State legislative efforts NBMA is Following
Virginia
VA HB1817 /2021 will grant Certified Nurse-Midwives license to practice in accordance with regulations by the Joint Boards of Nursing and Medicine and the Standards for the Practice of Midwifery by the American College of Nurse-Midwives. For more info, see our post about the bill:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CLB11PGL9OB/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Georgia
A bill to establish regulation of community midwives.
This article highlights the critical and historical role of Black midwives for the families of Georgia:
Follow the bill here: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/59434
Nevada
A bill to establish licensure for Certified Professional Midwives:
Florida
Postpartum Medicaid extension to one year: https://www.jacksonville.com/story/opinion/2021/02/03/guest-column-florida-needs-reduce-maternal-mortality/4356247001/
PANDEMIC RESPONSE
OVER 100 PPE KITS MAILED IN 2020
Free PPE For Black Midwives
As medical personnel across the country prepared an emergency response to the global pandemic in 2020, NBMA partnered with Everyday Birth Magazine and raised funds to ship free PPE kits to practicing Black midwives. We have sent PPE kits to more than 100 Black midwives so far. Recipients enjoyed:
1 pair of washable shoe covers
1 KN95 mask
1 cloth mask
3 paper bags to store masks for reuse
1 long sleeve rain poncho for PPE
1 pair of sterile gloves
1 3oz hand sanitizer
1 face shield
SUPPORT THE NEXT GENERATION
$50.00
In 2020, NBMA awarded 30 Black student midwives financial gifts. The alliance has also supported special training opportunities at subsidized costs for mentees. NBMA continues to explore ways to expand this support to student midwives and is working on increasing our scholarship fund by 20% this year.
Movements In Midwifery Docuseries
2020 NBMA began documenting the stories of Black Midwives..
Legacy Power Voice: Movements in Black Midwifery is an intimate three-part documentary that explores the evolution of Black birthing traditions in America.
The Legacy Power Voice (LPV) docu-series will feature the first-hand accounts and testimonies of midwives in Georgia, Florida and beyond. The project underscores the imperative of passing down the traditions; cultural and spiritual technology of our Ancestors that have shown to improve maternal and infant health outcomes. It highlights our hope to bring Black birthing people back into the care of Black midwives and to center birthing people in full spectrum reproductive health care and home birth options.
LPV is a labor of love firmly rooted in grassroots efforts. The project sprouted to life when NBMA co-founders and first-time producers Haguerenesh Tesfa and Jamarah Amani partnered with Producer/Director Karyl-Lyn Sanderson to chronicle and explore movements in Black midwifery. The 2020 global pandemic and Black uprisings for liberation inspired this team to preserve the rich herstory of our Grand midwives, their predecessors and proteges keeping alive the traditions of our heritage.