Massachusetts ACNM Affiliate Statement on Racial Equity and Anti-Racism Action Plan

18

June , 2020

Massachusetts
Midwives
In the news

Massachusetts ACNM Affiliate Statement on Racial Equity and Anti-Racism Action Plan

The Massachusetts Affiliate of the American College of Nurse-Midwives (MA ACNM) stands in support of and solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement, the end of police brutality, and the continued fight to end institutional and systemic racism. We acknowledge the historical presence of indoctrinated racism within midwifery, obstetrics, and gynecology.

There is a need for all of us to take a deep introspective look to truly understand our privilege in order to become true advocates and allies for the members of the Black Indigenous People of Color community. Addressing this will lessen the gap of horrific racial disparities found in the maternal and infant health outcomes among Black Indigenous People of Color.

The MA ACNM Affiliate pledges to do the hard work of examining our own actions and those of our institutions to best support Black Indigenous People of Color in our communities and among our staff. We are eager to affect change and are committed to working toward implementing a vision that includes the following:

Sponsor and promote educational events focused on reducing racial disparities in maternal and infant morbidity and mortality for Black Indigenous People of Color through our Diversity and Inclusion Committee.

Provide quarterly, educational opportunities for members to discuss racism, implicit bias and micro-aggressions within midwifery, obstetrics, and gynecology (reproductive health, abortion, trans-health, etc.)

Pledge an annual donation to the Melanated Midwives. This organization funds scholarships and supports mentorships for new graduates and midwives who are Black Indigenous People of Color

Foster ongoing mandatory training and education on anti-racism and unconscious bias for White members of the Affiliate executive committee

The deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and countless others before them have revolutionized and empowered a movement for true systemic change to which we must hold ourselves and others accountable in order to put forth REAL action. We see you, we hear you, we stand with you. #Blacklivesmatter #justiceforgeorgefloyd #blackmamasmatter #endracialhealthcaredisparities

The MA ACNM Executive Committee

Mary T. Paterno, PhD, CNM, FACNM – President

Ruth Peterle-Dzurec, CNM – Vice President

Vanessa Ross, MSN, CNM – Treasurer

Katie Temes, CNM – Secretary & PR Committee Chair

Estefany Flores-Godaire, CNM, MPH – Diversity & Inclusion Committee Co-Chair

Melissa Nelson, MSN, CNM, WHNP-BC – Diversity & Inclusion Committee Co-Chair

Katherine Rushfirth, CNM – Legislative Committee Co-Chair

Susan J. Hernandez, CNM, MSN – Legislative Committee Co-Chair

Katharine (Kate) Green, PhD, CNM, FACNM – Affiliate Legislative Contact

Kelly Nease, RN, BSN, SNM – Student Nurse-Midwife representative

Katherine Rushfirth CNM and the President of MA ACNM talks about coping when your birth does not got as planned

3
May, 2018
Massachusetts
Midwives
In the news
Katherine Rushfirth CNM and the President of MA ACNM talks about coping when your birth does not got as planned

There are three major stages of labor: early labor, when a woman’s cervix starts to thin out and dilate and she has spaced-out contractions; active labor, when contractions are longer, stronger, and closer together; and the transition stage, which is the final stage leading up to when the baby is born, according to the American Pregnancy Association.

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MA ACNM participates in the “March for Moms”, calling for better maternity care in the US

7
May, 2018
Massachusetts
Midwives
In the news

MA ACNM participates in the “March for Moms”, calling for better maternity care in the US

Mothers, midwives, and other women gathered Sunday afternoon in Copley Square to raise awareness of the number of women dying in childbirth, especially women of color.

About 17 women per 100,000 live births die from pregnancy-related causes in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control. That rate exceeds the average collective rate of other industrialized countries, which report about 12 per 100,000, according to the World Health Organization. Black women are four times more likely to die from pregnancy than white women, according to another CDC report.

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Julie Paul CNM and the South Shore Hospital’s Early Labor Lounge featured in Politico

8
November, 2017
Massachusetts
Midwives
In the news

The case against hospital beds

When the health care industry talks about hospitals, it tends to use the language of facility planners—one in which “patients” and “beds” are equivalent. This is the legacy of a very different era in medicine. Modern hospitals are historically rooted in the sanatoria and asylums of the mid-19th century, originally conceived to isolate patients with conditions such as tuberculosis and lunacy from the community, not to protect their rights. The move from open wards to closed rooms was perhaps the first major reform in hospital design—motivated by a need for isolation as our understanding of communicable diseases and infection control became more sophisticated.

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Katherine Rushfirth CNM, the President of the MA ACNM, talks about the importance of hydration in pregnancy

23
February , 2018
Massachusetts
Midwives
In the news

Dehydration Can Cause Contractions During Pregnancy, as ‘Bachelorette’ Star Ali Fedotowsky Just Found Out

Pregnancy is filled with weird aches, pains, and twinges, and some are a little scarier than others. Former Bachelorette star Ali Fedotowsky recently had a particularly confusing experience with pregnancy pain—and it was so bad that she thought she was going into pre-term labor.

Fedotowsky, who is pregnant with her second child, wrote on her blog that she started experiencing “sharp pains in my uterus” when she was 26 weeks pregnant and initially wrote it off as gas pain. But the pain got worse and eventually started coming in waves, just like contractions.

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