A Mother's Love Birth Center

11/23/2015

We need a more honest healthcare system. What are we doing because it is supported by evidence, and what are we doing because we just believe we should be doing something?

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11/11/2015

Keith filed a lawsuit against the State of Missouri on Tuesday, asking the court to remove unreasonable barriers to Nurse-Practitioners and Midwives. The law should treat all practitioners the same, and it should be the scope of training and competence that determines scope of practice, not an random and unexplained statute or regulation.

Midwives, nurse practitioners, physician assistants and other non-doctors do as good a job as MDs in the care they deliver — and patients often like them better, a World Health Organization team reported on Thursday.

11/06/2015

Mothers and Midwives are Fed up and won't take it any more.

In a landmark announcement, AAM President Wendi Cleckner, CPM, LM, tells the crowd at the rally that AAM has filed a legal action against ADHS, Director Cara...

10/13/2015

If someone told you that you had no rights. . . would you just shrug your shoulders and let them take them? Or would you stand up to make a difference?

09/23/2015

In the next year, Keith will be pushing for midwives and mothers in Missouri. Where will you be? What will you be doing?

No one came. No one came to express how important women’s childbirth choices are to them. DHEC (the Department of Health and Environmental Control) invited us to a meeting- a “workshop”- to help s...

09/16/2015

"Just" a nurse. "Just" a midwife. People should be respected for who they are and what they do. This contestant showed she has a real skill and professionalism. She would have had my vote.

During the 2016 Miss America Pageant on Sunday (Sept. 13), Miss Colorado Kelley Johnson performed a monologue in which she talked about her profession as a nurse for the talent portion.

07/14/2015

Many of you have expressed interest in where Keith and I are heading next as we fight for midwifery rights in Missouri.

A quick update...We got notice that we lost the appeal for Keith to intervene in our A Mother's Love Birth Center argument against the DHSS. That appeal was heard in May. They did not vote on the merits of our case, just whether Keith could step in since the business itself was closed.

Keith is going to ask the Board of Nursing to recognize 2 things about APRNS (Advanced Practice Nurses)
1- They are practicing nursing in its full scope
2- Diagnosing and prescribing is part of nursing

What can you do???

You are welcome to tell the Board of Nursing your thoughts on this. Anyone is allowed to tell a board in the state of Missouri what you, the citizen, wants them to do. Ideas you might talk about in a letter :

1-Why did you choose a midwife or APRN for your care or the care of your family?

2-Do you prefer nursing theory or philosophy to that of medicine and why?

3-Your story: This can either be HAPPY -- I picked a midwife and got the care I wanted because she was "allowed" to practice in her full scope, You might be worried that other people are not so lucky, or that other practitioners do not have that luxury because their back up doctors are not so understanding. You might be worried that your favorite ARNP/CNM might lose this ability at any time because her back up doctor might die or quit or get tired of fighting his peers.
or
SAD-- I chose a CNM or ARNP to get midwifery/nursing care and instead got a mini-medicine. This is not what I ordered!

You can send any letters you write to
Board of Nursing
3605 Missouri Boulevard
P.O. Box 656
Jefferson City, MO 65102-0656

When Does it Need to be Sent??
By Sept 1st if you want it to be considered during the time when Keith's petition is before them.

Please forward to anyone who used/uses a CNM or FP ARNP for birth or family care anywhere in the state of Missouri; or if they wish they could, but cannot find the type of care they desire.

Rachel Williston, MSN, CNM, CPM

07/04/2015

Ever feel like voting doesn't do enough to make your voice heard?

We are starting a movement to make government agencies, such as the Board of Healing Arts and Department of Health and Senior Services, responsible to consumers and other people whose lives they change.

Professional boards aren't muscle for professional associations: they must act in the interest of citizens. Missouri regulatory agencies are not following the law: the Board of Healing Arts recently disciplined a local physician for listening to a client instead of forcing her to follow hospital regulations, and the birth centers have to follow regulations the licensing agency has admitted are illegal. They get away with this because the people who are most affected by these decisions have not had a voice in these regulations. YOU NEED TO STEP UP and SHARE YOUR VOICE!

Did you know that there is a way for you to have a say in board regulations? Missouri law allows ANY PERSON to petition regulatory agencies to change their rules! These boards ignore consumers, patients, and "lesser" professionals because we have not been filing these petitions and making our voices heard. No more! You don't have to be an "expert" to have your voice heard. Just tell them that they need to start paying attention to citizens instead of the medical association.

We will be submitting petitions at the end of July, 2015. We would love for you to sign on and join in. We will have three ways you can help: (1) Contact us via email, FB, or call Keith at 913.207.5450, and we will help you write out your own story so we can take it to the Board; (2) we will draft a single petition to be signed by a lot of people that you can sign on in support (we will update you when it is finished); or (3) call David Klarich’s office at 314.727.0101 to find out more about standing up for your rights before the Board.

We are going to start by petitioning for changes to the Advanced Practice Nurse regulations. This will tell ALL government agencies that “we the people” are watching!

05/27/2015

Amazing! Brought tears.

Dr Josef Mengele conducted experiments at Auschwitz and sent thousands to their deaths. Anka Nathanova (pictured) lied about her pregnancy and raised her baby in the death camp.

05/26/2015

Want to know what ACOG is planning to do to your midwife? Read it here. Want to stop keep your midwife? Join Friends of Missouri Midwives; The Big Push for Midwives Campaign; and/or Missouri Midwives Association today.

05/09/2015

Session has ended mostly on a good note. Still no "licenses" for midwives, and they didn't manage to criminalize us either. Keep tuned in, as we will be starting a new consumer campaign in a few weeks. It is YOUR voice that needs to be heard.

Greetings Midwifery Supporters,
On the Capitol front yesterday, there was good news (SB479 did NOT pass out of committee) and a mad dash to keep bad amendments out. See below for an update that perfectly illustrates why our constant vigilance is no necessary and just how much of a difference your calls can make!

From the Capitol team...
We got called around 12:30 to see an amendment by Representative Frederick that said midwives may present their clients to the director of a regional perinatal center for an opinion on whether they are a good candidate for homebirth.

We went to the Select Committee hearing, which was held in corner of the floor of the House and is very informal in many ways. We were standing there listening along with about 10 other lobbyists, they are working on the second bill, when Rep. Haefner starts to add the perinatal advisory council language, complete with Rep. Frederick's amendment, as an amendment! We are texting and looking at our allies, trying to get this stopped. Rep. Bahr expresses reservations, saying families won't like it and it creates liability, and that it implies that families need permission to have a homebirth. Rep. Kirkton backs him up. Rep. Frederick starts talking about how midwives do VBACs, and need to be brought into the process, etc. etc., everyone is bewildered because now they are arguing about something that just came up out of the blue. Finally Rep. Allen, the chair, asked what midwives thought of this, and Rep. Bahr said "They are in the room with us" - necks crane, everybody is even more confused. We say that MMA opposes the language because it suggests that families need permission to plan a homebirth, and that consumers won't like that at all, and that midwives already have plenty of opportunities to consult with physicians if they aren't sure somebody is a good candidate for homebirth. As we were ushered out, the March Of Dimes lobbyist mentions that Rep. Frederick's language has already been stuck on 2 other bills, including the bill they are going to start with in regular session. Now we are rushing around trying to explain how Rep. Frederick has dropped this bad amendment, and asking for their help to stop it if needed, and they don't even know the amendment is there. By 4, the amendments had been withdrawn.

Friends, THIS is how we make change at the Capitol. Every phone call has an impact! Together, we can make thousands of calls, which give a loud, clear message that home birth families are paying attention and want midwives. THANK YOU for all the calls and please stay tuned in over this week and next for any urgent updates or action items.