| Contact CIMS |
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Denna L. Suko, MA
Executive Director
1500 Sunday Dr.
Suite 102
Raleigh, NC 27607
Tel 1: 888-282-CIMS
Tel 2: 919-863-9482
Fax: 919-787-4916
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A portion of the proceeds from sales support CIMS.
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| e-CIMS News |
October 8, 2008 |
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Maureen Corry to be honored at the 2009 CIMS Forum
CIMS is pleased to announce Maureen P. Corry, MPH, executive director of Childbirth Connection and vice-chair of the National Quality Forum's Consumer Council, as the keynote speaker at the CIMS 2009 Mother-Friendly Childbirth Forum and Annual Meeting. Ms. Corry will give her keynote address, "Transforming Maternity Care: We're All in It Together," during the Opening Session on Thursday, March 5. Following her keynote address, CIMS will honor Ms. Corry with the Annual Sharron S. Humenick Award.
Ms. Corry has 30 years experience as a maternal and infant health researcher, educator, advocate and policy analyst. Since joining Childbirth Connection (formerly Maternity Center Association) as Executive Director in 1995, Ms. Corry has played a leading role in positioning the organization as a powerful and effective advocate for improving the quality of maternity care.
Sharron S. Humenick, PhD, RN, FAAN, LCCE, FACCE, was nationally recognized as a leader in maternity care and demonstrated throughout her professional life a fearless and persistent commitment to establishing normal birth and breastfeeding as the gold standard in maternity care. CIMS created the Annual Sharron S. Humenick Award in her honor to recognize outstanding national leadership in the advancement of Mother-Friendly Care.
The 2009 Forum will be held at The Handley Hotel & Resort in San Diego, Calif., March 5-7. Watch the CIMS Web site for updated program and registration information. |
| CIMS calls on the birth community to unite for maximum impact
CIMS is extending a formal invitation to all childbirth organizations, professionals and advocates to join the CIMS membership and our "One Voice" campaign--a national collaborative effort to promote evidence-based maternity care. As our country struggles to enact health care reform, we have an extraordinary opportunity to influence the direction of these changes toward those that achieve our shared goal of making Mother-Friendly Care a reality.
Collaboration within the birth community will be the focus of our upcoming 2009 Mother-Friendly Childbirth Forum, March 5-7, in San Diego, Calif. During the meeting, CIMS will host a special session for representatives of CIMS Organizational Members. This stakeholder meeting will help to lay the groundwork for potential collaborative projects that will maximize the impact of our individual efforts.
At a time when maternity care professionals, consumers, and birth activists are deeply concerned about the status of maternal and infant health, we have the opportunity to change the status quo and achieve our shared goal of making Mother-Friendly Care a reality. Please take action. Join CIMS today.
CIMS is a not-for-profit organization recognized as tax-exempt under Internal Revenue Code section 501(c)(3). Membership fees are tax-deductible as a charitable contribution.
CIMS extends a warm welcome to the following member organizations:
- Academy of Certified Birth Educators
- Association pour la santé publique du Québec
- BirthNet
- BirthNetwork National
- Citizens for Midwifery
- Lamaze International
- Our Bodies Ourselves
- The Tatia Oden French Memorial Foundation
- Women's Healthcare and Wellness, PA
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| The March of Dimes Petition for Preemies: Solutions are within our grasp!
It's time for our country to do more to help moms have healthy, full-term babies. That is why CIMS is proud to join more than 30 March of Dimes national Prematurity Campaign sponsors, partners, alliance organizations, and mothers across America in signing onto the 2008 Petition for Preemies. As a supporting organization, CIMS is committed to increasing awareness of the rising number of babies born before term. Prematurity Awareness Month this November will focus attention on the growing problem of preterm birth. In the US today, 1 in 8 babies is born too soon.
"November is when we focus the nation's attention on the impact premature birth has on babies and families, and on the opportunities for prevention," says Dr. Jennifer L. Howse, president of the March of Dimes. Together, we can reduce the number of premature births.
"Premature birth is the leading cause of death among newborns," states CIMS Chair Mayri Sagady Leslie. "We are pleased to have this opportunity to educate women, families and their care providers about the Petition for Preemies. Please join us and direct your colleagues and constituents to e-sign the Petition for Preemies to urge federal and state policy makers to move our nation forward to do more to help moms have healthy, full-term babies.
The March of Dimes Web site provides excellent educational resources on premature birth for health professionals and parents. |
| DONA honors the CIMS Expert Work Group
The CIMS Expert Work Group (EWG) was honored this year by DONA International with the 2008 Kennell/Klaus Award for their research and publication of The Coalition for Improving Maternity Services: Evidence Basis for the Ten Steps of Mother Friendly Care. Henci Goer, BA, project director, and Sharon Storton, MA, CCHT, LMFT, a member of the EWG, accepted the award on behalf of CIMS at the 2008 DONA International Conference in Vancouver, Canada. The Kennell/Klaus Award recognizes excellence in conducting, organizing, analyzing, presenting, or publishing research as it relates to the effects of doula care during birth and/or postpartum.
"It is our pleasure to honor CIMS for organizing and presenting research in a manner that is accessible to all," said Ann Grauer, DONA International Founders Awards chair.
The Evidence Basis for the Ten Steps of Mother-Friendly Care is the science that supports the Mother-Friendly Childbirth Initiative. The body of research was published as a Supplement to the Journal of Perinatal Education, Winter 2007, and is available at no cost from the CIMS Web site. |
 Lamaze honors CIMS' Grassroots Advocates Committee
CIMS' Grassroots Advocates Committee (GAC) was honored by Lamaze International last month with the 2008 President's Award in recognition of the GAC's ingenuity and commitment to normal birth by creating The Birth Survey. Nasima Pfaffl accepted the award on behalf of the GAC during the Lamaze International 2008 Annual Conference in Louisville, Ky. Lamaze recognized eleven individuals and organizations with the 2008 Lamaze International Awards.
"What we do continues to inform and educate women about where and with whom they give birth -- two of the most important decisions expectant families can make," said Allison Walsh, immediate past president of Lamaze International. "We are inspired by the work the GAC has accomplished on behalf of mothers and babies everywhere."
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| Overwhelming consumer interest in The Birth Survey
In just 55 days, since the August 15 national launch of The Birth Survey, more than 9,500 new mothers have logged in to take the survey. This high volume of participation is further evidence of women's growing demand for more information about the birth options available to them. The public's awareness of the survey can be directly attributed to the hard work of The Birth Survey volunteers, and CIMS thanks them heartily for their tireless efforts.
CIMS hopes to have the participation of 20,000 women by the end of the year, and to do so will need to have the support of additional volunteer "The Birth Survey Ambassadors." CIMS offers volunteer training through free online "Webinars." Registration is now available for the following Ambassador Training Webinars scheduled for October and November 2008. Please note that the "GACSTAT Trainings," for collecting facility-level intervention data, consist of two sessions.
Introduction to the Transparency in Maternity Care Project:
Marketing Trainings:
GACSTAT Trainings:
- Part 1: Intro and Collecting the Data
Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2008, 8:30 PM - 10:30 PM EDT
- Part 2: Demystifying the Data
Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2008, 8:30 PM - 10:00 PM EDT
- Part 1: Intro and Collecting the Data
Monday, Nov. 17, 2008, 8:30 PM - 10:30 PM EST
- Part 2: Demystifying the Data
Monday, Nov. 24, 2008, 8:30 PM - 10:00 PM EST
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| Research Update: Contracting pelvic floor muscles prevents urine leakage before and after pregnancy
Women who receive one to one instruction on how to contract the pelvic floor muscles and practice pelvic floor muscle exercises with health professional supervision are less likely to suffer urine leakage during or after pregnancy. A systematic review from The Cochrane Library suggests that these exercises are effective for preventing and treating incontinence. |
 Celebrate National Midwifery Week, October 5-11
Midwives across the country will be recognized for their contributions to women, families, and their communities during the annual National Midwifery Week, October 5-11, 2008. The Midwives Model of Care has been proven to reduce the incidence of birth injury, trauma, and cesarean section. "Midwives play an important role in delivering care to women," says ACNM Executive Director Lorrie Kline Kaplan. "This week is a chance to celebrate midwifery and congratulate midwives on another year of being 'with women.'"
The CIMS Mother-Friendly Childbirth Initiative (MFCI) recommends that all women have access to professional midwifery care. Based on a review of 28 high-quality studies, the CIMS Expert Work Group found that in comparison to care provided by physicians for similar populations, care provided by professional midwives resulted in the same or better maternal and perinatal health benefits. Please join CIMS in celebrating National Midwifery Week by endorsing the MFCI. |
ACNM unveils enhanced consumer web site
In conjunction with National Midwifery Week (Oct. 5-11), the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM) is encouraging consumers to learn about the benefits of midwifery care by visiting ACNM's consumer Web site, www.myMidwife.org, which has been updated and improved for a better user experience. |
Grant funding available for Birth Networks
Applications for the Lamaze Institute for Normal Birth's 2008 Birth Network Mini-Grants are due Oct. 17. This year, Lamaze will award up to ten $500 to $1,000 grants, and will give priority funding to projects that work toward improving public reporting and transparency in maternity care. The grants support the development or expansion of community-based Birth Networks that bring the public and birth professionals together to:
- promote the Six Care Practices that Support Normal Birth and CIMS' Mother-Friendly Childbirth Initiative,
- improve the quality of maternity care locally,
- and provide information and resources to expectant women and their families so that they can make informed choices about maternity care.
Since 2003, the Lamaze Institute for Normal Birth has given numerous mini-grants to birth networks throughout the United States. For program, eligibility and application information, please visit the Lamaze International Web site. | |
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