More about midwifery in Missouri....

A fellow midwifery advocate, Jessica, shared some interesting insights recently about the MSMA's lawsuit and I wanted to quote them here as she makes some very interesting and thoughtful points:

"The hypocrisy involved in the Missouri State Medical Association's (and partner physician groups) lawsuit against the people of Missouri is truly mind boggling.

Between its initial introduction and the final passage HB818 nearly doubled in size and while all elements pertained to health care and/or making health care more financially accessible - the midwifery provision was far from the only part of the bill that didn't deal with insurance directly.

Let's look at an example from the final summary:

http://www.house.mo.gov/bills071/bilsum/truly/sHB818T.htm

DELINQUENT MEDICAL BILLS

Currently, state agencies are allowed to submit an agency debt to
the Department of Revenue in order to set off the debt by the
person's tax refund. The bill establishes a process for
hospitals and other health care providers to intercept a person's
tax refund or lottery winnings.

Hmmmm.... I don't see anything in the above about Relating to Health Insurance. But wait - that provision will allow the members of the MSMA and the other groups involved in the suite to garnish the funds of Missouri citizens without having to go through the standard judicial oversight required of all of other business. Guess since it isn't a "danger" to patients (or would that be MSMA pocket book?) we don't have to worry about its constitutionality?

As the new law is written it allows *only* Certified Professional Midwives to care for paranatal women as independent practitioners. Practitioners who are CPM certified have undergone a rigorous training process followed by both a clinical and written exam. They are the only birth professionals specifically trained to attend birthing women in an out-of-hospital setting - something virtually no doctor has experience in doing.

Additionally, nothing about the new law prevents the state of Missouri from establishing a licensing board similar to the boards that govern all other allopathic and complimentary care providers in this state. In fact, that was exactly what the midwifery supporters had been attempting to do (and had majority support to do in both Chambers) but where unable to accomplish due to the filibuster maintained by one Senator Chuck Graham, recipient of the Missouri Academy of Family Physicians 2007 MAFP Legislative Award. You'll recognize the MAFP as co-Plaintiffs on the MSMA lawsuit.

If I was a doctor in the state of Missouri I'd be hanging my head in shame at the sophomoric stunts and juvenile tantrums of my trade union. Perhaps their colleagues in Kansas, Nebraska, Arkansas or any of the other 37 states where non-Nurse midwives legally take clients can demonstrate that doctors can indeed continue to practice when women are granted the right to choose their own health care providers."

Birthing With Intensity

I just found out that my story about Z's birth that was published in Special Delivery this year is available online: Birthing With Intensity. Not sure why/how, but I thought it was kind of neat to have it available online anyway. It can also be purchased on Amazon as an digital file (again, not sure why/how, just sharing!) My Listening to My Baby article is also available on the LLLI website. Neither article has the pictures that were published in the printed versions.

At Home Motherhood

This week I read At Home Motherhood. It had been on my wish list at Amazon for a while and got down to like $1, so I bought it. It is really late on this, my appointed blog day, & so I'm going to have to leave it at that. It was a good book & offered me some good insights/food for thought. It wasn't what I expected really--I think I was looking for something that was going to say, "cut back on your other interests & make the kids your mission," but this book was very supportive of at home mothers pursuing their passions & actually made me feel much better about all the stuff I squeeze in around the edges--like it is important to my full development as a woman :-) I'd marked a bunch of pages, but don't have time to transcribe them now.

One evening I was putting some books away--deciding what belongs in my to-read-someday-but-probably-not-very-soon-and-maybe-never box and what belongs on my to-read-next bookshelf--and I accidentally started reading The Nanny Diaries. I've read it before, but it was several years ago. So, before I knew it, it was after 2:00 a.m. and the book was finished (I started it at like 11:30). This is why I don't read fiction very often--because I will not get enough sleep and will be all glassy-eyed from excessive book consumption without a break for food or water ;-)

This week I also read the summer issue of Midwifery Today. There was an interesting article in it about "life as an apprentice." Reinforced that it is not the path for me during this season of my life. I don't know how people manage it! There was also a good article about using media to educate about birth. I'd like to use this blog for more birth education/advocacy than I currently do. Another good article was "reflections on the end of my career." Lots to think about--I think it is good for people just starting out to read/hear the reflections of those who are closing that chapter of their lives.