor! (We will provide you with materials and instructions)

Fill out your feedback form, and hand it in to our information table off the Rotunda (we will be there until 2:30 pm.)

Enjoy the rest of your day!

Optional debriefing at Gallina Pizza, 432 E Monroe St, Springfield, IL‎ - (217) 522-5271‎, approx. 3:30 pm (time may vary).

Tips for attending a Lobby Day
Yes, by all means, bring your children! Bring quiet toys and activities to amuse your children, and snacks and drinks. Nursing is your legally protected right in Illinois thanks to our General Assembly, so you should encounter no problems with that! :-)

EVERYONE LOVES TREATS -- We recommend you express your feelings with baked goods! Show your love for mothers&midwives, Bring m&m cookies or other baked good (3 wrapped paper plates of cookies -- one each for your rep, your senator and our new governor). If you cannot bring cookies for some reason, please bring a few packs of m&ms Do you really love to bake? Then please helps us by bringing a few extra plates in case there is a district with no constituents. [If you live in the Champaign area, please be aware Sen. Frerichs prefers healthy snacks to candy or cookies.]

You can find the Stratton Building Cafeteria by entering the capitol and asking at the Information Desk, or entering the office building due West of the Capitol.

If driving, bring lots quarters, because the free parking lot usually fills up by 8:15 am. You will most likely end up parking at a metered spot in the streets and have to put several quarters into a meter. Be prepared to walk a few blocks from your parking spot.

Prefer not to drive? You can make it a one day round trip on Amtrack from Chicago, Joliet, Bloomington (and other stops along the way). The Springfield Amtrack Station is only three blocks from the capitol.

When you finish your lobbying, you might enjoy taking a FREE architectural tour of the capitol building. See the million dollar renovations of our gorgeous capitol building.

Watch the Illinois House and/or Senate Floor in the Visitors Galleries.

Especially if you have an extra day, Springfield has many area museums and learning opportunities (most close at 5pm):
• The new Lincoln Presidential Museum
• The Illinois State Museum, a free state natural history museum part of the capitol complex, South of the capitol
• The Springfield Children's Museum, a sweet little museum for young children; 619 E Washington St, Springfield, IL‎ - (217) 789-0679‎
• Lincoln's Home (with tours an opportnity to earn a Jr. Rangers badge)
• Lincoln's Tomb (a little outside of town at Oak Ridge Cemetery; automobile needed; call ahead to ask for hours 217-782-1717)

First aid -- Need a band aid, aspirin or cough drop? Visit first aid in both the Stratton Building and the Capitol (ask a guard or at the Information Desk for directions).

Most of all, bring your desire to see midwives licensed!

Hope to see you there,
Colette

RALLY POSTPONED

2009-01-10T09:14:00.000-08:00

The good news is, we made huge progress on our bill, coming to terms with another one of the bill's opponents, and had a great lobby day with a home birth nurse-midwife and a non-practicing British-trained midwife who now lives in Illinois reaching out to several legislators that needed to hear more about midwives and home birth.

The kind of bad new is, we ran out of time to pass it in this session.

So the Mother of all Rallies will be rescheduled in early February. Check back for an exact date sometime next week!

Thanks for your patience and understanding!

Better Childbirth? Lower Costs? Midwives Deliver!

2008-12-31T19:01:00.000-08:00

Jennifer Block's excellent oped was picked up by a third newspaper.

Pre-order your t-shirt!

2008-12-31T18:44:00.000-08:00

Want to maximize our impact at the capitol in two weeks? Buy and wear a black got midwife? t-shirt! Imagine a sea of black got midwife? t-shirts filling the capitol, showing the Illinois General Assembly that WE NEED MIDWIVES!

We are going to order a limited number of black got midwife? t-shirts for the rally. You can help us pay for the order, by pre-ordering on PayPal! (Please read all the instructions below and then visit http://illinoismidwifery.org and click on the PayPal Donate button on the lower left to pre-order your shirt.)

The t-shirt is be 100% cotton, short-sleeved black t-shirt (more details coming Friday, after the holiday), with white printing across the chest saying, got midwife?

Cost is $12 if picked up at the rally, or
$15 if you to ship it to your home after the rally, ground delivery of our choice.

Sizes available:

Youth XS, S, M, L, XL
Adult S, M, L, XL (XXL AND XXXL available for an additional $2/must order by )

Because we are not a company that normally sells merchandise, we have a few special notices.

IF YOU PRE-ORDER FOR PICK UP AT THE RALLY, YOU MUST PRINT OUT YOUR RECEIPT AND BRING IT WITH YOU TO THE RALLY!!! We will have a list for the earlier orders placed, but at some point we will be traveling and preparing for the hearing, so we will not have a complete list at the rally, and we are very limited in the time we have to place the final order. If we don't have you listed, you will have to have proof of payment via your PayPal receipt, to pick up your shirt or will have to pay cash of what is still available to pick up a shirt that day.

We are ordering a limited number of t-shirts. We can only guarantee to reserve sizes pre-ordered by Sunday January 4, 2008. We will try our best but cannot 100% guarantee size availability if you order after Sunday, January 4, 2009. Otherwise, all t-shirts are on a first come, first served basis at the time of pickup, the days of the rally, January 12/13, 2009.

When you order, you must write in your PayPal comments section the number of t-shirts, in which sizes, and the name of the person who will pick up the t-shirts in Springfield. Please include the full street address where the shirt should be shipped. IF WE DON'T RECEIVE THIS INFORMATION WE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO RESERVE YOUR SHIRTS. Again, we are not a company that normally sells products, so our PayPal account is set up differently.

If you order a shirt to be shipped to you, it will be shipped after the rally, and will take up to approximately 5-9 business days after we ship it.

We will not have pickup before the rally. We will not be able to tell you ahead of time, if we still have the sizes you want if you order after Sunday, January 4, 2009. We apologize for any inconvenience any of this might cause, but ordering early will help assure you get the shirt in the size you need.

I hope that is not too confusing! We want to be clear on what our limitations are. Basically the sooner you place your order, the better it will be for everyone and help us do our best to meet your needs.

(Don't worry -- if you don't have a t-shirt for some reason, we will have free got midwife? buttons available for everyone attending the rally, so it will be clear that you are there to rally for home birth midwives!)

Have a very happy and safe New Year!!!
Colette

Twelve years ago today

2008-12-30T16:48:00.001-08:00

Twelve years ago today, I was snuggling my newborn, my oldest son, after a wonderful home birth with a CPM.

Twelve years ago today, women where I live in Illinois had a wide choice of CPMs for a home birth.

Twelve years ago today, CPMs worked together with nurse-midwives, forming a network of midwives that home birth families in my community could trust.

Today, there are none.

Today, in the midst of this legislative flurry, we must raise several thousand dollars. Please give TODAY to the Coalition for Illinois Midwifery, so that women and families in Illinois will have access to CPMs tomorrow.

To donate on-line via PayPal, visit http://illinoismidwifery.org/ and click on the PayPal Donate button in the lower left.

To donate by check, make it out to CFIM
Vicki Johnson
Coalition for Illinois Midwifery
6092 Torchlite Trl.
Loves Park, IL 61111

Standard disclaimers: (1) By tomorrow we mean in the near future, at some time to be determined by the state of Illinois when licenses will be issued. (2) Contributions made to the Coalition for Illinois Midwifery are not tax deductible.

Things looking good for midwifery licensure

2008-12-26T16:46:00.000-08:00

Members of the Illinois General Assembly are starting to see the advantages of licensing midwives. This is very good for us. We are continuing to work on our plan for January 12 and 13, and we look forward to rallying with dozens of home birth supporters.

Can we make that hundreds?

Please pass on the news and importance of this rally. We need this to be the largest yet! Try your best to attend and invite everyone you know who is supportive of home birth!

Thank you for all your past support, and let's take this all the way!

Help make Illinois the 25th state to legally recognize certified professional midwives!

ATTEND THE MOTHER OF ALL RALLIES
for home birth midwives
Show the AMA & ACOG who's in charge of your baby's birth
Come to the Illinois Capitol Jan 12 or 13, 2009

(use search terms S. 2nd St. and E. Monroe St., Springfield, IL 62701 and bring quarters for the parking meters, or walk just 3 short blocks from the Amtrak train station!)

Recent developments have made passage of a bill to license certified professional midwives in Illinois more likely than ever before!

We are holding a two-day rally to show Illinois legislators that we need midwives, and we need them now. Please invite everyone you know. Come one day or both. Bring your children, your babies, your sister, and your friend. Just be there -- to make history!

**Before you leave for the rally, visit Legislator Lookup to find your state representative, so you can lobby your state representative.**

Hope to see you there!

How to fix the U.S. Maternity care system: MIDWIVES!

2008-12-24T11:11:00.000-08:00

In an opinion piece published today in the Los Angeles Times:

Merry Christmas

2008-12-24T11:04:00.000-08:00

Today most Illinois legislators will receive a position statement from the Illinois State Medical Society opposing the Home Birth Safety Act. It is a strongly worded criticism of our bill. This means that the opposition is already aware that our bill will be voted on in January. They even told our co-sponsors that, "Physicians at the Illinois State Medical Society are extremely disheartened with your cosponsorship and support of Senate Bill 385, a bill that we believe is a dangers step backwards in health care and will jeopardize the safety of women ad newborns."

My holiday wish is that everyone reading this will talk with your families and friends over the next few days, and encourage everyone you know to contact their Illinois state representative asking their office, "Now that the nurses are neutral, will you (or the representative) support Senate Bill 385, the Home Birth Safety Act?"

Go to ilga.gov to look up your family and friends' state reps so you can give them the phone number. Please follow up with them. Sometimes people need a reminder or two, but this is really IT. This is THE call to action. Now is the time for EVERYONE to do EVERYTHING they can to support licensing midwives in Illinois! NO HOLDS BARRED!

Thanks you, and have a warm and happy holiday!
Colette Bernhard
Legislative Chair
Coalition for Illinois Midwifery

A Very Special Request

2008-12-22T21:08:00.000-08:00

PLEASE GIVE TO STOP THE AMA!
As pressure mounts on the national level, with the American Medical Association seeking to outlaw home births and block midwife licensure efforts, in addition to your awesome legislative outreach, we hope that you will help the Coalition for Illinois Midwifery financially, as well.

We have been busy working the legislation, attending meetings for the past several years, and putting out grassroots messages, and we are grateful for the large and enthusiastic response! You are really putting us over the top!

There's one other thing we need to make this work. We need your financial support as much as we ever have! Throughout much of the Summer and Fall, we needed to keep our lobbyist on, in part because of all the special sessions called in Springfield to override the governor's vetos, and also while we finished up our dialogue with the Illinois Nurses Association.

So we are asking you to dig deep and help us. Help the Coalition keep our lobbyist, to cover our operating expenses, and continue to pay back volunteers who have many many unclaimed expenses directly relating to promoting midwife licensure at the state capitol for several years.

Please give what you can. Please give again next month (and consider the month after that)! We know this year has been very rough in many ways, and we hope that you will still donate to help us finish this important work. To donate on-line via PayPal, visit http://illinoismidwifery.org/ in the lower left-hand corner.

You can make a check out to CFIM and mail to:

Vicki Johnson
Coalition for Illinois Midwifery
6092 Torchlite Trl.
Loves Park, IL 61111

Thank you and Happy Holidays!

Holiday Update

2008-12-22T21:01:00.000-08:00

Okay, everyone! So far the responses we've been hearing from your state representatives are excellent and very helpful.

Most legislative offices will be closed at least the rest of this week for the holidays, and some may not open until after New Year's. So, for just a few days, let's all take some time to catch our breath and r e l a x ...

Take this week to talk with your families and friends over the holidays about calling their reps starting Monday, December 29, 2008 (or the following Monday, January 6, 2009, depending on their state representative's office)!

We are working on revamping and creating materials. We will post them here soon, so that you can use to distribute to the public, to clients, family, friends, coffee houses, health food stores, etc.

Keep up the excellent work! The AMA ain't got nothin' on you!

Home Birth Safety Act assigned to committee

2008-12-18T19:36:00.000-08:00

SB 385, the Home Birth Safety Act, has been assigned to the Health Care Availability and Access committee. This this is a very favorable development and the best sign yet that House leadership is supporting the bill! Please look this list over to see if you or any of your supportive family, friends or acquaintances live in these districts, and ask them to take immediate action!

Now is the time to ask that person you hesitated to ask before. We have to pull out all stops, call in all favors, and appeal to everyone to help us ask their state reps to vote yes on SB 385.

Illinois House Healthcare Availability Access Committee

Chairperson :

Mary E. Flowers (D, 31 district)
South side of Chicago. from approximately 71 St. to 87th. St. From the Dan Ryan to parts of Oak Lawn, Bridgeview and Hickory Hills. Please thank her leadership over the years

  Springfield Office:
  251-E Stratton Office Building
  Springfield, IL 62706
  (217) 782-4207
  (217) 782-1130 FAX

  District Office:
  2525 W. 79th Street
  Chicago, IL 60652
  (773) 471-5200
  (773) 471-1036 FAX

Vice-Chairperson:

Karen May (D, 58th district)
North Shore suburbs, including: most of Glencoe, Northbrook, Deerfield, Highland Park, Highwood, Lake Forest, Lake Bluff. Please request her "YES" vote for SB 385 and stress that the nurses agree that the educational requirements meet the necessary standards.

  Springfield Office:
  255-S Stratton Office Building
  Springfield, IL 62706
  (217) 782-0902
  (217) 557-7214 FAX

  karenmay58@aol.com

  District Office:
  427 Sheridan Road
  Highwood, IL 60040
  (847) 433-9100
  (847) 433-9111 FAX

Republican Spokesperson:

JoAnn D. Osmond (R, 61st district)
Far Northern Suburbs (by the Wisconsin border), from Zion to unincorporated Lake Co. to about the Fox River, including Beach Park, Wadsworth, and Lindenhurst.Please request her "YES" vote for SB 385.

  Springfield Office:
  201-N Stratton Office Building
  Springfield, IL 62706
  (217) 782-8151
  (217) 557-7207 FAX

reposmond@aol.com

  District Office:
  976 Hillside Avenue
  Antioch, IL 60002
  (847) 838-6200
  (847) 838-2060 FAX

Fred Crespo (D, 44th district)
Includes Hoffmas Estates, Streamwood, Hannover Park and small sections of some surrounding towns. Please request his "YES" vote for HB 385.

  Springfield Office:
  250-W Stratton Office Bldg
  Springfield, IL 62706
  (217) 782-0347
  (217) 557-4622 FAX

  repfredcrespo@um.att.com

  District Office:
  1014 E. Schaumburg Road
  Streamwood, IL 60107
  (630) 372-3340
  (630) 372-3342 FAX

Lisa M. Dugan (D, 79th district)
Includes University Park and Monee. The western edge of district runs mostly along U.S. 45. Please request her "YES" vote for HB 4440 and explain to her how the current situation of no licensure for home birth midwives is bad for home birth families, who need access to legal providers.

  Springfield Office:
  260-W Stratton Office Building
  Springfield, IL 62706
  (217) 782-5981
  (217) 557-7643 FAX

  District Office:
  150 N. Schuyler Avenue
  Suite 205
  Kankakee, IL 60901
  (815) 939-1983
  (815) 939-0081 FAX

Esther Golar (D, 6th district)
South side of Chicago. From the Dan Ryan Expressway to a little bit west of Western Ave. And from I-55 to approximately 65th St. Please request her "YES" vote for SB 385.

  Springfield Office:
  244 Stratton Office Bldg
  Springfield, IL 62706
  (217) 782-5971
  (217) 558-6370 FAX

  District Office:
  4926 South Ashland
  Chicago, IL 60609
  (773) 925-6580
  (773) 925-6584 FAX

Greg Harris (D, 13th district)
North side of Chicago. From Lake Michigan to Lincoln Ave., and from approximately Irving Park Rd. to Foster Ave. Please request his "YES" vote for SB 385.

  Springfield Office:
  258 - W Stratton Office Bldg
  Springfield, IL 62706
  (217) 782-3835
  (217) 557-6470 FAX

  Greg@GregHarris.org

  District Office:
  1967 W. Montrose
  Chicago, IL 60613
  (773) 348-3434
  (773) 348-3475 FAX

Constance A. Howard (D, 34th district)
South side of Chicago. From the Dan Ryan to approximately Cottage Grove, and then Torrence Ave, and includes parts of Burnham, Calumet City, and Lansing. Please request her "YES" vote for SB 385 and emphasize the nurses dropping their opposition.

  Springfield Office:
  270-S Stratton Office Building
  Springfield, IL 62706
  (217) 782-6476
  (217) 782-0952 FAX

  District Office:
  8729 S. State Street
  Chicago, IL 60619
  (773) 783-8800
  (773) 783-8773 FAX

Carolyn H. Krause (R, 66th District)
Northwest suburbs. Some or all of Arlington Heights, Mount Prospect, Elk Grove Village, Rollilng Meadows and far Northeastern sections of Schaumburg. Please request her "YES" vote for SB 385 and emphasize the nurses dropping their opposition.

  Springfield Office:
  203-N Stratton Office Building
  Springfield, IL 62706
  (217) 782-3739
  (217) 557-7208 FAX

  District Office:
  200 E. Evergreen Ave.
  Suite 122
  Mount Prospect, IL 60056
  (847) 255-3100
  (847) 255-3184 FAX

Member: Jack McGuire (D, 86th district)
Most of Joliet and continuing south from there, including Elwood and Manhattan. Please thank him for his leadership on this issue by cosponsoring of SB385.

  Springfield Office:
  239-E Stratton Office Building
  Springfield, IL 62706
  (217) 782-8090
  (217) 557-6465 FAX

  District Office:
  121 Springfield Avenue
  Joliet, IL 60435
  (815) 730-8600
  (815) 730-8121 FAX

Member: Rosemary Mulligan, (R, 65 district)
Near Northwest suburbs including Maine, Elk Grove, Niles, and Norwood Park Townships, and portions of the municipalities of Des Plaines, Park Ridge, Niles, Mt. Prospect, Arlington Heights, Rosemont, Norridge, Harwood Heights, and Chicago. (District map at http://www.repmulligan.org)
Please request her "YES" vote for SB 385 and emphasize the nurses dropping their opposition.

  Springfield Office:
  218-N Stratton Office Building
  Springfield, IL 62706
  (217) 782-8007
  (217) 782-4533 FAX

  repmulligan@usa.net

  District Office:
  932 Lee Street
  Suite 201
  Des Plaines, IL 60016
  (847) 297-6533
  (847) 297-2978 FAX

Member: Keith P. Sommer (R, 106th district)
Central Illinois.Tazewell County (southeast of Peoria) Please request his "YES" vote for HB 4440.

  Springfield Office:
  216-N Stratton Office Building
  Springfield, IL 62706
  (217) 782-0221
  (217) 557-1098 FAX

  District Office:
  121 W. Jefferson
  Morton, IL 61550
  (309) 263-9242
  (309) 263-8187 FAX

Member: Michael Tryon (R, 64th district)
Far Northwest suburbs. Most of Crystal Lake, Lakewood, Lake in the Hills, Cary, Algonquin, Fox River Grove, Trout Valley, Barrington Hills, and Huntley, http://michaeltryon.com. Please request his "YES" vote for SB 385.

  Springfield Office:
  214-N Stratton Office Building
  Springfield, IL 62706
  (217) 782-0432

  District Office:
  1 N. Virginia St.
  Crystal Lake, IL 60014
  (815) 459-6453
  (815) 455-8284 FAX

Former Chicago police officer alleges abuse during labor of fifth child

2008-12-17T20:50:00.000-08:00

Woman accuses doctor of making painful labor worse
By Angela Rozas, Tribune columnist
December 16, 2008

Catherine Skol is not a wimp. She spent a decade as a Chicago police officer, working in rough assignments such as the tactical unit, until a head-on collision on the job put her on medical disability.

But none of that prepared her for the hell of labor she endured last March when she arrived at Rush University Medical Center at about 4 a.m. to have her fifth child.

A civil suit filed Monday in Cook County said Dr. Scott Pierce—a fill-in for Skol's doctor who was out of town—arrived four hours later and immediately chastised Skol for not calling ahead. The suit said the doctor told Skol she would soon have the baby and that there was no time for pain medication.

Later, Pierce allegedly told a nurse that Skol deserved the pain because she had not called before coming in. "Sometimes pain is the best teacher," the suit quoted him as saying.

The doctor conducted a painful vaginal exam in the middle of a contraction and then told Skol to start pushing, despite not being fully dilated, according to the suit.

Read the rest of the article at ChicagoTribune.com

Colette's comment: Women in Illinois clearly need a wider range of childbirth choices!

Call my state rep again, you ask?

2008-12-17T08:32:00.000-08:00

On the importance of contacting your Illinois state representative, yet again.

We have asked you many times to make these contacts. Please keep up the effort. It doesn't matter how many times you have called, because you are providing brand new information. As Colette posted earlier today, the Illinois Nurses Association (INA) has removed its opposition to the Home Birth Safety Act.

Although I have contacted my representative many times about this bill, I just sent him another email. I thanked him for his ongoing consideration of this important issue, and I updated him on the news about the INA and that the Bill's sponsors are pushing the legislation this session.

Recently, I attended the Annual Meeting of the Campaign for Better Health Care. Leaders of this group confirmed the importance of on-going communication with legislators from constituents. It's up to us to keep our reps informed about changes that they be not be aware of.

Like many of you, I have spent years on this issue. I have had the privilege of serving as a Board Member of the Coalition for Illinois Midwifery (CFIM) as the Home Birth Safety Act (SB 385) advanced through our General Assembly, and I fondly remember serving on the Board of Illinois Families For Midwifery (another privilege) years before the existence of CFIM. I have observed and learned quite a bit about advancing legislation through these years. This call for action is special. Things are so different now. We have great feedback coming from Springfield. Our legislative sponsors are directing us to PUSH NOW. We have a coalition of health care organizations working with us, supporting us and embracing us. The last meeting I attended with leaders in our state's nursing community was "warm and friendly". Honestly.

This is not just another rally and call to action. This is THE RALLY AND CALL TO ACTION. This is your opportunity to be part of Illinois' midwifery herstory. More importantly, this is our story. We own it. It's our celebration. Start typing emails tonight. Call your representative tomorrow. Contact your friends and family, associates and members of your religious communities, Don't forget to make your travel arrangements for Springfield January 12 and 13.

Best Wishes for a safe and happy holiday season,

Michelle S. Breen, MHS
Vice-President and Acting President
Coalition for Illinois Midwifery

URGENT Action Alert: Contact your Illinois state representative!

2008-12-17T08:09:00.000-08:00

This just in ... ONE LAST PUSH!
Our lobbyist has reported that since the legislature was called back into session, our sponsors have been hard at work on our bill, and they are strongly recommending we push ahead for the last two days of THIS General Assembly, and try to finish passing an amended SB385 on January 12 & 13!!! (That's a Monday and a Tuesday.)

So you have two very easy things to do.

1) Call your state representative in the next week at both offices and tell them the following short message (and ask all your friends and family). Then let us know the what happened!

"The nurses have come to consensus on SB 385, the Home Birth Safety Act. Please let me know if you will support the Home Birth Safety Act, now that the Illinois Nurses Association is neutral."

2) Take out your calendar and schedule in

THE MOTHER OF ALL RALLIES!
Show the AMA & ACOG who's in charge of your baby's birth
Come to the Illinois Capitol January 12 or 13, 2008

Attend the Mother of all Rallies! POSTPONED TO EARLY FEBRUARY 2009

2008-12-17T07:55:00.000-08:00

Show the American Medical Association who's in charge of your baby's birth! Stand up for home birth midwives in the AMA's home state, and rally in support of the first legislation to be voted on since the AMA passed their resolution to try to outlaw home birth and push back hard against midwife licensure bills.

THE MOTHER OF ALL RALLIES

for home birth midwives
Show the AMA & ACOG who's in charge of your baby's birth
Come to the Illinois Capitol ~~Jan 12 or 13~~ IN EARLY FEBRUARY 2009 (check back for exact date)

(use search terms S. 2nd St. and E. Monroe St., Springfield, IL 62701 and bring quarters for the parking meters, or walk just 3 short blocks from the Amtrak train station!)

THIS JUST IN ...
Today we received a report from our lobbyist that our sponsors have determined it will be best to try to pass our bill to licensed certified professional midwives in Illinois, on the last two day of session, January 12 & 13.

We are holding a two-day rally to show legislators that we need midwives, and we need them now. Please invite everyone you know. Bring your children, your babies, your sister, and your friend. Just be there -- to make history!

If you live in anywhere in the midwest, you can make a huge difference in stopping organized medicine from blocking midwife licensure bills. This is your chance, no matter who you are, to show your support for home birth by helping the toughest state in the entire country to pass a CPM licensure law! We have the chance to set a precedent in the country, this first year after the AMA officially vowed to stop midwives. DON'T LET THE AMA HAVE THEIR WAY! COME SHOW YOUR SOLIDARITY WITH YOUR HOME BIRTH SISTERS!

A LITTLE HISTORY ...
In approximately the past ten years, the home state of the American Medical Association, Illinois, has LOST MORE THAN 25 HOME BIRTH PRACTICES. We are in desperate need of safe, legal access to home birth midwives.

After after three years of very intense work and negotiations, Illinois is THE FIRST STATE EVER to come to terms with the state's nursing groups.

Now that the nurses have dropped all their opposition, we have the best chance, literally, in history to pass a bill, but we can't count our chickens before they hatch! And that's why WE NEED YOU!!! No matter the weather, take a day out of your life to show our lawmakers that midwives matter!

SHE WAS THERE FOR YOU ...
When you were pregnant, your midwife was there for you. She was available and patient and there for your baby's birth. Now it's your chance (even if your "baby" is now grown) to show the AMA and legislators that licensing certified professional midwives is the right thing to do!

We are going to keep the rally simple. Just be there. You will see us wearing the black "got midwife?" pins. If you're from Illinois, we will help you find and meet with your state representative, and if you're form another state, your presence can really help show the whole nation that home birth is a necessary option, and legal access to home birth midwives should every woman's, baby's and family's right!

We would like to extend a special invitation to our plain clothes friends, but no matter what kind of clothes you wear, we need you. We need everybody to show Springfield how important this bill is!

Stay tuned for more details, and please plan to be part of this truly historic moment, and show your support for home birth!

See you there!

ABC covers home birth demand (but confuses issues)

2008-12-12T15:01:00.000-08:00

Mothers-to-Be Saying No to Modern Medicine

Small but Growing Number of Women Choose to Give Birth at Home

By DONNA HUNTER and SARAH NETTER

Dec. 10, 2008

Modern medicine means not having to go through childbirth alone. But that's what a small and growing number of women are choosing to do.

Back in the 1800s, giving birth at home, sometimes with the assistance of a midwife, was about the only option. But doing the same today generates both well-wishers and critics.

Watch the story Friday, Jan. 2 on "20/20" at 10 p.m. ET

"The majority of babies throughout history have been born unassisted, and I felt this is what birth is supposed to be," said Laura Shanley, who has had five babies at home that she chronicles in her book,"Unassisted Childbirth."

"When you're told that this is ...[a] dangerous process and everyone around you is alert and expecting the worst, it's really Murphy's Law," she said.

Does Home Birth Make Sense

The American Medical Association isn't taking any chances. To guard against accidents, and maybe to slow the trickle of rising home births, the AMA issued a resolution in June, saying that "the safest setting for labor and delivery is a hospital.

That's both obvious and sound advice according to Dr. Helaine Landy, a professor and chair of obstetrics and gynecology at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C.

"Having a baby in and of itself, can be a very dangerous situation, whether you deliver at home or in the hospital," she said. "But delivering at home, where one does not have all the ancillary support to be able to save the woman or save the baby, in my mind, just doesn't make a lot of sense."

For actress and former talk show host Ricki Lake, having a baby at home made perfect sense. Lake had her first child in a hospital but decided to have her second child at home with the aid of a midwife, filmed for her documentary "The Business of Being Born."

"I'm not anti-hospital, but more can go wrong in a hospital setting. You're on an assembly line, you're given one drug which leads to another drug, which leads to another drug," Lake said.

Although many women look forward to receiving drugs to subdue discomfort during labor, Lake said the pain of childbirth quickly slips from memory.

"It's very typical for any woman who's having a drug-free birth to say, you know, to hit a wall and to ... scream obscenities, but you forget the second you see that baby, you totally forget about the pain," she said.

Colette's comments: Making a common mistake, ABC confuses the issue of home birth with unassisted birth. There are currently no laws outlawing unassisted birth. There are, however, many states that do not allow home birth midwives (certified professional midwives) to legally practice, depriving many women and families an important safety net for planned home birth.

New Illinois law could usher in free-standing birth centers

2008-12-12T14:33:00.000-08:00

Illinois Mothers Can Choose Freestanding Birth Centers
By Libby Ellis
Monday December 8, 2008

When Jan Ferguson, RN, was pregnant 21 years ago, she was one of the first organizers of a conference to drum up support to allow freestanding birth centers to open in Illinois.

She had hoped to deliver her own baby in a birth center; however, that child has now turned 20, and Ferguson, a certified nurse midwife (CNM) with Eire Family Health Center in Chicago, has yet to see such a center open in the state. But with legislation passed, her own children might be able to realize her dream.

After eight unsuccessful attempts, legislation, known in birth center circles as Public Act 095-0445, passed in August 2007 allowing a pilot program to establish 10 freestanding birth centers in the state.

From the outside, freestanding birth centers often look more like homes than clinics and provide an option between hospital and home birth for low-risk women. Birth centers are not necessarily connected to a hospital or other medical facility and offer a model of care based on midwifery: natural delivery without intrusive technology in a home-like atmosphere.

Birth center patients tend to have an ongoing relationship with the center and with their caregivers, and receive prenatal care and education in the same familiar environment.

There are a number of advantages to birth centers says Gayle Reidmann, CNM, MS, president of West Suburban Midwife Associates in Oak Park, Ill.

"Birth centers can provide access to underserved populations. Particularly downstate, there are not enough people to deliver babies, and women have to drive two hours to get to a hospital," says Reidmann, also chair of the Illinois Birth Center Task Force. "Additionally, delivering in a birth center costs one-third to one-half less than delivering in a hospital, and in today's economy with so many people without health insurance [though many insurance providers cover birth center deliveries], that's a big deal in any geographic area."

Read the entire article at

http://include.nurse.com/article/20081208/NATIONAL02/312080026/0/frontpage

Colette's comments: The article goes on to discuss the rules process. Let's hope they pass reasonable rules that will facilitate quick access to free-standing birth centers!

Home Birth Demand on the Rise

2008-12-09T00:43:00.000-08:00

Reflecting trends we wee in Illinois, several articles have been published around the country, documenting the rise in the demand for home birth services. Here are a few.

New York Times, November 12, 2008

Baby You're Home

Midwives Say Home Births Are Up, Despite Warnings

by JULIE SCELFO

...local midwives say they have been swamped with calls and requests in recent months, in some cases increasing their workload from two, three or four deliveries a month to as many as 10. (New York health department statistics for this year will not be available until 2010.) Several certified nurse midwives who have home-birth-only practices said they had gotten so many more requests in recent months that they have begun referring pregnant women to midwives in Rockland County, Long Island and New Jersey.

Erica Lyon, the founder of Realbirth, a five-year-old childbirth education center with three locations in the city, said 20 percent of the 160 couples who take her classes each month are planning home births, twice as many as six months ago. YourWaterBirth.com, one of the biggest online purveyors of birthing pools — deep inflatable tubs with a specially designed built-in seat and handles — said its sales have doubled since last year, with more than 20 percent of its customers in New York City; Waterbirth.org, another outlet, said it has sold more than twice as many pools this year as last, 25 percent of them to New Yorkers and Long Islanders.

Home birth professionals in New York City have been struck, several said, by the fact that the increase is coming not so much from the dyed-in-the-wool back-to-nature types as from professionals like lawyers and bankers. “People who wouldn’t naturally self-select for home birth are coming in and getting very open-minded,” said Cara Muhlhahn, a certified nurse midwife who has had a home-birth practice for 17 years and is now fully booked six months in advance.

One reason for the change, it seems, is “The Business of Being Born,” a documentary produced by the actress and former talk show host Ricki Lake, which ran in only a few theaters during its theatrical release in January but has become an underground hit among expectant parents since coming out on DVD. (Rentrak, a company that monitors DVD rentals, said that instead of dropping off, as typically happens with new releases, the film is being rented at consistent rates.)

To read the entire article, visit

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/13/garden/13birth.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=homebirth&st=cse

Colette's comments: These so-called "warnings" are unfounded dire predictions made by organized medicine that ignore all reliable evidence that home birth is an equally safe option to hospital birth for healthy women and their babies.

Frequently Asked Questions about midwifery in Illinois (under development)

2008-11-28T17:14:00.000-08:00

FAQ INDEX

(Scroll down for answer)

1) Can you refer me to a midwife?

2) Are midwives legal in Illinois?
3) Didn't women used to die in childbirth/hasn't modern obstetrics made birth safer?

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

1) Can you refer me to a midwife for a home birth?

This, by far, is our most frequently asked question! We know that the interest in home birth, and the demand for midwifery services, is rising around the country, including in Illinois. We do not refer to midwives. We suggest you check with the Illinois Chapter of the American College of Nurse-midwives for a listing of home birth nurse-midwives. Due to their legal status, we do not distribute contact information for any direct-entry midwives.

2) Are midwives legal in Illinois?

Yes, and no. This is a complicated subject to address, in part because there are two basic types of midwives in the United States. There are nurse-midwives who almost always practice in the hospital, and professional midwives, or "direct-entry midwives" who are trained specifically for out-of-hospital birth, such as at home, and have a much smaller scope of practice than nurse-midwives. Certified nurse-wives have authority to prescribe many medications in all 50 states. Certified Professional Midwives hold licensure* in 24 states, primarily to attend normal birth for healthy women.

*Exact term varies by state; licensure is used in a generic sense to mean recognized by the state to practice midwifery. Examples of titled used by different states include: Licensed, Registered, and Documented.

Illinois only recognizes certified nurse-midwives. Ample evidence exists supporting legal recognition of certified professional midwives.

3) Didn't women used to die in childbirth? (or)

Hasn't modern obstetrics made birth safer?

The single most important factor in improving childbirth outcomes is the sum of various public health improvements and changes in lifestyle. Clean drinking and sanitary waste disposal, steady food supply and vitamins, and the invention of antibiotics are responsible for the vast majority of improvement that have made childbirth safer than any procedure. And the countries which use modern obstetrics the least, have the best outcomes.

We are grateful for obstetrics when it is necessary, but as applied today, it has gone far beyond the realm of safety net (such as it exists in Europe), and has crossed the line, ignoring a large body of evidence that babies are healthier when they experience a physiological normal birth (where the mother is undisturbed and gives birth in her own time so long as everything is progressing normally). Failure to respect physiological childbirth and allow births to unfold in their own time, has resulted in many American mothers and babies at greater risk for injury, infection and maybe even death.

Education in childbirth

2007-02-14T20:29:00.000-08:00

Contra Costa Times, California, November 4, 2006

Education in childbirth

Research turns up answers and questions

By Ann Tatko-Peterson

IN TWO YEARS, Tina Cassidy has become the nation's resident expert on birthing babies. The first-time author spent considerable time in hospitals, birth centers and a HypnoBirthing class. She interviewed midwives, doulas, health educators and parents. She watched births -- in homes and in hospitals, natural and cesarean, twins to triplets.

Yet when the research was done and her book was written, Cassidy found she still couldn't answer the most-asked question:

What's the best way to give birth?

Cassidy laughs as she sits near the pool at the Claremont Resort & Spa in Berkeley. "Not to be cute," she says, "it's really whatever way the woman feels comfortable."

"You can't advocate home birth if the woman's going to be freaked out by having the baby at home. By the same token, someone could go blindly to the hospital without really thinking about it and when they get there, their labor stalls because they're scared."

To read the rest of this article, visit

http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/local/states/california/15929243.htm

Colette's comment: This is promoting a new book. While I'd hardly call Tina Cassiday our "nation's expert" in birth, she does seem to have a sensible attitude about why the mother should be the one to choose the type of birth she wants. Disclosure: I have not read the book.

Women told to give birth at home

2007-02-14T19:52:00.000-08:00

BBC on-line, UK, November , 2006

Mothers-to-be in Bridlington will be encouraged to opt for home births

A maternity unit in Bridlington is to close as an NHS trust attempts to claw back £7m of overspending.

Hospital bosses say mothers-to-be in the town will be encouraged to opt for home births.

The move is part of a raft of measures announced by Scarborough and North East Yorkshire Healthcare Trust on Friday, in a bid to save £4.5m a year.

The trust also announced a recruitment freeze, but said it did not plan any compulsory redundancies.

To read the rest of the article visit

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/humber/6115210.stm

While I love the idea that the U.K. is officially promoting home birth, I don't think anyone should tell a woman where to give birth.

Two area midwives face expiring agreement

2007-02-14T19:49:00.000-08:00

Oneonta Daily Star - Oneonta,NY, October 31, 2006

By Amy L. Ashbridge
Staff Writer

The agreement between a local health-care provider and its midwives has ended, leaving one midwife no option but to close her practice at the end of November.

Certified nurse-midwives Maureen Sullivan and Lucia Jenkusky have been informed that an agreement they had with Dr. Will Lee will no longer be in place next year, Sullivan said last week.

Having been unable to find an obstetrician to start a new agreement, Sullivan said she is looking to leave the area so she can continue practicing. She will close in Oneonta as of Nov. 30.

"I have to. I have no choice," Sullivan said. "I love what I do. I don’t want to give it up. I feel so honored to be at a birth."

State law requires that midwives have a "collaborative agreement" with an obstetrician. That agreement allows the midwife to "consult with them immediately if complications arise at any time during the childbearing process," according to the state Board of Midwifery.

To read the rest of this article visit http://www.thedailystar.com/news/stories/2006/10/31/aa1030midwives2.html

A simpler path to midwifery

2007-02-14T19:44:00.000-08:00

The Australian, November 01, 2006

Bernard Lane

NEXT year Emily Costelloe, 19, hopes to be among the first students in a new midwifery course at the University of Queensland. "It's quicker to become a midwife this way," she says.

If she were to take the more familiar path, studying midwifery as a postgraduate after completing a nursing degree, she would finish at the end of 2010. UQ's new undergraduate course could save her a year.

It's a first for Queensland but Victoria and South Australia have already followed an international trend to grant midwifery independence from nursing.

To read the rest of the article visit http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,20678684-12332,00.html

Colette's comment: Australia and the U.S. are probably the only two countries in the world with nurse-midwives. This new Australian program sounds similar to the North American Registry of Midwives CPM.

Clinic cuts deliver midwife changes

2007-02-14T19:35:00.000-08:00

Nashua Telegraph, New Hampshire, October 31, 2006

By HATTIE BERNSTEIN, Telegraph Staff
hbernstein@nashuatelegraph.com

Pamela Berube-Peters felt rushed during her first visit to her female obstetrician/gynecologist and switched to a nurse-midwife, a happier match for the then first-time mother-to-be.

A Francestown resident, Berube-Peters was so pleased with her care that after her nurse-midwife, Cynthia Coughlin, left Dartmouth Hitchcock Clinic in Nashua recently, Berube-Peters followed.

Now the patient travels to the clinic in Chelmsford, Mass., where Coughlin and two other nurse-midwives, previously at Dartmouth-Hitchcock, are now practicing.

“Due to my positive experience during my pregnancy and birth of my child, I chose to continue to see Cynthia for my regular annual checkups,” Berube-Peters wrote in an e-mail.

Coughlin and two other nurse-midwives, three of the four full-timers at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Clinic in Nashua, joined Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates in Chelmsford, Mass., earlier this month.

The three left as a result of a change the clinic made to its department of obstetrics, gynecology and nurse-midwifery earlier this year, taking the nurse-midwives off the call schedule. As a result, nurse-midwives have stopped attending births except when they occur during office hours.

Read the rest of the article at http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061031/NEWS01/110310322/-1/ARTSANDLIVING

Colette's comment: This is a disturbing trend: clinics and hospitals cutting services or flat-out "firing" nurse-midwives. Usually the motive is profit (doctors create more "billable procedures" in labor and deliver)

Home birth a family affair (New Zeland)

2007-02-14T19:09:00.000-08:00

Hawkes Bay Today, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand, October 27, 2006
KATE NEWTON

Alex Cameron has never liked hospitals, not even when he worked in one, so when his wife Ruth decided to have their first son at home he was rapt.

"It meant I could be more involved. In a hospital I wouldn't have been able to do anything - just sit there and hold her hand," the former army medic said.

When Jack was born 20 months ago and then Isaac eight months ago Alex was on hand to run the baths, lay down the tarpaulin and sheets in the lounge and serve coffee on demand.

Read the rest of the article at http://www.hbtoday.co.nz/localnews/storydisplay.cfm?storyid=3707238&thesection=localnews&thesubsection=&thesecondsubsection=

Colette's comment: typical feel-good homebirth story

A strange cure for the baby blues

2007-02-09T22:18:00.000-08:00

DAILY MAIL (UK) , October 24, 2006
By HELEN WEATHERS

As Margherita Watt, in a state of euphoric exhaustion, lay cradling her newborn daughter, Dixie, following a seven-hour natural water birth at home, her husband, Will, dutifully went to the kitchen to prepare her first proper meal.

A short while later, he returned with a cup of strong tea and a plate of what looked like chopped steak fried in olive oil for his wife.

Tentatively, she took a bite, chewed and swallowed rather quickly to avoid thinking too much about what she was eating. 'It tasted a bit like a rich, gamey meat,' says Margherita, 28, a former PR executive, who gave birth 12 weeks ago. 'I can't say I particularly enjoyed it. I treated it a bit like you do medicine - something to get over and done with swiftly - but it was no big deal.'

Read the rest of the article at http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/health/womenfamily.html?in_article_id=412200&in_page_id=1799&in_a_source=

Colette's comment: Can you guess what the "cure" is? There's a hing in the labels. Would you do this?

Intestinal bug jumps from hosptial setting

2007-02-09T21:01:00.000-08:00

USA TODAY October 15, 2006

By Anita Manning, USA TODAY

An ugly bug that causes diarrhea and colitis is being found more often and in different settings than previously known, posing new challenges for doctors, researchers report.

Scientists in Toronto at a meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, which ended Sunday, presented studies on Clostridium difficile, an intestinal infection that generally becomes a problem in people who are hospitalized and on antibiotics. New data suggest it is now infecting healthy people.

Read the rest of the article at http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2006-10-15-intestinal-bug_x.htm

Colette's comment: The article also mentions that doctors should have heightened awareness about this disease spreading to pregnant women and women giving birth.