MAMA is Celebrating 9 New Co-Sponsors for H.R. 1054!

Thanks to YOU, H.R. 1054, the Access to Certified Professional Midwives Act now has 23 co-sponsors!  The Midwives and Mothers in Action (MAMA) Campaign continues to pursue our successful steady office-by-office approach to building Congressional support for this legislation and its importance to women and babies across the country.  These nine new cosponsors will help position this important legislation well for reintroduction and movement when the next Congress convenes in 2013.  We are most grateful to these new co-sponsors and to the constituents who helped secure their support:

Congressman Sam Farr (D-CA-17th)  Thank you, Karen Ehrlich, CPM!

Congressman Jim Moran (D-VA-8)   Thank you, Tammi McKinley, CPM!

Congressman William Keating (D-MA-10th)   Thank you, Amanda Haddad, CPM!

Congressman Edward Markey (D-MA-10th)   Thank you, Colleen and Jehan Maheswaran!

Congresswoman Betty McCollum (D-MN-4th)   Thank you, Alyssa Folin, CPM!

Congressman Keith Ellison (D-MN-5th)   Thank you, Kate Saumweber Hogan, CPM!

Congressman Collin Peterson (D-MN-7th)   Thank you, Beth Bergeron, CPM!

Congresswoman Susan Davis (D-CA-53rd) Thank you Kristen Daudier!

Congresswoman Judy Chu (D-CA-32nd)   Thank you, Sara Howard! 

Featured MAMA Campaign Supporter

Sara is a student midwife who says:  “H.R. 1054 is particularly close to my heart…(as it) is pivotal to ensuring a future where all women in the U.S., not just those with means, will have options about their care during one of the most important times in their lives.  I am thrilled that my Congresswoman Chu is championing this bill!”

Easy Ways You Can Help!
We know that the pace in Congress is maddeningly slow!  We know that economic times are hard for everyone!  AND we can never give up on the work to improve the care of women and babies – perseverance pays off!  This is a pivotal time for CPMs and for H.R. 1054.  Please stick with us – YOU are the MAMA Campaign!

Become a recurring donor – an easy way to make a big difference!  

• Just $10 a month = a yearly contribution of $120.  
• $15 a month = a yearly contribution of $180.  
• $25 a month = $300 a year to support advocacy for women and babies.  

Go today to www.mamacampaign.org and sign up to be a recurring donor!  Encourage your friends, colleagues, clients and family to do the same.  Together we can make the difference!

Bring your Congress member on board as a co-sponsor of H.R. 1054 – we can make it easy for you!  Just let us know at info@mamacampaign.org that you would like to help and we will be in touch right away to partner with you and guide you through the process.  

Thank you so much!  We look forward to hearing from you soon!  Together we can make a difference. 

Three New Co-Sponsors and Supreme Court Ruling for Reform: MAMA is Celebrating!

Three New Co-Sponsors for H.R. 1054!
Congresswomen Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC),  Anna Eshoo (D-CA-14th), and  Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-FL-20th have become the latest members of Congress to co-sponsor H.R. 1054, the Access to Certified Professional Midwives Act of 2011. The Campaign is deeply grateful to these Representatives for their support for increasing women’s access to midwives and quality maternity care and for their leadership in supporting H.R. 1054.  Thank you to Congresswomen Holmes Norton, Eshoo, and Wasserman-Schultz!

Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC)

Anna Eshoo (D-CA-14th)

Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-FL-20th

Affordable Care Act Upheld by Supreme Court!
The Midwives and Mothers in Action (MAMA) Campaign is thrilled that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was confirmed as the law of the land on June 28 by the U.S. Supreme Court – along with its many provisions important to women, including Medicaid coverage for birth centers, and that giving birth, having a cesarean section, or being the victim of domestic abuse cannot be considered pre-existing conditions and used to deny insurance coverage.  For a primer on ACA visit here.  To read this landmark Supreme Court opinion, visit here. 

Featured MAMA Campaign Supporters
A big thank you from the MAMA Campaign to all the constituents who visited and wrote letters to help secure these new co-sponsors for H.R. 1054!  

Rep. Eshoo’s constituent, Tenaya Jackman, CPM, MPH, and her father, Dr. Jay Jackman, long-time friend and supporter of the Congresswoman, are eager for the health improvements that will happen for women with expanded access to midwifery care. 

Karen Ehrlich, CPM, says:  “My smart and principled Congresswoman, Anna Eshoo, has always stood up for women and families.  It seemed obvious to me that her strong advocacy would extend to increasing access to CPMs and the midwifery model of care.”   

Thank you to these constituents of Anna Eshoo! 

Easy Ways You Can Help
We know that the pace in Congress is maddeningly slow!  We know that economic times are hard for everyone!  AND we can never give up on the work to improve the care of women and babies – perseverance pays off!  Please stick with us – YOU are the MAMA Campaign!

• Become a recurring donor – an easy way to make a big difference!  
  
  • Just $10 a month = a yearly contribution of $120.
  • $15 a month = a yearly contribution of $180. 
  • $25 a month = $300 a year to support advocacy for women and babies.  

Go today to www.mamacampaign.org and sign up to be a recurring donor!  Encourage your friends, colleagues, clients and family to do the same.  Together we can make the difference!

• Bring your Congress member on board as a co-sponsor of H.R. 1054 – we can make it easy for you!  Just let us know that you would like to help and we will be in touch right away to partner with you and guide you through the process.  

Thank you so much!  We look forward to hearing from you soon!  Together we can make a difference.

New Co-Sponsor for MAMA

Date: 05-30-12

MAMA is Celebrating!

Congressman Raul Grijalva (D-AZ-7th) has become the latest member of Congress to co-sponsor H.R. 1054, the Access to Certified Professional Midwives Act of 2011. The Campaign is deeply grateful to Representative Grijalva for his support for increasing women’s access to midwives and quality maternity care and for his leadership in supporting H.R. 1054.  Thank you Congressman Grijalva!

Featured MAMA Campaign Supporter

A big thank you from the MAMA Campaign goes to Lia Brynes for her advocacy to Congressman Grijalva.  Lia participated in the MAMA Congressional Lobby Day on March 16th, just before the CPM Symposium, when 45 midwives and mothers visited 40 offices on the Hill to gather support of the CPM bill.  Lia is a mother of 2 and grandmother of 5.  Her first birth was in the hospital with many unwanted interventions.  Her second baby was born at her home in the woods of northern California with midwives, inspiring her journey of passionate midwifery advocacy and to becoming a CPM.  Thank you, Lia!

Featured MAMA Campaign Steering Committee Member

In spite of the slow pace and virtual gridlock in Congress, MAMA is hard at work carrying out a sure and steady office-by-office approach to building support for H.R. 1054, with visits to 10 Congress members and many constituent letters of support just this past week.  Claudia Booker, a MAMA Campaign Steering Committee member and CPM from Washington, D.C., visited her Congresswoman on May 22nd to urge her leadership for this important piece of legislation.  CPMs are not licensed in the District of Columbia, but Claudia knows well from her work on the ground with mothers and babies that licensing would increase access to CPM care for those who are most at risk in her city. 

We are reminded by Claudia that in addition to securing Medicaid reimbursement for CPM services in all settings, passage of H.R. 1054 will be of great support to advocates across the country working so diligently to achieve licensing of CPMs in all 50 states, the territories and the District of Columbia.  Thank you, Claudia!

Easy Ways You Can Help
We know that the pace in Congress is maddeningly slow!  We know that economic times are hard for everyone!  AND we can never give up on the work to improve the care of women and babies – perseverance pays off!  Please stick with us – YOU are the MAMA Campaign!

• Become a recurring donor – an easy way to make a big difference! 
  • Just $10 a month = a yearly contribution of $120. 
  • $15 a month = a yearly contribution of $180. 
  • $25 a month = $300 a year to support advocacy for women and babies. 

Go today to www.mamacampaign.org and sign up to be a recurring donor!  Encourage your friends, colleagues, clients and family to do the same.  Together we can make the difference!

Bring your Congress member on board as a co-sponsor of H.R. 1054 – we can make it easy for you!  Just let us know that you would like to help and we will be in touch right away to partner with you and guide you through the process.  Thank you so much!  We look forward to hearing from you soon! 

Together we can make a difference. 

A New Short Presentation About the MAMA Campaign

Want to Talk to Your State Midwife Association/Community About the MAMA Campaign?
MAMA has a short, punchy slide show that you can use to share the good news of the MAMA Campaign and build support for the CPM bill in Congress.  Click here to download the power point presentation.



CPM Bill HR 1054 Introduced in Congress

Its a lucky day for moms and midwives. Click here to read the campaign's e-news message about the "Access to Certified Professional Midwives Act of 2011" HR 1054.