http://community.midwiferytoday.com/blogs/jan/archive/2009/08/11/health-care-needs-midwives.aspx

Midwifery is the answer to the question, “how can we afford national health care?” If every motherbaby were attended by a non-interventive but knowledgeable midwife, a national health care program would save billions of dollars on the four million births that occur in the US each year.

Please support the Mothers and Midwives in Action (MAMA) Campaign’s effort to make Certified Professional Midwives a part of the health care system.

http://www.wwaytv3.com/parents_still_concerned_about_lack_midwives/08/2009

Concerned parents continue to ask, where is my midwife? Only now, they are in a new spot.

Women upset about Carolina OB/GYN discontinuing its midwifery service, protested outside the office Tuesday. Some expecting mothers even painted their bellies to get their point across.

Carolina OB/GYN employed two of Wilmington’s three certified nurse midwives, and recently announced it is getting rid of their services.

http://ahmadladhani.wordpress.com/2009/08/22/afghanistan-midwives-defy-tradition/

The number of midwifery schools in the country has increased from six in 2002 to 31 in 2009, according to Pashtoon Azfar, director of the National Association of Midwives (NAM). Since 2002, more than 2,000 midwives have been trained and employed by the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) and NGOs in health centres across the country, Azfar told IRIN.

http://womenshealthnews.wordpress.com/2009/08/27/tennessee-hearing-proposed-rule-that-could-restrict-practice-of-nurse-midwives-nurse-anesthetists/

A hearing is went on yesterday afternoon on a proposed rule on tamper-resistant prescriptions, but there has apparently been a push for a language change in the proposed rule that could effectively keep nurse midwives and nurse anesthetists from doing their jobs, as it would exclude them from having the authority to prescribe medications.

The problem lies in a section of the rule [PDF, 0880-02-.23 2(b)] defining who is a “prescriber”

http://www.blisstree.com/babylune/restaurant-fined-fired-breastfeeding-mom/

An LA Restaurant was recently fined for firing an employee that breastfed her baby during her breaks. As you can imagine this did not go over very well with the community of breastfeeding moms or the legal department.

Jesus Acosta, the owner of Acosta Tacos, has been fined $46,000 for firing Marina Chavez.

http://www.ilithyiainspired.com/2009/08/senate-inquiry-midwifery.html

The recommendations to come from The Senate Inquiry held last month have been published. You can read the full document in PDF here. The most relevant recommendation to homebirthers can be found on pages 18-19.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8147179.stm

The pain of childbirth may have benefits on which women who opt for painkilling epidurals miss out, a senior male midwife has said.

Dr Denis Walsh, associate professor in midwifery at Nottingham University, said pain was a “rite of passage” which often helped regulate childbirth.

He said it helped strengthen a mother’s bond with her baby, and prepared her for the responsibility of motherhood.

Evidence shows that several specific practices in intrapartum medical care settings can significantly affect breastfeeding rates and duration of breastfeeding among women. Birth facility policies and practices that create a supportive environment for breastfeeding begin prenatally and continue through discharge.

http://www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding/data/mpinc/index.htm