I’m proud to be in the ranks with you, my birth-working, baby-catching, advocating, health-promoting, justice-seeking, space-holding, trauma-informing, choice-honoring, person-empowering midwives! I hope to share the dance floor with you and celebrate all that we do at the Annual Meeting in a few weeks.

Until then, maybe I’ll see you at the March this Saturday, or at the Birth Happens Midwifery Exhibit at the San Lorenzo Valley Museum reception on October 3!

In the spirit of intersectional feminism,

Paris Maloof-Bury, CNM, IBCLC

President, California Nurse-Midwives Association

Birth Happens Museum Exhibit

This special exhibit will explore the history of midwifery in Santa Cruz from pre-contact through the present. Join us now through January 2022 at the San Lorenzo Valley Museum in the Faye G. Balardi Gallery. There will be a special reception on Sunday, October 3 from 1-4 PM to celebrate National Midwifery Week. For more information, click here or call (831)338-8382.

Register for the CNMA Annual Meeting!

The CNMA Annual Meeting will take place on November 6-7, 2021 in Millbrae, California (just a few miles from San Francisco). We are delighted to offer both in person and virtual access for the 2021 CNMA Annual Meeting. Day 1 includes 8 CEUs and an after hours dance party. Day 2 will offer a FREE anti-racism preceptor workshop. Register here!

November 6th, 8am-5pm

The main event!

In-Person (full vaccination status required) or Virtual Attendance

Breakfast and Lunch Included

8 CEs offered

Shuttle from the airport available

$250 in-person ($250 members/$350 non-members)

$$$ Discounts for students and retirees!

$85 virtual (includes CEs)

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November 6th, 7pm-10pm

Afterpartyyyyyyyy!

Drinks, dessert, and dancing to support CNMA's sister organization (a 501c(3))

Tickets sold separately

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November 7th, 12-4pm

Day 2: An Optional Anti-Racist Clinical Teaching Interactive Workshop

(25 free tickets, first come, first serve!)

Tickets registered separately.

California Innovates to Bring More Midwives to Medi-Cal Recipients!

The California Nurse-Midwives Association is excited to announce that California has been selected as one of the first five states to engage in an innovative 3-year learning collaborative convened by the Institute for Medicaid Innovation. This collaborative is funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and will bring together multiple stakeholders who collectively seek to improve birth equity through the development of sustainable initiatives to advance midwifery-led models of care for the Medicaid population in their communities. CNMA is partnering with Best Start Birth Center, Beach Cities Midwifery, Antelope Valley Birth Center, Midtown Birth Center, Santa Rosa Birth Center, San Francisco Birth Center, Loving Way Midwifery, Eisner Health, the California Nurse-Midwives Foundation, the California Affiliate of the American Association of Birth Centers, Blue Shield of California Promise Health Plan, L.A. Care Health Plan, Los Angeles Department of Public Health, the African American Infant and Maternal Mortality Initiative (AAIMM, represented by stakeholders at the Black Maternal Health Center of Excellence at Charles R. Drew University), the National Health Law Program, and Maternal Child Health Access. If you'd like to join us, contact advocacy@cnma.org. Find more info here.

SB 65 California Momnibus Bill and Midwifery Workforce Training

SB 65 (Skinner), the California Momnibus bill is officially off to the Governor’s desk having passed the Assembly (77-0!) last Thursday with a concurrence vote in the Senate Friday!! This means we are only one step away from creating the Midwifery Workforce Training Act in California (among other awesome changes)! If SB 65 is signed into law, next year’s focus will be to get this midwifery training section funded by the legislature. While our vote count was great, we do have opposition from the Department of Finance, in particular because the Pregnancy-Associated Mortality Review committee portion of the bill was not included in the budget, so a Governor signature is not guaranteed. For more information, see the updated informational flyer here. If you want to support NOW, please visit cnma.org/advocacy for what you can do!

Volunteer with CNMA!

San Francisco Bay Area Chapter Chair

San Francisco Bay Area Midwives! We are seeking a new chapter chair (or co-chairs) to take over for the Bay Area Chapter. Duties of the chapter chair include presiding at all chapter meetings, maintaining communication among chapter members and with CNMA, and developing a plan/agenda for chapter meetings. BIPOC CNMs are especially invited to apply, as CNMA is actively working to bring more BIPOC CNMs into leadership positions throughout the state. This is an exciting role which will allow you to promote networking and engagement among your fellow local area midwives. You will be supported by your fellow leadership team (vice chair, secretary, and treasurer) as well as by CNMA who is here to help you every step of the way! If you're interested in taking on this role, please email our membership chair, Emily Carter at membership@cnma.org.

Communications Committee

The social media team needs help creating content for the CNMA platforms! Can you help? Here is what is involved:

Come across an interesting article relating to maternal health care, reproductive justice, health equity or midwifery
Summarize the key point in a few sentences or a paragraph
Drop it into a provided google doc with the link to the original content

It’s that easy! Please contact sm@CNMA.org for more details.

#MidwivesWhoLoveSocialMedia

Seeking Assistant Membership Chair!

The CNMA Membership Chair is seeking someone to fill an assistant membership chair role. The membership chair is responsible for communications with new and existing members as well as developing new and creative ways to increase membership and improve engagement. I am looking for someone to take part in brainstorming and carrying out ideas, as well as assisting with tasks such as emailing and updating membership records. This role can be tailored to fit your interests and skills. If you have a desire to help shape the future of our organization please contact Emily Carter at ercarterRN@gmail.com.

Continuing Education Committee

The CNMA Continuing Education Committee is responsible for planning and hosting the CNMA Annual Meeting each year, and is now taking on the added responsibility of creating continuing education content that will be available through www.CNMA.org (coming soon!). Please consider joining this small and focused team. The work is targeted and specific, but there’s still plenty of room for creativity. Interested members, please contact jillcauley4@gmail.com.

Midwifery Workforce Development and Education Support Committee

This new committee will focus on building and diversifying the CNM workforce in California, including strategizing to increase the number of clinical placement sites and preceptors in California, establishing and maintaining two-way communication between midwifery programs that have student nurse-midwives in California and the CNMA Board of Directors, and fostering and supporting student mentoring programs. They will work alongside the Student Representatives to the CNMA Board of Directors. Ideal candidates include any of the following:

Lead and Chief Midwives from practices throughout the state
At least one representative from each midwifery program that has student midwives in California
Midwives who are passionate about supporting students and educators
Midwives who are passionate about mentoring
Midwives who are passionate about scaling up midwifery in California

Please contact dmvandewiele@gmail.com for more information.

Volunteer to Address COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy

Attention California Nurses! We need your knowledge and compassion to help people make informed choices about the COVID-19 vaccine! Sign up at www.VaxForce.org to volunteer.

Flexible schedules, work from home, and address the vaccine concerns impacting YOUR community!

Education, Trainings, and Webinars

Unequal Burden: Preterm birth in the United States

This free webinar is the fifth presentation in Hologic’s webinar series, Preterm Labor: Current Advances and Evolving Research. This session will discuss how the burden of preterm birth is not equal among different groups. Differences in preterm birth occurrence and outcomes are noted among different groups based on race/ethnicity, age, location of residence, socioeconomic status, and much more. This lecture will review available strategies for preterm birth prevention and the challenges in reducing preterm birth. October 7 at 9 AM. Register here.

Health Affairs Briefing: Perinatal Mental Health

The October 2021 issue of Health Affairs, “Perinatal Mental Health & More,” features a themed cluster of papers on perinatal mental health presenting empirical findings and commentary from leading thinkers in the field, offering specific proposals for improving support for people before, during, and after giving birth. Join us on Friday, October 8, 2021, from 10 - 11:30 AM for a FREE virtual forum featuring special guests and a select group of authors from the issue presenting their work. Register here.

Black Women for Wellness Reproductive Justice Conference

Black Women for Wellness will host our 19th annual Reproductive Justice Conference Saturday, October 9 at 8 AM. Each year, we convene this one-of-a-kind event that centers the experiences of Black women and girls and brings together health professionals, community organizers, and advocates to provide updates and share insights on the reproductive health status of our community. This year’s theme is “Unapologetically Black: We speak for ourselves.” Register here.

Why didn’t we do this earlier? The new model of NICLET care

The new model of "NICLET Care", where NICU babies are cared for right alongside their mom, has perinatal services providers asking "how do we implement this?" In this FREE webinar, you will be introduced to intensive parenting models that can improve bonding and outcomes. Learn how the Couplet Care model is expanding to better support the parents of the NICU infants. For more information and to register, click here. October 19, 10 - 11 AM. 1 CEU offered.

PSI 2-Day Components of Care and Advanced Training

Postpartum support international is offering the 2-Day Components of Care and Advanced Trainings VIRTUALLY! All training dates offer the 2-day Components of Care, Advanced Psychotherapy, and Advanced Psychopharmacology.

Perinatal Psychiatry: Treatment during Pregnancy and Postpartum

This virtual course will focus on the diagnosis and treatment of psychiatric disorders during pregnancy and postpartum. Exposure to psychotropic medications and the consequence of untreated psychiatric disorders must be considered when treating pregnant women, those who may become pregnant during treatment, and those who are breastfeeding. Up to date and comprehensive knowledge is required to help patients make collaborative and individualized treatment decisions. Focused material will be presented on specialized psychotherapies utilized during pregnancy and postpartum, as well as an overview of embryology and obstetrics informing a broad range of care modalities. Learning in this course will be facilitated by didactic materials delivered by the faculty from the MGH Center for Women’s Mental Health. October 21, 2021 5.75 CEUs. $250. Register here.

Spinning Babies 2-Day Workshop

Santa Paula Midwives is hosting a 2-Day Spinning Babies Workshop November 5-6, 2021 from 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM at the Ventura County Medical Center. Spinning Babies presents a new perspective on the anatomy of fetal positioning and birth. Where dilation stalls, rotation solves! Spinning Babies reduces unnecessary cesareans with a paradigm-shifting approach to physiological birth. Instructor: Kelly Dungan, BSN, RNC-OB. Registration: $375, or $425 after October 23. 13 CEs available through ANCC and ACNM. For more information contact Denise Ellison, CNM at DMECNM@gmail.com.

Evidence to Application Summit: Utilizing low-dose aspirin to reduce pre-eclampsia

Leaders from hospitals, provider groups, public health, community-based organizations and birthing people with lived experience are all invited to attend this FREE program on November 7 from 8 AM - 12 PM. We plan to implement this campaign in target areas with a high risk for

preeclampsia and prematurity rates. Our overarching goal of this Summit is to build out implementation strategies utilizing CMQCC’s soon-to-be-released Hypertension/ Preeclampsia Quality Improvement Toolkit – which supports hospitals in managing labor and delivery patients presenting with high blood pressure; and March of Dimes Low-Dose Aspirin Toolkit – which helps prenatal care providers and allied health professionals increase access, utilization and acceptability of low-dose aspirin during pregnancy to prevent preeclampsia

Please join us as we work together to ensure California’s birthing people, babies and their families have the best possible start to life. Register here.

25th Anniversary Nurse Leadership Forum

Synova welcomes all perinatal and neonatal nurse leaders in person to the 25th Anniversary Nurse Leadership Forum November 14-18, 2021 in Tucson, Arizona. Join us as we gain the confidence to step up to new opportunities, develop skill in navigating uncomfortable yet important conversations, deconstruct our understanding of other cultures and demographics and how they impact our work, and advance our emotional intelligence to foster the development of our teams. Learn more and register here.

The Science and Mystery of Pregnancy and Birth

The Association for Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology and Health 22nd International Congress will take place November 19-21, 2021. This three day virtual conference will feature ACNM’s President-Elect Heather Clarke, DNP, CNM, LM, APRN, RN, FACNM! Our growing knowledge about the complex prenatal and perinatal process relies on both the science of the known world and the mystery of the unknown. New aspects of this dynamic universal experience are discovered continually, and these discoveries offer hope and healing for the lives of mothers, babies, and families, which will shape our society. When we change how we think and teach about all dimensions of the birth experience, we are changing the world! Register here.

Preventing Racial and Ethnic Biases During Pandemics and Other Crises

To empower health care personnel to provide equitable care during crises like COVID-19, Diversity Science, a professional services firm focused on accelerating progress towards diversity, equity, and inclusion in health care, has developed three free online training courses tailored to physicians, nurses, and nonclinical frontline staff. Each of the FREE training courses is approximately 25 minutes and can be completed at your convenience.

Saving the Lives of Moms and Babies

The National Partnership for Women & Families has joined the National Birth Equity Collaborative to produce the Saving the Lives of Moms & Babies series. The 10-part series connects the dots between how different socioeconomic factors affect maternal and infant health, the outsize impact these factors have on Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color (BIPOC) communities, and recommendations to effect the change we need to ensure all moms and babies thrive. Saving the Lives of Moms & Babies: Addressing Racism and Socioeconomic Influencers of Health presents a ground-breaking summary of how racism directly affects the bodies of moms and babies.

Inclusive Healthcare in Perinatal Nursing

Identifying and rectifying our own biases allows us to improve the outcomes of our patients. This online session will explore challenges related to implicit bias, health equity, disparities, and health care outcomes, as well as strategies and recommendations for addressing implicit bias to achieve the goal of health equity in perinatal healthcare. Registration: $25.00 for AWHONN Members, $39.00 E-members, $50 Non-members. 1.25 Contact Hours

Scholarships and Grants

Wayachi Seed Grant

The Wayachi Seed Grant is a $5,000 scholarship awarded to an ACNM member. The Project proposals must have a primary focus on meeting the direct needs of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), with preference to projects that address the Wayachi Fund purposes described on the foundation website. BIPOC/people of color applicants from diverse backgrounds are eligible and encouraged to apply, including midwives (CNM/CM/CPM/LM), students, retirees, community groups, advocates, and other health professionals who work with under-resourced BIPOC/people of color communities. Apply by October 8th, 2021.

Jeanne Raisler International Award for Midwifery

The ACNM Foundation announces the $3500 Jeanne Raisler International Award for Midwifery, a professional development grant that supports midwives to become involved in global midwifery. No past international experience is required. Apply by October 15th, 2021.

Job Opportunities

Public Health Institute

The Public Health Institute is seeking a part-time nurse abstractor with labor and delivery experience to gather data from medical records and create Case Summary narratives for committee review. This is a part-time position (hours can vary from 6-10 hours per week) with flexible scheduling. Work can be done remotely. Candidates must own a password-protected computer (PC or Mac, not Chromebook). The CA-Pregnancy-Associated Mortality Review is an enhanced surveillance project started in 2006 to identify possible reasons for the rise in maternal mortality, increasing racial/ethnic disparities, and to develop evidence-based clinical, policy and programmatic interventions. In-depth medical record and coroner report review is conducted to identify contributing factors and quality improvement opportunities to ultimately decrease maternal mortality in California. More information and application are available here.

Locum CNMs to care for Afghan Refugees

CNMs needed to assist recently taken in Afghan refugees in Virginia, New Mexico, and New Jersey. Full time coverage needed with 12 and 8 hour shifts available. Must be flexible with day shifts/night shifts weekdays/weekends. Needed immediately and ongoing, and as soon as possible. California state licenses are acceptable. Must be COVID-19 vaccinated. Apply here.

Sutter Women’s Health in Davis - Certified Nurse-Midwife

Sutter Women's Health in Davis is seeking certified nurse-midwives to join us in an award winning and nationally recognized collaborative practice working in the office and community hospital setting. Both full and part time positions are available. Sutter Davis Hospital has a Level 1 nursery and offers a full spectrum of labor and delivery options, including low intervention birth, TOLAC/VBAC, hydrotherapy, nitrous oxide, anesthesia, and a volunteer doula service. The hospital is expanding and we are excited to grow our practice to meet our community's needs. This full scope position includes obstetrics, family planning, simple gynecology, and group prenatal care. Additional highly desirable skills: maternal mental health, first and third trimester ultrasound, cesarean first assist, leadership, support of physiologic labor and birth, and experience with LARC methods. For more information, please contact Krysta Burris, Physician Recruiter, at Develops@sutterhealth.org.

Sutter Women’s Health in Davis - Physician Position

Sutter Women's Health in Davis is seeking a full time OB-Gyn to join us in an award winning and nationally recognized collaborative practice working with certified nurse-midwives as part of a large multidisciplinary group, both in the office and community hospital setting. Sutter Davis Hospital offers a full spectrum of labor and delivery options, including low intervention birth, TOLAC/VBAC, hydrotherapy, anesthesia, and a volunteer doula service. The hospital is expanding and we are excited to grow our practice to meet our community's needs. Sutter Medical Group is recognized as a Top Performing Physician Group by the Integrated Healthcare Association, and Sutter Davis Hospital consistently ranks among the best places for families to give birth in California. Join us and enjoy an income guarantee with shareholder track, generous compensation and benefits including 401(k), advanced practice technology, and a positive work-life balance and Northern California’s natural beauty and lifestyle. For more information, please contact Krysta Burris, Physician Recruiter, at Develops@sutterhealth.org.

Kaiser Permanente

Kaiser Permanente is currently hiring six (6) certified nurse-midwives in the Sacramento area and in Walnut Creek/Antioch.

Journal of Midwifery and Women’s Health

The editors of the Journal of Midwifery and Women’s Health (JMWH) are seeking candidates for a Deputy Editor. The JMWH Editor-in-Chief and Deputy Editors comprise the Journal’s senior editors who direct the content, focus, and strategic development of the Journal. To apply, please email a curriculum vitae and letter of interest to Melissa Avery, JMWH Editor-in-Chief Elect at jmwh@acnm.org with questions. For more information, click here.

Maven Clinic

Maven Clinic is a digital telehealth platform that offers support via video appointments and messaging for people who are trying to conceive, are going through fertility treatments, are pregnant, or are post-partum. Maven Clinic is currently hiring doulas, midwives, lactation consultants, nurse practitioners, and reproductive endocrinologists. Apply here: https://www.mavenclinic.com/practitioners

Midwife Crush Mondays!

Do you know an amazing Midwife who is doing revolutionary work? We want to feature them on our social media platforms!

CNMA is looking for submissions for our new social media series “Midwife Crush Monday” where we highlight the stories of trailblazing midwives across the industry who are making a difference in the midwifery profession. You can even submit yourself!

Here’s what we’re looking for:

Midwife’s name (include pronouns)
Affiliated organization(s)
Why you became a midwife (and anything awesome you’d like to brag about)
Headshot/Photo if available
Bonus: Please include social media handles for tagging!

Please send submissions to sm@cnma.org for consideration!

Questions? News? Want to get involved?

Email us at info@cnma.org

That's all for this month's issue. Catch you next time!

-CNMA MEDIA TEAM

Visit us at cnma.org

This newsletter will be archived on our website atcnma.org/news

California Nurse-Midwives Association

OCTOBER 2021| Newsletter

TABLE OF CONTENTS

National Midwifery Week