Sunday, September 4, 2011

Frustrated!!!

Well, this weekend was full of so much information, both good and bad! I was able to attend a conference....The American Association of Birth Centers 5th annual. Overall it was great, so wonderful to be surrounded by people who are also involved in the crazy wonderfullness that is a birth center! To know that we are not alone and that others are out there joined in the movement is fantastic and a great way to get the ole battery re-charged. There were great presentations on Anthropological Breastfeeding (so amazing!), new guidelines for STI's (good to be kept up to date), PROM and techniques for OP and labor dystocia. All in all wonderful information.

What was disturbing...the new data on Maternal and Infant Mortality!!! We as a country spend more money on health care and have some of the worst outcomes, and to make it worse, we keep getting worse not better!! We are slipping further and further down on the list every year, currently we are 41st for infant outcomes and 50th for maternal outcomes!! This is shameful and shocking. Additionally, if you are African American the outcomes are 4x worse! Here is a link to a recent report from Amnesty International

http://www.amnestyusa.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/deadlydelivery.pdf

Before reading it, be prepared to be frustrated and saddened, and then hopefully moved to action. I will soon be moving that way....after the initial shock wears off. For now, I really needed to vent!

1 comment:

  1. Thanks for sharing the link for this information. Part of the reason why I became a midwife was to help address some of these issues. I am Navajo and a new CNM, growing up I saw how hard it was for women in my community to get adequate prenatal care. Many times the women in my community would complain about the care the received while in the hospital. Basically the nursing staff and physicians were not very friendly and not culturally sensitive. On the Navajo reservation access to healthcare is a big issue. Some women I saw in chinle, AZ drove like 2 to 5 hrs for 1 prenatal visit, some had no transportation...and if they were high risk and needed to see Perinate's for issues, they had to drive 8 hrs to the nearest city. A lot of these issues have been around for more then 10 years. I think it's necessary to get more women of color into the midwifery profession, because they have experienced what is being seen in the research first hand. That is one of my goals as being a CNM. To mentor and get more Native American women in this profession. I have a blog of my school experience if you want to read about what I experienced as a student and my time on the Navajo reservation. Its called "My Blessingway to Midwifery"..I also made a short film on youtube hoping to get more women interested in this profession.

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