The last three meetings are December 14th, December 18th and December 28th. On the 18th, ACOG and Marsden Wagner will be addressing the committee.
This is from Georgia Friends of Midwives:
For those of you who don’t know Marsden Wagner, he is a perinatologist/neonatologist, the former Chief resident physician in pediatrics @ UCLA Hospital, the former 15-year Director of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Women's and Children's Health division, and the author of several books such as “Pursuing the Birth Machine,” “Creating Your Birth Plan: The Definitive Guide to a Safe and Empowering Birth,” and most recently, “Born in the USA: How a Broken Maternity System Must Be Fixed to Put Women and Children First.” Marsden is an absolute, unparalleled expert on the subject of the medical model vs. the midwifery model of care. Please read his article “Fish Can’t See Water: The Need to Humanize Birth” at http://www.marsdenwagner.com/fish.html If you have never heard him speak, PLEASE, arrange your schedules to be at the hearing on the 18th! You don’t want to miss it! (And if you have heard him before, you already know why you don’t want to miss it!) He is PASSIONATE! DYNAMIC! INSPIRING! And even a little sarcastic at times! J How could you not be when you’re talking about the excellent, personal, evidence-based care from midwives vs. the cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all treatment from most medical care givers?!
If you haven’t already, please buy & read Marsden’s latest book, “Born in the USA: How a Broken Maternity System Must Be Fixed to Put Women and Children First.” To my knowledge, it is not available in stores yet, although most will special order it for you or you can go to Amazon.
Thursday, December 14 (this week): Homebirth midwife Terri Anthony Rieder & Dr. John Schilling will speak about what a homebirth midwife actually does and the physician-midwife relationship, respectively. Dr. Schilling is a committee member & homebirth-friendly OBGYN. This hearing is important so that the committee knows the skills a homebirth midwife needs & so that they see just how well-trained homebirth midwives are and also how important & essential a good back-up physician is to her. Terri & Dr. Schilling will discuss how this relationship affects the pregnant woman’s continuity of care if a physician referral becomes necessary. This is an essential element of the licensing & public education process- creating a respectful relationship between midwives & physicians.
We’ve already discussed driving directions, parking, bringing children, coming late, emailing your written testimony to Sally.Fox@house.ga.gov if you cannot attend the hearings, anything else? There are only 3 hearings left. PLEASE MAKE YOUR MIDWIFE (or your wife’s or sister’s, etc.) A PRIORITY IN YOUR LIFE RIGHT NOW! COME TO AS MANY MEETINGS AS YOU CAN!!! WE NEED TO BE SEEN & HEARD! IT’S OUR TIME! Oh, how things are lining up for Georgia!!!!
If you live in Georgia, and believe in midwives -- even if you've never had a homebirth yourself, but think the option should be available for women to choose, PLEASE make an effort to get thee to the capitol and SHOW SUPPORT FOR MIDWIVES! The legislators need to see that it is the families -- the constituents -- that want this, not just a handful of midwives pushing their own agenda.
The meetings take place in room 403 of the Atlanta Capitol building. The meetings start at 10 AM and go for about two hours. Nursing babies and quiet children are welcome. There are carpools available from several parts of the state if you'd like a ride.
If you need more information, please email Georgia Friends of Midwives at shodgesmwy@earthlink.net
24 other states are currently legal for homebirth midwives. Wouldn't it be nice to have your homebirth in GA covered by insurance? Then GO TO THE CAPITOL and show them you want it!
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