Out of hospital birth in Georgia is being threatened.
Out of hospital midwifery is in trouble in Georgia. I struggle with writing this email because I do not want to sound overly sensational, but I also do not want to downplay the serious trouble we are in.
An experienced midwife has been issued a Cease and Desist by the State, demanding that she stop calling herself a midwife. This midwife has had over 38 years of excellent outcomes for mamas and babies and has worked tirelessly to keep out of hospital birth safe for Georgia families. All we know is that more Cease and Desist orders are coming but we do not know which midwives will receive them.
Future home births are at risk. Some midwives are quitting and some are severely limiting their practice. There may not be any midwives left to provide you with care. If we cannot obtain a legal pathway to practice, most of us will move to states that do provide that. Georgia mothers deserve midwives!
We need letters now. (Deadline is Wednesday 10/16)(Edited to add, yes, please keep sending them even though the deadline has passed!)
Draft a letter in support of HB717 and email it to paigethemidwife@gmail.com We need letters from every district in Georgia, and it does not matter if you have personally experienced a home birth.
You can say:
Dear Georgia Legislators,
Please support HB 717 to license Certified Professional Midwives. Georgia families continue to choose home delivery as an option and need access to licensed out of hospital birth providers like 33 other states in the USA!
Certified Professional Midwives have met rigorous national requirements and those with MEAC degrees or the Midwifery Bridge Certificate are educated to the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) standards, which is the global standard WHO endorses.
Please vote Yes to HB 717 and help expand safe birth options in Georgia.
Signed,
(Name), (City, County)
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Donate
The Georgia State Chapter of NACPM is a 501(c)6 organization and your donations are tax exempt. Donations go towards efforts to seek licensure, and later will go towards scholarships for student midwives and educational opportunities to expand the CPM profession.
For other avenues to donate, please email nacpmga@gmail.com for details.
Onward,
Missi Burgess, CPM
President, Georgia State Chapter of NACPM