• Monitoring the physical, psychological, and social well-being of the mother throughout the childbearing cycle

• Providing the mother with individualized education, counseling, and prenatal care, continuous hands-on assistance during labor and delivery, and postpartum support

• Minimizing technological interventions

• Identifying and referring women who require obstetrical attention

WHAT: Florida Friends of Midwives
              West Central Regional Group Meeting

WHERE: Fruitville Pubic Library  
                 100 Coburn Road
                 Sarasota, Florida  34240

 WHEN:  Thursday, July 17th, 6:00 p.m.

Please join this new consumer advocacy group as we propose initiatives to SMH, draft documents to help pregnant families deal with insurance companies, fight to save waterbirth at a local hospital, and raise money to preserve the licensure of midwives in Florida!

Contact: Gretchen Humphries (734) 323-8220

For Immediate Release

Insurance Companies Rejecting Women with History of Cesarean
Some Companies Require Surgical Sterilization for Coverage;
Trend Gives New Imperative to Learn Ways to Avoid Unnecessary Cesarean

Redondo Beach, CA, June 1, 2008 – As reported in today’s New York Times, ICAN has begun tracking an alarming new trend of insurance companies refusing to provide health insurance for women with a history of cesarean surgery. In some cases, women are being rejected for coverage outright and in other case they are being charged significantly higher rates to obtain the same coverage as women without a history of cesarean. With over a million women each year undergoing this surgery, this practice has the potential to render large numbers of women uninsurable.

Standing Women will stand again on May 11, 2008, 1 pm local time.

Last May hundreds of thousands of women and girls, along with the men and boys they love, in 75 countries and on all continents of the world stood together in parks, on beaches, in churches, at graduation ceremonies, in their backyards and at school yards or anyplace they could find to stand in a global wave of humanity in support of a better world for our children.

We invite women and their families everywhere to take this "stand" with us again, on May 11 at 1 p.m. local time for just 5 minutes, to rekindle the world with our common vision.

We stand for the world's children and grandchildren, and for the seven generations beyond them. We dream of a world where all of our children have safe drinking water, clean air to breathe, and enough food to eat. A world where they have access to a basic education to develop their minds and healthcare to nurture their growing bodies. A world where they have a warm, safe and loving place to call home. A world where they don't live in fear of violence-in their home, in their neighborhood, in their school or in their world. This is the world of which we dream. This is the cause for which we stand.

To learn more and register your standing, go to the Standing Women website at www.standingwomen.org

And please pass on the invitation and our YouTube video at www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eNJ4oVQKxU to your friends.

The vision we hold together can become a reality when enough of us come forward and take a stand...

With hope and thanks from the women of Ohio

In celebration of International Midwives Day, the Sarasota Film Society will present a special benefit screening of 'The Business of Being Born,' a documentary film from executive producer Ricki Lake and director Abby Epstein. The benefit will be held at Lakewood Ranch Cinemas on Saturday, May 3rd at 5:00 pm.  The screening will be followed by an exclusive panel discussion and Q & A with local birthing professionals.  Tickets are $15 and include the screening and panel as well as a private reception with food, cash bar, silent auction and live acoustic music from Radio-Free Carmela and Tanya Radtke.  Proceeds will benefit Florida Friends of Midwives.
 
Advance Tickets ($15) and FREE tickets for Expecting Mothers will be available at Rosemary Birthing Home beginning Monday, April 14th.  If there is a birth in progress, you may leave your name and number on the sheet at the door. Your tickets will be reserved and someone will contact you at their earliest convenience.

Another birthing option

I found The Sun's April 8 online article titled "Birthing options" disappointing. The option to have a vaginal birth after Caesarean (or VBAC) was downplayed, and the old saying "once a Caesarean, always a Caesarean" was promoted based on the fact that it is difficult to find a physician to attend a VBAC.

Only a few local home birth midwives attend VBACs and few care providers promote them openly to clients, because of the fear of lawsuits, malpractice insurance regulations and inconvenience. However, VBAC should be promoted as the healthiest option, given that a second (or third or fourth) Caesarean is much riskier for babies and women than a normal birth.

If women refuse elective repeat Caesarean surgery and demand care providers to attend VBACs, more and more providers will begin to attend them.

For mothers like Liz Schenck, who found her Caesarean "really disappointing," you are not alone. Florida has a 36.6 percent Caesarean rate, meaning that more than one out of three births is a surgical extraction. This trend is disturbing for the health of mothers and children.

April, Caesarean Awareness Month, acknowledges the impact of Caesareans of mothers, babies and families worldwide. The International Cesarean Awareness Network (ICAN), a nonprofit organization, has a local chapter in Gainesville. It meets once a month and provides support to women in Caesarean recovery and information on Caesarean prevention and VBAC. Please visit www.gainesville.ican-online.org for information.

Irene Halmari-Meneses,
Gainesville

April 17, 2008, Florida
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 
Governor Crist Observes April as Cesarean Awareness Month

April is Cesarean Awareness Month as proclaimed by the International Cesarean Awareness Network and as acknowledged by Florida Governor Charlie Crist. This month is a time to reflect on the frequency of surgical births and how they impact maternal-child health.

Here are a few facts:

36.64 percent of Florida’s babies were delivered by cesarean in 2006 (most recent figures available), which is 21-26 points higher than the 10-15 percent that the World Health Organization considers safe.

Women are four times more likely to die as a result of a cesarean birth, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) in its July 31, 2003, press release called “Weighing the Pros and Cons of Cesarean Delivery.”

Most women who choose VBAC can succeed, as evidenced by the 87 percent of women in a birth center study reported in an Obstetrics and Gynecology, 2004 issue.

ICAN is a mother-to-mother support group for cesarean prevention, recovery and VBAC. There are local chapters throughout Florida. For information please visit www.ican-online.org.

In celebration of International Midwives Day, the Sarasota Film Society will present a special benefit screening of 'The Business of Being Born,' a documentary film from executive producer Ricki Lake and director Abby Epstein. The benefit will be held at Lakewood Ranch Cinemas on Saturday, May 3rd at 5:00 pm.  The screening will be followed by an exclusive panel discussion and Q & A with local birthing professionals.  Tickets are $15 and include the screening and panel as well as a private reception with food, cash bar, silent auction and live acoustic music from Radio-Free Carmela and Tanya Radtke.  Proceeds will benefit Florida Friends of Midwives.
 
Advance Tickets ($15) and FREE tickets for Expecting Mothers will be available at Rosemary Birthing Home beginning Monday, April 14th.  If there is a birth in progress, you may leave your name and number on the sheet at the door. Your tickets will be reserved and someone will contact you at their earliest convenience.

By Patty Pensa - South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Pregnant women in South Florida face fewer choices for medical care as more doctors stop delivering babies and avoid taking on high-risk patients.

By KELSEY McNIEL
Special to The Sun

Lynn Salzburg, another midwife at the cooperative who has helped deliver more than 400 babies in 20 years of practice, said 'the home field advantage' is one reason women may be more comfortable at home.

"They're in their own environment, they're where they feel comfortable," said Salzburg, who had four children at home. "Labor proceeds faster and more smoothly. You have a little more control, a little more autonomy."

Those who fear a painful natural birth should know that while home births may not offer the quick relief of a spinal-tapping epidural, pain is reduced in ways that the hospital cannot offer. "You also have the option to use a lot more comfort measures at home that you don't have the option to at the hospital," Salzburg said.

Regina McEnery
Plain Dealer Reporter

"If you feel strongly about the type of experience that you want, if you want a lot of input, if it's important for you to have things kind of low-tech and as spontaneous as possible, it makes sense to not choose a practice with a 40 percent C-section rate," said Greenfield, whose new book, "The Working Woman's Pregnancy Book" (Yale University Press), comes out in May. "I hate to say this, as a physician, I think most people who have strong feelings about their birth experience are better off getting their care with midwives."

"The Business of Being Born" is a passionate ground-level examination of home childbirth, anchored in a scene in which its executive producer, Ricki Lake, the actress and former talk-show host, gives birth to her second child in a bathtub.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A woman who has had one successful vaginal birth after cesarean delivery is even more likely to succeed during subsequent trials of vaginal birth, new research suggests.

The Bush administration squelched ads promoting the benefits of breast-feeding.

Normal childbirth — the uncomplicated, mom-and-baby-doing-well variety — is a pricey prospect for parents these days. Between pre-natal care and a visit to the delivery room, it now costs $7,564 to have a baby, according to new figures released by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).

More women are dying in childbirth thanks to the high numbers of doctors and mothers who opt out of normal delivery.

When Mercedes Irving, pregnant with her first child, enrolled in a childbirth education class, other women tried to talk her out of it.

Babies delivered by non-emergency caesarean are up to four times more likely to have breathing problems than those delivered vaginally, Danish researchers said on Wednesday.

No question, says maternal/fetal medicine specialist Catherine Spong, the safest way for most first-time mothers to give birth is via an uncomplicated vaginal delivery.

Babies born just a few weeks premature are six times as likely to die in the first week of life as newborns carried to term, according to a new study.

Illinois and other states should legalize and license lay midwives to ensure women have safe and affordable choices for maternity care, according to a coalition of advocacy groups that launched a national campaign Thursday in Chicago.

Ten fingers. Ten toes. Perfect in every way. RachelElizabeth Hiller's arrival brought equal parts reliefand jubilation.

Rachel's mom, 26-year-old Jennifer Hiller, spent a fewhours after the delivery cuddling her firstborn andmaking pictures with family excited to meet theirnewest member.

More U.S. women are delivering via surgical births.

As an expectant mother of twins, Christy Rivers knew she probably would need a Caesarean section, especially if one of the twins faced the wrong direction during gestation.

Washington, DC -- The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) reiterates its long-standing opposition to home births. While childbirth is a normal physiologic process that most women experience without problems, monitoring of both the woman and the fetus during labor and delivery in a hospital or accredited birthing center is essential because complications can arise with little or no warning even among women with low-risk pregnancies.

As homebirths become more popular, more and more celebrity mums are opting to have their babies at home. Interestingly enough, all the Kings and Queens of England were born at home, including the current Queen. In fact Princess Diana was the first member of the Royal family to have her babies in hospital.