01/06/2015
Today is my third child's birth day, six years old! When I asked my family friend/midwife to attend his birth, midwifery had not yet been decriminalized. I remember that feeling well, of wanting what I knew to be the better route of care (for my family), to avoid the trauma I experienced with my first child, yet knowing I was asking my friend to do something no one should ever ask another person to do. She said yes, without hesitation, as many midwives may or may not have done in those days. They knew, as did the families, that midwifery care was worth breaking the out-of-date and unreasonable law. Because of this, FoMM and the midwives worked hard, year after year, to decriminalize midwives. Yes, midwives are legal in Missouri now. Yes, that was a major victory! However, the fight isn't over. Each year, new bills have been introduced and legislators have pushed to make midwifery harder to access, more expensive, or downright illegal again. The midwives who have served us so faithfully for years, sometimes under direct threat of jail or prosecution or both, are tired. Their jobs are to serve families, not lobby at the Captiol so they can do their work. It is up to us, the families, to stand up and say how important our midwives are to us. It is up to us to write, call, visit our legislators and make them listen. I am tired of fighting, as I know you are, but it is our duty. We need you now, more than ever. Please do your part and get involved. Be a part of the collective voice that says loudly "We " ~Summer~
