A letter to Senator Flanagan of NY regarding the MMA Bill

I found out today that my Senator is not on board the Midwifery Modernization Act bill, which frees midwives from obtaining written practice agreements, essentially permission, from an OB to practice. . I'm so disappointed... I've repeatedly called, put up the red flags to the Birth Net of the finger Lakes gals and have just sent him a letter.

Please call your senator, and assembly person and ask them to get on board with this if they are not already.

To find out more, and how to locate your representatives, as well as what to say, go the Free Our Midwives page. To find out more about the MMA bill go here

Here's my letter...

Senator Flanagan,

I do hope that after recieving all the phone calls yo your office, and being sent further information regarding the Midwifery Modernization Act, that is eligible as of Monday for a vote, you will realize that the women of Long Island, and NY State, want and deserve this option in pregnancy and birth choices.

Will you be on the side of these midwives, who's professional, wise ways create safer birth outcomes for NY women and babies, who's mode of care saves the state money?  Did you know that the US sits at #44 in the WHO's list of countries with the worst maternal mortality rates? That means there are 43 other countries where I am safer, and more likely to survive childbirth, Senator Flanagan. This is the US. We are not a poor country. Why are women dying here? Why are women more healthy in other European counties? Why are they more likely to survive? Part of that reason is the Midwifery Model of care. Help make NY State one of the states to pull us up from those numbers and have healthier childbirth outcomes!

I was told today by one of your staff that you feel that women are in better hands because Obstetricians have gone to eight years of medical school. For the record, OB's never study normal, uncomplicated, natural births in their eight years of medical school. They study the pathology of pregnancy, the problems, the risks, etc. And that's wonderful, for some women and babies need those specialists. However, they walk out of medical school and begin to treat ALL women. And most women are not in the need of a specialist, or of a surgeon, because essentially that is what an OB is. A Midwife can do all an OB can do in a healthy pregnancy, except cut a cesarean section.

Not all pregnant women are high risk. The majority are healthy, pregnant women who's care providers are trained only in the problems... and therefore many often see only the problems. Or the possibility of problems, and then treat from a stand point of 'what -if' or 'safety' when in all actuality what they are often doing is harming women and babies. Hence, our World Health Organization ranking of #44. Of course, this is just a piece of that #44 pie for things like fear of litigation plays a huge part, but if I get into that I'll digress from the purpose of this email.

When necessary, our midwives are still going to work along side Obstetricians. This bill is not saying that they won't. What this bill does is free them from the written practice agreement, essentially the signature of an OB or group of OB's giving her permission to practice in their being willing to back her up. That's it Senator. That's all its aim is. Midwives will still refer their clients in need of those specialists to those specialists whether they be chiropractors, nutritionists, acupuncturists, or Obstetricians. They do this with all the rest without a written agreement, and there is no reason to suspect they would not refer out high risk clients to the OB's when the women need their specialties. The goal is a healthy mother and child.

Here is is the fact sheet that Im sure you have already received. Please do more research on this, Senator. NYS has some of the highest cesarean section rates in the US. We need our midwives! Near your Long Island office, St Catherine's has a section rate, in 2007 of 51.9%. That means more than half of the women that walk into that hospital are being cut. Good Samaritan has 49.4%, St Charles 47.3%,Mercy in Rockville Center is at 47.2%.In the city Lenox Hill is up to 40.1%, Long Island Jewish is at 40.3. 44.7 in Staten Island at Richmond University Hospital. ALL of these exceed the WHO's recommendation that no country have a section rate over 10-15 %.

You may find all the LI and NYC hospitals rates at an online list I created for Better Birth NY, of which I am the representative for here.

We NEED our midwives, Senator. And we need them to have the fetters removed. This is the 21st Century. Will you be on the side of women having access to all their birth options, or not?