Midwives Association of Washington State
mom looking nose to nose at her newborn
The MAWS eBulletin
Volume 4, Issue 2
August 11, 2011
In this issue
:: Welcome, New Associate Members!
:: Governor Gregoire signs Senate Bill 5071
:: Interested in Joining the MAWS Board of Directors?
:: MORE Business of Being Born!
:: Midwife Wanted
:: March of Dimes Grants Available
:: Pink Book Course
:: Mif Carlson: Midwife helps 'catch' 1,000 babies during career
:: 2011 Legislative Session Review
:: Postpartum Support International Conference in Seattle
:: Ina May on the Diane Rehm Show
:: Management of Thyroid Dysfunction during Pregnancy and Postpartum
:: A Brand New State-Licensed Birth Center!
:: Midwifery Volunteerism in Developing Countries Seminar
:: Facebook - Please "Like" MAWS!
:: Cultural Competence Video and Book Package
:: QMP Bi-annual Report
:: Can nursing help reduce an infant's pain while receiving an injection?
:: .Interview with Robbie Davis-Floyd
:: Upcoming Conferences & Workshops
Midwives Association of Washington StateGreetings! 

Summer is finally here in central Washington; it is hot and the cherries and peaches are in season - yum!  I hope that it has also warmed up and stopped raining where each of you are working! 

We look forward to seeing many of you in person this fall at the Conference and Annual Meeting on Friday, November 18, at Bastyr, so be sure to mark your calendars now!  If you are interested in helping to plan and organize these events, we can always use more volunteers on this committee.  You do not have to live in Seattle to contribute to this committee's work as much of the preparation involves phone calls and emails.  If you are interested, contact Lynn.


Keep reading for a wealth of information relevant to our profession from new research to midwives in the news to a broad range of continuing education opportunities.


Best,

Kristin J. Effland, CPM, LM
MAWS Vice President

 
Thank You, New Associate Members!

We are so grateful for the support of our associate members. Associate memberships help fund the work of MAWS while offering associates a listing in our directory. Please support our associate members in your area with referrals. 

 

We hope you'll suggest associate membership to service providers you typically refer your clients to--massage therapists, doulas, childbirth educators, etc. You may refer them

here on our web site. 

  

Jennifer Davis, CD 

www.thedancingdoula.weebly.com 

Seattle, WA

 

Marisa Delisie, Chiropractor

www.nwfamilychiropractic.com

Shoreline, WA 

 

Melinda Ferguson, CD, PCD, CLE 

www.calmconfidentdoula.com 

Seattle, WA

 

Amy Hoyt, CD

www.amyhoyt.com 

Port Orchard, WA 

 

Lauren Lizana

www.laurenlizana.com 

Seattle, WA

 

Krista MacDougall, LMP
www.healingrootsmassage.com  

Seattle, WA 

 

Inez Black Nobel, CD

Seattle, WA 

 

Debra Sheldon, CD 

www.motherwisedoulaservices.com  

Seattle, WA

 

Anita Shelton, LAc, LMP

www.soundhealingacupuncture.com 

Seattle, WA

 

Larry Silber, Chiropractor

www.belltownchiro.com 

Seattle, WA 

 

Gov. Gregoire
Governor Gregoire signs Senate Bill 5071,
providing licensed midwives online access to the University of Washington health services library, HEAL-WA.
LMs will have access to HEAL-WA beginning in September 2011.  Expect a notice with instructions about how to gain access from the DOH.

  

Interested in Joining the MAWS Board of Directors? Want to Nominate Another Midwife or Consumer?   

 

The next MAWS Conference and Annual Meeting is coming up November 18. Our current Board of Directors was voted in last fall, but two new individuals have stepped up with interest in joining, and you are welcome to throw your hat in the ring as well.The work is fun, inspiring and satisfying!

 

Board members take an active role in the work of MAWS. The Board typically meets once per month. Most meetings are in the Seattle area, though members can call in to meetings. Board members are expected to participate in committee work.

 

If you're interested in getting on this fall's ballot, please email your name and bio (or that of a colleague, with their permission). Board members must be active members of MAWS--whether professional. or consumers.

 

 

 

MORE Business of Being Born!

 

If you think the documentary The Business of Being Born has increased public awareness of birthing options, consider donating to Abby Epstein and Ricki Lake's next project: MORE Business of Being Born!
Click here for more info>

 

Midwife Wanted

Looking for experienced midwife to join my existing practice on Whidbey Island. I am also looking for Locum coverage during Thanksgiving.

For locum work: Must have Washington license and active liability insurance. Room and board plus salary provided.

 

Please respond to:

[email protected] 

 

The March of Dimes will help support one to two organizations in Washington interested in implementing the CenteringPregnancy�  model of group prenatal care for pregnant women in its community.

Due to significant disparities in birth outcomes, we anticipate that the majority of women reached through this initiative will be American Indian and African American.

 

If you are interested in learning more about this opportunity, please visit our website here. On the March of Dimes website, you will find the Letter of Intent application(due September 1st) as well as the full March of Dimes Centering Pregnancy Application and evaluation materials (due November 1st).

If you have any additional questions, please contact Gina Legaz, Director of Programs & Public Affairs at [email protected] or
(206) 624-1373
.

Pink Book Course

Register now to hear about current immunization recommendations and get your questions answered by national vaccine experts at a two-day course on epidemiology and prevention of vaccine-preventable diseases.

  

Hosted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.   

September 27-28, 2011

Tacoma, Washington 

  

Continuing education credits will be available for multiple professions. There will also be a half-day immunization update specifically for local public health staff on September 26.

  

The course is sponsored by the Department of Health, the Immunization Action Coalition of Washington (IACW), and the National Network of Immunization Nurses and Associates.   

  

For more information visit the IACW Web site> 

To register, click here.

Please share this opportunity with providers in your community.

  

Scholarships may be available. More information about that will be shared in the next few months.

  

If you have any questions, please contact Michele Roberts.

[email protected]   

360-236-3720

 

  

Midwife helps 'catch' 1,000 babies during career 

Mifawnwy Carlson Midwife 

 

Our very own Mif Carlson was featured on King 5 News.  Click here to read the story or watch the video.

 

 

MAWS 2011 Legislative Session

 

The 2011 legislative session will be one to remember, with legislators making unprecedented budget cuts, and moods being understandably sour. Despite the tough times, I am pleased to report that MAWS had a successful session! It was gratifying to work for the betterment of midwives, mamas, and babies this session, then three days after the session ended give birth to my own new baby.


-Amber Ulvenes, MAWS Lobbyist and Midwifery Consumer

 

Read full update> 

 


Postpartum Support International in conjunction with PSI of Washington  

25th Annual Conference

Sept 14 - 18, 2011

Seattle, Washington
"Whole Care for the Whole Family" 

 

Visit the PSI website for more info and links to register.   

 

Come to any or all of the  

conference events!   

 

 Sept. 14-15

PSI Pre-Conference PMD  

Certificate Training

 

Sept. 15

Harvey Karp Lecture

 

Sept. 16-17

Main Conference

 

Sept. 16

Annual Banquet/Silent Auction

 

Sept. 18

Post-Conference/Penny Simkin

 

 

Ina May on the Diane Rehm Show

 

Ina May Gaskin celebrated the recent publication of Birth Matters: A Midwife's Manifesta on July 25th with an interview on the Diana Rehm Show on National Public Radio. You can listen to the interview here.


Ina May Gaskin
Ina May at the International Day of the Midwife march in Seattle

 

Management of Thyroid Dysfunction during Pregnancy and Postpartum: An Endocrine Society Clinical Practice Guideline

Discusses the various types of thyroid disorders and how it pertains to the population we are working with.



Click here>  

 


A Brand New State-Licensed Birth Center!

 

Poplar Heights logoPoplar Heights Birth Center is Holding an Open House. Drop by, tour the birthing rooms and teaching spaces while meeting expectant families and area birth professionals.

 

September 15th, 10am  to 7pm

 

215 Poplar St, Port Orchard, WA 98366

 

 www.poplar-heights.com 

 

Midwifery Volunteerism in Developing Countries Seminar

August 18-19, Portland, OR

November 12-13, San Francisco, CA 

 

Click here to register. 

Midwifery Volunteerism in Developing Countries Seminar Approved for for 13.5 Continuing Education Hours by MEAC and ACNM (Midwifery Education Accreditation Council and American College of Nurse Midwives)

Learn about maternal/child health issues in the third world, and what you can do to change the current high rate of maternal and newborn deaths. The focus will be on new and challenging research in the field of maternal/newborn/child health, as it pertains to the current global health crisis. 

 
Are You on Facebook?
"Like" the Midwives' Association of Washington State!  
 
If you're on Facebook, visit us and "like" our page, and encourage your friends to "like" us, too. This is a great way to get the word out on MAWS' legislative work and events.   
facebook 

Cultural Competence Video and Book Package

 

Cultural competencies book and video
 

From the publisher's web site: "Reflections from Common Ground . . . Cultural Awareness in Healthcare showcases many of the opportunities and tools available for healthcare professionals to develop cultural awareness and competency. This unique book offers a way forward and easily lends itself to personal, group or institutional use. It is a tool to promote change, while also an interesting look into the origins of what we encounter in ourselves and others." 

 

To read more and for ordering information>


QMP Bi-annual Report

Greetings, Midwives!
 
I have good news! Recently, the JUA has agreed to award 4 continuing education hours for each Incident Review Panel (IRP) that you participate in. If you have participated in an IRP in 2010 or in 2011, thank you! You should receive a card in the mail in the next month indicating your participation. Please provide a copy of this card to the JUA so that you can get credit for your time and participation. JUA contact information: Fax (866) 212-9633, Address for correspondence only: JUA Correspondence PO Box 2676 Redmond WA 98073-2676, Email: [email protected].

If you are interested in volunteering your time as an Incident Review Panelist, please let me know and I will be happy to forward your name along to the QMP! My email address is [email protected].
 
Your Quality Management Program (QMP) is hard at work for you. We meet monthly to organize Incident Review Panels, to review self-reports from midwives and to review complaint forms filled out by consumers or other health care providers. Both the self-report form and the complaint form can be found on the MAWS website for your viewing:
 
As a MAWS member, you have a responsibility to turn in a self-report form if you experience any of the following. This form should be sent in within 14 days of the event: Maternal/Neonatal Mortality; Maternal Shock; Uterine Rupture; Maternal/Neonatal Seizure; Uterine Inversion; NICU or Special Care Nursery Admission with 72 hours of birth (except for observation/congenital anomalies)
 
Remember, if you need a Peer Review, feel free to organize one! Now anyone can host a Peer Review as long as s/he has attended a Peer Review before. You must contact Lynn Hughes at [email protected] before hosting your Peer Review in order to receive the official (and revised!) paperwork that you will need. Also, remember that all attendees of a Peer Review are required to be active MAWS members in order for the Peer Review to be protected and valid--you will give Lynn the list and she will verify their membership status!!

The QMP is very interested in supporting midwives by helping to provide access to relevant education and training opportunities whenever we can. We were very happy to have suggested to the MAWS Board that the topic of charting be addressed at the most recent MAWS conference. If you missed Karen Hayes' presentation on charting, you can find her presentation on the MAWS website in two documents:
�    Karen Hays' charting presentation
�    Charting examples

If you have any suggestions for continuing education topics for our upcoming MAWS conferences, please let me know!

Happy and safe birthing!
Erin Curtiss, Licensed Midwife
[email protected] 

Can nursing help reduce an infant's pain while receiving an injection?

Can nursing help reduce an infant's pain while receiving an injection?
Do you provide IM Vitamin K while an infant is nursing?  Perhaps this article will be of interest:

ARTICLE: The effect of breastfeeding, oral sucrose and combination of oral sucrose and breastfeeding in infant's pain relief during the vaccination.

BACKGROUND:
Pain is a global health problem which exists from the birth to the last stage of the life. It has been proven that infants are able to feel the painful stimulus. Infants routinely experience the pain in the hospitals especially during the vaccination procedure. Therefore, finding out a non pharmacological method is necessary for pain relieving. The aim of this study was to compare the effect of oral sucrose, breastfeeding and combination of them on pain relief vaccination of less than 3 months of age infants with the first time vaccination in Tabriz.

CONCLUSIONS:
According  to the findings of the present study, pain score and crying time was the lowest in breastfed neonates. Considering to the fact that breastfeeding is a natural, useful and free intervention and does not need any special facilities, using this method in pain management and control during this painful procedures for infants is suggested.

Click here for the full text article>


More Media Attention to the Rise in Home Births 
Interview with Robbie Davis-Floyd

The recent CDC study reporting a 20 percent increase in home births has garnered lots of media attention. Here's a Boston NPR interview with anthropologist Robbie Davis-Floyd. Click the "listen" button at the top of the article to hear the interview.

And here in Washington:

  

New baby at home birthThe trend noted by the CDC can also be seen in WA state.  Statewide, there has been a 30.7% increase in births attended by licensed midwives from 2003-2008!  Also during that time, there was a 9.9% increase in all midwife-attended births

 

The data we gathered revealed that midwives in rural counties can make a huge impact locally since fewer births overall occur there.  The percentage of midwife-attended (LM and CNM) births increased in the following counties by the percentages listed: Chelan 26.0%, Clallam 46.1%, Cowlitz 179.4%,  Franklin 70.9%, Grant 5%, Grays Harbor 53.5%, Island 7.1%, Kitsap 8.4%, Klickitat 610.3%, Mason 54.7%, Pacific 23.1%, Pierce 11.8%, Skagit 45.2%, Skamania 200%, Snohomish 66.62%, Spokane 11.9%, Stevens 134.4%, Whatcom 48.8%, Yakima 10679.5%,   

 

As we reported previously, from 2003-2008 there was also a:

 


6% increase in births attended by CNMs
17.4% increase in Birth Center Births
11.5% increase in Home Births
14.1% increase in births at home and birth centers combined

In the following counties, home and birth center births increased by the percentages listed from 2003-2008: Asotin 25%, Chelan    83.8%, Clallam 103.3%, Clark 29.7%, Ferry 25%, Franklin 182.5%, Island 11.5%, King 31%, Klickitat 847%, Lewis 28.8%, Mason 16.1%, Okanogan 113.9%, Pacific 23.1%, Pend Oreille 32.1%, Skagit 33.2%, Snohomish 53.6%, Spokane 18.6%, Whatcom    94.8%, Yakima 151%.  (Note: In some counties, the raw number of births may be small which can inflate the percent increases listed here.)

If you would like help publicizing this information in your local area, contact the MAWS Public Education and Public Relations Committee Chair.    
  

UPCOMING CONFERENCES, WORKSHOPS & COMMUNITY EVENTS  

Breastfeeding: New Strategies for Improved Outcomes Seminar 
August 18, 2011 -
Bellingham, WA. More information>

August 19, 2011 - Seattle area, WA. More information> 

 

Midwifery Volunteerism in Developing Countries Seminar

August 19-20, 2011 - Portland, OR. More information>  

 

Six Steps to a Healthy Birth - Weekend Intensive! 

September 3-4, 2011 - Mount Vernon, WA. More information> 

 

Postpartum Support International 25th Annual Conference:  

Whole Care for the Whole Family

September 14-18, 2011 - Seattle, WA. More information>  

 

Lamaze International Conference

September 15-18, 2011 - Ft. Worth, TX. More information>

Restore Your Core - Diastasis Rehab Workshop  

September 15 - October 20, 2011 - Tacoma, WA.  More information> 

 

Complicated Pregnancies: Implications and Management Seminar

October 04, 2011 - Seattle area, WA. More information> 

 

Advanced Practice in Primary and Acute Care-Pacific Northwest 34th Annual National Conference (Includes a Midwifery Track - Download the pdf to check this out) 

October 27-29, 2011 - Seattle, WA. More information>   

 

North American Midwifery: Beyond Boundaries: Joint MANA/ CAM Conference

November 9-12, 2011 - Niagara Falls, Ontario. More information>   

 

 

See the MAWS web site 

for ongoing continuing education opportunities.

 

Simkin's Comfort Measures DVDBUY PENNY SIMKIN'S NEW COMFORT MEASURES FOR CHILDBIRTH DVD & PENNY WILL DONATE 10% TO MAWS!

This 90-minute interactive DVD contains more than 40 techniques for reducing and managing the pain of labor contractions. Christiane Northrup, MD states, "Comfort Measures is wonderful. I suggest that it be required viewing for all pregnant couples and childbirth professionals." Use this link to buy it now or click here to read more about it.


This is your newsletter.  Please send any feedback or suggestions to Kristin Effland.  We welcome suggestions for future topics, popular articles or research to include.