Latest Articles
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Raising A Healthy Family....Naturally
11/14/2009 2:09 am11/14/2009 2:12 pmAmerica/ChicagoDowntown Holiday Inn in Sioux Falls from 9am-12pm
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Walk for Midwives
The idea for the Walk for Midwives was born out of frustration for the lack of options available to birthing families in South Dakota - namely a severe shortage of midwives due to our outdated laws. When I received an email about a different kind of walk on July 16th, it got me thinking.
Four days later I was asking the SD Safe Childbirth Options board of directors for their help in planning a 4 mile walk in 11 communities in 7 days ending on my 44th birthday on August 27th. This walk would be used as a catalyst to energize midwife supporters, educate the public and raise money to continue our work in the state legislature.
Certified Professional Midwives, the specialists in out-of-hospital birth, have been delivering amazing outcomes across the country for almost 2 decades. Sadly, legal restrictions prevent them from practicing in South Dakota and severely limit the practice of Certified Nurse Midwives. The map below shows the limited access to midwives that South Dakota families face. Debbie Pease
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Walk for Midwives
08/21/2009 1:57 pm08/27/2009 1:57 pmAmerica/ChicagoThe idea for the Walk for Midwives was born out of frustration for the lack of options available to birthing families in South Dakota - namely a severe shortage of midwives due to our outdated laws. When I received an email about a different kind of walk on July 16th, it got me thinking.
Four days later I was asking the SD Safe Childbirth Options board of directors for their help in planning a 4 mile walk in 11 communities in 7 days ending on my 44th birthday on August 27th. This walk would be used as a catalyst to energize midwife supporters, educate the public and raise money to continue our work in the state legislature.
Certified Professional Midwives, the specialists in out-of-hospital birth, have been delivering amazing outcomes across the country for almost 2 decades. Sadly, legal restrictions prevent them from practicing in South Dakota and severely limit the practice of Certified Nurse Midwives. The map below shows the limited access to midwives that South Dakota families face. Debbie Pease
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Press Release - Home Birth Safety Act Draws Unprecedented Support
Submitted by admin on Mon, 02/09/2009 - 11:32Home Birth Safety Act Draws Unprecedented Support
South Dakota Poised to Join 25 Other States in Strengthening
Out-of-Hospital Maternity Care StandardsPIERRE, SD — At 7:45 a.m. on Tuesday, February 10, the Home Birth Safety Act (House Bill 1179) will be debated in the Health and Human Services Committee in Room 412 at the Capitol, as families across the
state make plans to converge on the Capitol to call on their awmakers to license and regulate Certified Professional Midwives (CPMs), who are trained as specialists in out-of-hospital maternity care.Prime sponsor of the bill, Senator Larry Rhoden (R) is hearing these families very clearly. “This bill is a win-win for South Dakota. It gives families that have made the decision to deliver their babies at home the ability to hire a professional, which in turn makes home birth safer in South Dakota.”
According to the Department of Health, the infant death rate for out-of-hospital births from 2001 to 2005 was three times the state’s average. “These numbers are appalling,” said Debbie Pease, Co-Chair of South Dakota Safe Childbirth Options (SDSCO). “Unfortunately, they are directly related to the inability of our home birth families to gain legal access to quality prenatal and maternity care from professional midwives who are nationally certified.”
Representative Roger Hunt (R), prime sponsor in the House, agreed. “Families in our state are giving birth at home for a wide range of reasons, often due to financial, cultural, philosophical or practical concerns. They deserve the protection provided by having access to licensed Certified Professional Midwives.”
Under current law, families who deliver their babies outside of the hospital must do without the assistance of a licensed midwife.
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Lesson 8: Making the most of your visit to the Capitol
As soon as you know which day or days you will be going to Pierre, sign up on our Legislative Calendar on the sdsafebirth.org website. This will help the SDSCO leadership prepare for your visit and give others an opportunity to carpool with you. Here is the link: http://sdsafebirth.org/2009session. This is also the site where you can sign up to stay at the house. It is often a good plan to come down the night before and get to the Capitol early the next morning.
A couple of days before you come to Pierre, email your legislators and let them know when you are coming and that you would like to meet with them that day. They may give you their cell number or just tell you to look them up when you get there. If you are really lucky, they may make an appointment with you.
If the “Captain” listed on the website does not contact you. Feel free to contact them and let them know when you will be arriving in Pierre. They will give you tips on where to park and where they will meet you. They will have a “midwife” button for you to wear while you are there, so all the legislators will recognize why you came.
Legislative Schedule
7:00 pm Floors open to public (until 2 hours before Floor Session)
7:45 First Round of Committee Hearings
10:00 am Second Round of Committee Hearings
1:00 pm Caucus
2:00 pm Floor Session (usually finishes by 4pm, but can last longer)Committee Hearings
Two rounds of committee hearings happen every morning – the first beginning at 7:45am the second starting at 10pm. Your legislator can’t meet with you while he/she is in committee, but you can sit in and listen to the hearing and visit with them afterwards or just wait for them outside the door.You can find the committees that your legislators are on if you click on their name at:
