Lobby Day is Wed. 2/1/23!
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SIGN UP NOW!!!!
Hello everyone, Mailchimp deleted our email database and we are working to get it restarted as quickly as possible. Please register here now: http://eepurl.com/heSNhL
Even if you were on our mailing list in the past, we need you to sign up again so that we can keep you updated. We have a bill, THE BILL, to expand the CPM scope to include VBAC, for the 2021 session.
We are also asking for an optional $10 donation at https://paypal.me/mfsafebirth?locale.x=en_US
We were unable to hold the Baltimore Birth Festival (the major source of our fundraising) in 2020 and now have enough money to cover only one more month of our lobbyist fees. Please consider donating now if you are able, and don’t miss our exciting online auction next month, November 23-29!
Lobby Day 2020
Are you passionate about improving access to maternity care options for Maryland families? Come join us in Annapolis on Wednesday, January 29, 2020 for our next Maryland Families for Safe Birth Lobby Day: Let’s make our voices heard!
The focus of our MFSB Lobby Day in 2020 will be on VBAC access, and how poorly our state is doing in this particular area of maternity care. You will have a chance to meet with your own representatives (we will arrange meetings for you) to tell them why this is an important issue for you, and for other families in Maryland. We would love to see a huge turnout, as we circle back to an issue that has always been at the top of our legislative agenda.
While we would love for everyone to stay the entire day, we do understand time constraints, and can work with your schedule if you can only make it for a portion of the day. This event is kid-friendly.
If you are coming to the MFSB Lobby Day on January 29, 2020, please click here to fill out the registration form so that we can start arranging appointments. Thanks! We hope to see you there!
Update on 2019 Surgical Birth legislation
On 2/13 the surgical birth study bill sponsored by MFSB was heard in the Maryland House Health & Government Operations committee. Delegate Young introduced the bill, and discussed the high cesarean rate and low VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean) rate in Maryland and why we need to address this issue. Kirra Brandon and Jessica Watkins testified for Maryland Families for Safe Birth, along with our lobbyist Caitlin McDonough. A representative from CareFirst also testified in support of the bill, as did the Patient Safety Center. MedChi/ACOG and ACNM opposed the original bill, on the grounds that the state is already making efforts towards lowering the cesarean rate.
All of the parties that testified were supportive of the solution we came to, which is that the Patient Safety Center will expand their current initiative to reduce first time cesareans, to include efforts to reduce repeat cesareans, and to include consumer representatives in this new initiative. We are really excited to be moving forward in this way and hope to come up with some meaningful policy suggestions to increase access to VBAC in Maryland.
You can watch the video of the hearing here (we are the third bill, beginning at about 31:00 into the recording):http://mgahouse.maryland.gov/…/ab0ada6d-3f18-455f-8988-27…/…
Thanks to all who called and wrote and shared your stories of why this topic is so important to Maryland families and why it should be important to our legislative representatives to address the issue. Please stay tuned for the next steps in the process!
MFSB Lobby Day 2019 is Tuesday, January 22nd!
Mark Your Calendars!
Lobby day for MFSB is Tuesday, January 22nd!
This is YOUR chance to tell YOUR representatives, in person, why improving access to evidence-based, culturally sensitive, maternity care in Maryland is important to you! It’s a great opportunity to build that personal connection that can make such a difference in legislators really understanding the importance of our work and what this really means to their own constituents.
If you are coming, please fill out the registration form so we can set up your appointments to meet with your representatives and provide you with handouts and talking points.
We will have a cesarean study bill, and should have the text to share with you shortly. This bill will look at cesarean rates in Maryland, strategies used by other states to lower cesarean rates, and suggest recommendations based on the findings. This bill gives us the opportunity to educate our representatives on the issue and open the door for more specific legislation relating to cesareans and VBAC in the future.
We are also working on maternal data transparency, and may have a bill this session. Did you know that a woman’s risk of certain interventions during childbirth is largely influenced by the specific place of birth (which hospital) and provider chosen? Did you know that the state already collects a huge amount of data regarding this, but that it isn’t easily accessible to the general public? Do you think it should be, so that Maryland families can make informed decisions about their care?
Do you believe that Maryland families should have
Access to VBAC (and other evidence-base birth options) in all settings?
Increased access to birth centers?
We need as many of you there, in person, as possible. We need to send a message to our representatives that Maryland Families are still willing to fight for better maternity care in this state.
If you are planning to attend, all you have to do is RSVP to this event and fill out the registration form. We will provide you with handouts and talking points. We will arrange appointments with your representatives for you. Most will occur between 9 am and 1 pm that day (if you have a specific time constraint let us know). Lobby day is family friendly.
If you can’t make it on the 22nd but would like to make a phone call or send an e-mail, please let us know that as well so we can help facilitate that contact too!
We hope to see you there!
Support House Joint Resolution 10 concerning Decreasing Surgical Births
“FOR the purpose of recognizing certain benefits conferred on women who give birth and their babies by lowering the rate of surgical births; encouraging providers of maternity care to support and promote nonoperative vaginal births by providing to individuals certain resources and information; urging certain State agencies to share certain information with parents for a certain purpose and encourage and support certain choices with certain practices; and generally relating to the health of women and children and decreasing surgical births.” Read the full text of the Cesarean Resolution bill HERE.
The hearing for our Cesarean Resolution is Monday, March 5, 2018 at 3 pm in the House Rules and Executive Nominations Committee. We need as much written testimony as possible to support this bill.
Why is it important to lower the Cesarean rate? How is the high Cesarean rate in MD affecting our women and families? Has it affected you personally? Please contact your legislators and the committee members to voice your support for House Joint Resolution 10 – Decreasing Surgical Births.
Passing this resolution will increase awareness and open the door for future legislative efforts, as it is a formal recognition by the legislature that they are committed to action on this issue. Let’s make this happen!!!