Help Us Build Support for Midwifery via the MOMS and BABIES Act

0
34

Dear ACNM Member and Midwifery Advocate, 

Last week, the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM) convened on Capitol Hill alongside  the American Association of Birth Centers (AABC) and the National Association of Certified Professional Midwives (NACPM) and in conjunction with Representative Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA), Representative Katherine Clark (D-MA), and the Black Maternal Health Caucus, to host a lunch briefing for health policy staffers in the House of Representatives to raise awareness and garner additional support for the Midwives for MOMS Act (H.R. 3352/S. 1697) and the BABIES Act (H.R. 3337/S. 1716).

ACNM President, Heather Clarke, DNP, CNM, LM, APRN, FACNM, served as the briefing moderator, and panelists included ACNM members, Julie Blumenfeld, DNP, CNM, IBCLC, FACNM, ACNM NJ Affiliate President and Midwifery Program Director at Rutgers University, Jill Alliman, CNM, DNP, FACNM, Frontier Nursing University faculty and AABC Government Affairs Committee Chair, as well as Sinsi Hernandez-Cancio, J.D. from the National Partnership for Women & Families, Wendy Gordon, DM, MPH, CPM, LM, Midwifery Program Director at Bastyr University, and Bastyr Midwifery Student, Azalea Salter, a recipient of federal funding for midwifery education under HRSA’s Scholarships for Disadvantaged Students program. The briefing outlined how a scaling up and diversifying of midwifery-led and birth center care can lead to a significant improvement in birth outcomes and increased access to maternity care providers in rural, low resource and underserved areas. Panelists implored the House Energy and Commerce Committee to act on both the MOMS and BABIES Acts before the current session of Congress ends. Additionally, a letter of support from over 30 different maternal health stakeholder groups was sent to the House Energy & Commerce Committee in advance of the briefing. There is A LOT of support for these critical pieces of legislation, and we must keep the pressure on Congress to act.

In order to improve access to midwives and midwifery-led care throughout the care continuum, Congress must act on H.R. 3352/S. 1697 and H.R. 3337/S. 1716. We are asking all ACNM members to reach out to their respective House members and Senators and encourage their support for these critical bills. We MUST get these bills passed before the end of the year to forgo starting from scratch in the next session of Congress.

CLICK HERE TO TAKE ACTION ON THE MIDWIVES FOR MOMS ACT

CLICK HERE TO TAKE ACTION ON THE BABIES ACT


Questions? Contact ACNM’s Government Affairs Director at akohl@acnm.org.