Tuesday, March 30, 2010

ROLL CALL - PLEASE CALL YOUR REP TODAY!

DEAR HOME BIRTH AND MIDWIFERY SUPPORTERS

Last week we asked you to send a letter. Now it's time to follow up with a call. Can you help us by calling your state Rep? We are continuing to work to get a full House role call (head count to see if we have enough votes) for the Home Birth Safety Act, HB 226.

Our momentum is building! If we get just 30 more votes on the floor and 1 more in committee, we will have what it takes for us to get the bill through the House this year. There are 75 reps who not yet been counted, so there are many opportunities to get the votes we need. BUT WE CAN'T DO IT ALONE. WE NEED YOUR HELP!!

Here's what you can do:

Forward this email to everyone you know. We need to reach as many people as possible or we won't get a full roll call.

Then, if you haven't done it already, look up your legislator. Go to www.ilga.gov, click on Legislator Lookup and then put in your address to find your state Rep's information.

Next, call your Rep's local office and ask him/her to co-sponsor HB226, the Homebirth Safety Act. Please do this even if you've called / asked before. Let them know that Rep Beth Coulson, a long time opponent, has changed her mind and supports the bill. She changed her mind after reviewing the new educational requirements inserted by the Advance Practice Nurses.

If they says no, ask if they will please vote yes for it. Say that the midwives are trying to get a roll call.

If they says no to that too, ask for an appointment to come hear about their concerns and to possibly bring someone from the midwives to try to address some of their concerns.

If you do not reach anyone, please keep trying.

If you hear "that bill is dead" please point out that there were 3 new co-sponsors added last week and say that the midwives are confident they can get a committee assignment if they can get a good floor count, so could s/he please co-sponsor or vote yes?

If they want any details about the issue over the phone, the following are some good details.

There are not enough legal providers to serve the approximately 800 - 1000 babies born at home in Illinois every year. Unlicense midwives fill in the gaps in the underserved areas - "delivering" babies for many families, But without regulation there is no assurance that a particular midwife is skilled. There is no smooth mechanism for transport and transfer of care if the woman needs to go to the hospital for a C-section. There is no easy way to get a birth certificate that is filled out properly. And there is no easy way to do the baby's blood test that screens for metabolic or genetically inherited disorders (such as cystic fibrosis). Failing to screen and treat certain disorders early on, can be devastating for baby’s health.The Homebirth Safety Act, HB226 can remedy these issues in a way that our current system does not.



Please contact us to let us know of any response you get from your rep. If you get a meeting, we'll try to send someone with you or coach you ahead of time. Let us know by sending email to Jamie at Charis490@gmail.com


Home Birth mothers and babies in Illinois are counting upon you to make this phone call.
Remember your Reps work for YOU. THANK YOU!

Rachel

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rachel Dolan Wickersham, CD(DONA), LCCE
president, Coalition for Illinois Midwifery
vice president, Illinois Council of Certified Professional Midwives
Jiandra@aol.com
630-750-9444

Friday, March 26, 2010

Update - more great news!!

We've got more great news! Our momentum is building. The Homebirth Safety Act now has two more co-sponsors - one from each side of the aisle - Representatives Mike Tryon (R) and Mike Boland (D). If they are your reps, please send them a thank you! If they are NOT your reps, please keep helping us build momentum by contacting your rep TODAY! Be absolutely sure to tell them about HB226's new co-sponsors. Then ask them to co-sponsor too!



While you're waiting for their return call, enjoy this fantastic article by Illinois Times journalist Amanda Robert. She follows the life of one Illinois midwife of 30 years ago and reports on the state of midwifery in Illinois over a 30 year span. The article can be found at this link:



http://www.illinoistimes.com/Springfield/article-7111-home-delivery.html



Once your rep does return your call, if they say anything but YES to co-sponsoring, send them a copy of this article.





Thanks for all you do!!!



Rachel





~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Rachel Dolan Wickersham, CD(DONA), LCCE
president, Coalition for Illinois Midwifery
vice president, Illinois Council of Certified Professional Midwives
Jiandra@aol.com
630-750-9444

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

UPDATE - WE NEED A ROLL CALL!! HB226

UPDATE – WE NEED A ROLL CALL!!
HOMEBIRTH SAFETY ACT – HB226

Dear Home Birth and Midwifery Supporters,

It's time. We are pressing the entire House Floor for support. If you've been disappointed that your legislator has not been listed on previous action alerts, NOW is your time. We need a FULL ROLL CALL of the Illinois House of Representatives. We are asking each and every legislator to COSPONSOR HB226, the Homebirth Safety Act.

When you call, you may hear "the bill is dead". NOT TRUE. We’ve learned that no bill is ever truly dead until the general assembly actually adjourns and goes home for the summer. Because of your support and dedication thus far, our bill has life! Your work, targeting specific legislators, has created a "midwife" buzz in Springfield!! Now we need to keep it alive with strong, continuous ACTION.

But, because the “official” deadline for getting bills through committee has passed we have to be absolutely sure we have the votes necessary to pass the bill before putting everyone
(you, ourselves, our chief sponsor) through the process required to get a bill assigned to committee at this point in the session. Basically we have the next three weeks to work it all out.

This will require everyone’s help. We need constituents in each and every legislative district to write their legislator this week asking their legislator to co-sponsor the Homebirth Safety Act, HB226. This means not only must you write a letter but to truly help us get the head count, you must ask everyone you know who might be remotely supportive to write a letter too. We are going to make this as easy as possible by supplying the text of the letter (see below) but we need you to pass it along and follow up with your friends, family and anyone else who believes that women who choose homebirth, should have access to safe, nationally certified providers. Here is the letter:


Dear Representative

I’m writing today to ask you to co-sponsor HB226, the Homebirth Safety Act. Recent developments have given this bill new momentum. State Representative Beth Coulson, a legislator known for her expertise in healthcare issues and a long time opponent of the Homebirth Safety Act, has reviewed the latest changes in the bill - educational requirements added last year by the (now supportive) Illinois Society of Advance Practice Nurses - and has shifted her position. Representative Coulson now supports HB226.

The supporters of this issue are fairly confident that if we are able to count 60 votes on the House floor, we will be able to get the bill assigned to committee. So I am asking you to please co-sponsor the bill.

With the number of homebirths rising nationally (the CDC reports a 5% increase recently) and the number of Illinois counties with licensed providers remaining the same – still only 5 out of 102 counties covered - and with recent news that yet another home birth practice will soon no longer be attending home births, we are creating a recipe for disaster.

Every year in our state homebirth families have their babies without medical assistance, hire midwives from out of state, cross the border to give birth out-of-state, or hire underground midwives in their own communities. Having part of our maternity care system remain underground makes it much less safe and secure. Without regulation there is no assurance that a particular midwife is skilled. There is no smooth mechanism for transport and transfer of care if the woman needs to go to the hospital for a C-section. There is no easy way to get a birth certificate that is filled out properly. And there is no easy way to do the baby's blood test that screens for metabolic or genetically inherited disorders (such as cystic fibrosis). Failing to screen and treat certain disorders early on, can be devastating for baby’s health.

The Homebirth Safety Act, HB226 can remedy these issues in a way that our current system does not. Please support it by adding your name as a cosponsor. I await your reply and can be reached at _________________.

Sincerely….”


1) When sending this letter, you may add more text if you wish but please keep all of the text above if at all possible. Please send your rep a copy of this letter to both their Springfield and local addresses. You can find your rep’s name, address, fax number and sometimes email address by going to www.ilga.gov Click on legislator lookup and use your address to find your state Representative.

2) After sending the letter, please call your legislator’s secretary on Monday or Tuesday March29th or 30th. Say you are following up on your letter and wanted to know whether your rep will co-sponsor the bill or not. If the answer is no, ask if your rep will commit to voting yes for the bill if it makes it to the floor. If still no, ask for an appointment in the local office during the two weeks of legislative spring break, so that you can learn about their concerns and bring someone along who can possibly address their concerns.

If your rep says the bill is dead, politely let him/her know “The supporters of this issue are fairly confident that if we are able to count 60 votes on the House floor, we will be able to get the bill assigned to committee. So I am asking you to please co-sponsor the bill.”

3) Whatever your outcome, yes, no or meeting, please let us know via email to Jamie at charis490@gmail.com If you have a meeting we’ll try to send someone with you if at all possible.


4) REMEMBER YOUR REPRESENTATIVE WORKS FOR YOU! You pay his/her salary with your taxes. Do not be afraid to talk to them or ask for a meeting.

5) Forward this email to everyone you know who may be interested in helping homebirth mothers, babies and midwives. Follow up with your friends. See if they need help contacting their legislator. Also ask if they’ll allow us to add their email to our action alert list. If yes, please send their names, legislator names, and email addresses to Jamie at charis490@gmail.com

6) LAST BUT NOT LEAST – NOTHING SHOWS YOUR LEGISLATOR YOU CARE AS MUCH AS A TRIP TO SPRINGFIELD TO VISIT THEM THERE. IF ANYONE IS INTERESTED IN MAKING A DAY TRIP TO SPRINGFIELD TO VISIT THEIR LEGISLATORS THIS WEEK, PLEASE CONTACT OUR BOARD MEMBER TONEY CROSS. She will be in Springfield this Wednesday and Thursday and can help you navigate when you get there.

Please let Jamie know at the email address above if you intend to go to Springfield this week. She will connect you with Toney’s cell.

7) Finally, please consider donating. If we DO get our bill out of committee this year, we will desperately need our lobbyist. Right now we are working without him in order to continue working off last year’s fees. BUT WE MAY NEED HIM NEXT MONTH. Please donate. Give $5 if that’s all you can do. Please give more if you can. Plan to donate $5 next month and every month thereafter until the Homebirth Safety Act has passed.

Please visit http://illinoismidwifery.org and click on paypal or mail a check made out to CFIM (or Coalition for Illinois Midwifery) to:
CFIM c/o Vicki Johnson
6092 Torchlite Trail
Loves, Park, IL 61111

Or if you are a midwife, doula, massage therapist or other provider, please consider donating a small portion of each client fee. Check out Community Counts – Better Birth Initiative at http://communitycountsbetterbirth.wordpress.com/2010/01/


THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU DO! HOMEBIRTH MOTHERS, BABIES AND MIDWIVES IN ILLINIOS WILL BE SAFER BECAUSE OF YOU .

BEST WISHES,

THE COALITION FOR ILLINOIS MIDWIFERY

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Great News!!!

NEWS and ACTION ALERT!!! HOMEBIRTH SAFETY ACT House Bill 226 (HB226)

Dear Homebirth and Midwifery Supporters:

Great News!!! State Representative Beth Coulson, a long time opponent of the Homebirth Safety Act, has reviewed the latest changes in the bill (educational requirements added last year by the Illinois Society of Advance Practice Nurses) and has shifted her position. She now supports HB226.

Representative Coulson is known as a legislative expert on health care licensing. She was a lead sponsor on the Birth Center Bill. Her support for the Homebirth Safety Act may make a big difference in the outcome for this bill.

The bill remains in Rules for the moment but with this new level of support and with your help, we may be able to get a positive committee assignment. If we do, we could be as close as needing only one or two more votes to pass!

Here’s what you can do to help:

1) Find out who your legislator is. If you don’t know, go to www.ilga.gov Click on legislator lookup and use your address to find your state Representative. Find your rep and take note of their two phone numbers and their email address if they display one.

2) If your representative is on the list below, PLEASE CALL THEM in their Springfield office TODAY.
Ask them if they will support HB226 the Homebirth Safety Act if it should appear before them. If they say the bill is dead, let them know that we are yet hoping to have it assigned to one of the Healthcare committees and if (for argument’s sake) it DOES appear, how will they vote? (the truth is, nothing is ever absolutely impossible until the session is over)

3) If you’ve called before or if on your first call you manage to engage in discussion with your rep or their secretary, mention Rep Coulson’s change of heart. Mention the new CDC report that shows homebirth is increasing (you’ll find it attached to this alert). Mention also Amnesty International’s new campaign against maternal mortality specifically in the US where we fall behind 40 other countries, and that access to safe, nationally certified, REGULATED midwives is part of the key to reducing such shameful outcomes. Let your rep know Amnesty International has found that the excessive number of unnecessary cesareans in our country contributes to our maternal mortality rate. Certified Professional Midwives have only a 3% rate of c-section while the national rate is almost 33%. THE HEALTHCARE COST REDUCTION IN MATERNITY CARE WOULD BE PHENOMENAL AND OUR MOTHERS AND BABIES COULD BE HEALTHIER IF OUR STATE EMBRACED CERTIFIED PROFESSIONAL MIDWIVES.

4) Report back to us. Please either hit reply to this email if you’re on a email distribution list, or better yet, send mail to Jamie at charis490@gmail.com letting us know what your rep said in the end. Hopefully you will be able to get him/her to give a clear yes or no on the bill. When you report back, we may give you information to call your rep back with or a few handouts to email to your rep along with your thank you for their time. Please help us with that follow up as it is usually very important.

5) Forward this email to everyone you know who may be interested in helping homebirth mothers, babies and midwives - especially those in the districts we are listing below. Follow up with your friends. See if they need help contacting their legislator. Also ask if they’ll allow us to add their email to our action alert list. If yes, please send their names, legislator names, and email addresses to Jamie at charis490@gmail.com

6) Once again, please consider donating. If we DO get our bill out of committee this year, we will desperately need our lobbyist. Right now we are working without him in order to continue working off last year’s fees. BUT WE MAY NEED HIM NEXT MONTH. Please donate. Give $5 if that’s all you can do. Please give more if you can. Plan to donate $5 next month and every month thereafter until the Homebirth Safety Act is through.

Please visit http://illinoismidwifery.org and click on paypal or mail a check made out to CFIM (or Coalition for Illinois Midwifery) to:
CFIM c/o Vicki Johnson
6092 Torchlite Trail
Loves, Park, IL 61111

Or if you are a midwife, doula, massage therapist or other provider, please consider donating a small portion of each client fee. Check out Community Counts – Better Birth Initiative at http://communitycountsbetterbirth.wordpress.com/2010/01/


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HERE IS THE LIST OF REPRESENTATIVES WHO NEED THE ATTENTION MENTIONED IN THIS EMAIL. If your rep is not one this list, sit tight! If we get out of committee, there will be a lot you can do next week.

• Representative William Davis(D) (Riverdale, Dolton, Harvey, East Hazel Crest, Homewood, Robbins and Posen)


• Representative Robert Rita(D) (Calumet Park, Blue Island, Crestwood, Midlothian, and Oak Forest)


• Representative Jehan A. Gordon(D) (Peoria Area, Peoria Heights, West Peoria, Bartonville, Edwards, Norwood, Kickapoo, and Bellevue)


• Representative Elizabeth Hernandez(D) (Berwyn, Cicero)


• Representative David R. Leitch(R) (Peoria Area of Indiantown, Evans, Greene, Kickapoo, Trivoti, and Millbrook)


• Representative Randy Ramey,Jr.(R) (Bartlett, Carol Stream, and Hanover Park)

• Representative Angelo Saviano(R) (Bensenville, Elmwood Park, Franklin Park, North Lake, River Grove, Rosemont, and Schiller Park)

• Representative William Burns(D) (Bronzeville/Grand,Hyde Park,Kenwood,South Shore,Woodlawn, and the Loop)


• Representative Lisa Dugan (Kankakee, Monee, Peotone, Manteno, Pembroke, Beaver)

• Representative William Burns (Bronzeville/Grand, Hyde Park, Kenwood, South Shore, Woodlawn, Loop)

• Representative Greg Harris (Uptown, Ravenswood, Lincoln Square, North Center, Andersonville, Bowmanville)

• Representative Karen May (Bannockburn, Deerfield, Glencoe, Highland Park, Highwood, Lake Bluff, Lake Forest, Northbrook, Riverwoods)

• Esther Golar (Englewood, Back of the Yards, Bridgeport, Chicago Lawn, New City, Canaryville, Fuller Park)


• FOR Representatives Mary Flowers, Elizabeth Coulson, Ron Stephens and Matthew Boland – SEE BELOW



If your representative is Mary Flowers, please call her to thank her for her years of unwavering support of midwives. Let her know you hope to see the bill in committee this year and hope you can count upon her continued support.

If your rep is Elizabeth Coulson, please call her to thank her for her new support for the Homebirth Safety Act.

If your representative is Matt Boland or Ron Stephens, call to thank them for their prior sponsorship. Let them know you hope to see the bill in committee this year and you hope you can count upon their continued support.


If you’ve read this far THANK YOU!!! Thank you ALL for caring about this cause. Believe that whatever you are doing, even if you’ve done it before, really matters – and you are making a difference for someone in the future who wants to have her babies safely at home.

Thank you and please keep your ears out for our next action alert.

Best wishes,


Rachel Dolan Wickersham
The Coalition for Illinois Midwifery