Utah Midwives Organization
Uniting Midwives and Families throughout Utah
Latest News and EventsBoard Message
2 February 2017 State of Utah Midwifery Utah has some of the most breathtaking, diverse landscapes in the country. From beautiful alpine vistas like the one above, to the rugged granite of the Wasatch mountains, to the red rock formations in Utah’s Dixie, diversity is what makes Utah beautiful. Similarly, Utah midwives are as diverse as the landscape that surrounds us. Some midwives practiced 40+ years, others only months. Some midwives passed national certification exams, others have studied, without fail, for years to know their craft. Some midwives practice solo, others practice with partners or in groups. Some midwives choose to remain unregulated, ensuring their practice remains self-determined; others license and allow their education to be verified and their practice parameters to be defined by the state. This myriad of choices has many implications. First and foremost, it allows for the most varied set of legal midwifery options available to mothers anywhere in the United States. Midwifery’s hallmark banner and cry is “A midwife for every mother!” And, here in Utah, the opportunity exists for mothers to find the exact combination of midwifery care they desire. With such a large fellowship of midwives, the opportunity for collaboration through the course of a client’s care is tremendous. Through cordial, yet analytical peer review, to conferences, more informal phone calls, and lunches, we, as midwives, learn from each other. We glean wisdom, form lasting friendships, and enrich each others’ experiences. Utah midwifery started in a history of excellence in education. Indigenous wise women/midwives trained for years under the tutelage of another (true apprenticeship) to serve their people. In addition to learning from these indigenous midwives/medicine women, Brigham Young sent women to medical schools in the Eastern United States to study the latest medical practices and theories. These women then returned to Utah to train midwives in the techniques they acquired. Those early Utah midwives sought to blend the best possible education and herbal care with a healthy dose of inspiration and intuition. Today, that combination remains important. Solid, fact-based education is a hallmark of the “wise woman.” So is humility and not becoming complacent to not only the miracle of birth, but, at times, the complications that also come. When complacency, hubris or a lack of thorough education are combined with unforeseeable circumstances (like congenital birth defects, cord complications, placental abruption or others), poor outcomes within midwifery care rise. And such is the situation here in Utah, where outcomes have been worsening. Without improvement in care practices among Utah midwives, continued support for unlicensed midwifery may become an untenable position for the UMO. Elections this season are for the incoming vice-president and secretary. They will both be at the forefront of the decision-making for the future of Utah midwifery. As you contemplate nominations for these positions, please consider the immense leadership and directional needs that the Utah Midwives Organization will need in the coming years as it represents the midwives of Utah. Nominations for vice-president and secretary can be emailed to membership@utah-midwives.org and are open until Feb 15. For those midwives who have or are developing a social media presence, we are asking that you start using the hashtag #utahmidwives when posting about the good that you, as Utah midwives, do. This will provide the opportunity to showcase the wonderful service that you give to Utah families, year round, without fail. In addition, we would love to see each and every one of you at the 2017 UMO Conference: Healing Through Birth. Information is at umo2017.weebly.com. Classes have been planned to address the varying interests of midwives, with four complete tracks of classes; pre-conference workshops for CPR, emergency scenarios and a new newborn resuscitation protocol called Biodynamic Resuscitation of the Newborn - valid for licensure in the state of Utah. Know that we love and support the good work you do. Please assist us in helping to keep all the choices within Utah midwifery available to families. B. Maria Cranford, CPM MSM LDEM Launa Janssen-Campbell, DEM Heather Whitley, CPM LDEM Danielle Chancellor-Checketts, CPM LDEM Executive Board, Utah Midwives Organization Public Statement on the Recent Trial in Southern Utah
29 October 2016 This past Thursday, after examining the presented evidence, a Cedar City jury decided a midwife’s culpability in the death of a preterm newborn. Midwifery care, at its core, is client-centered. Midwives work in partnership with their clients in a shared decision-making model to develop plans of care for their client’s individual circumstances. Inherent in that model is the need for a midwife to understand their scope of practice and to educate their client so that complete informed consent is obtained. In addition, a midwife’s scope of practice centers on recognizing normal, physiologic birth processes, knowing when these processes deviate from normal, utilizing appropriate risk assessment and management, and then obtaining the necessary transfer of care if needed. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all involved: the attorneys, the judge, the jury, the midwives, and, most especially, the family. B. Maria Cranford, CPM MSM LDEM Launa Janssen-Campbell, DEM Danielle Chancellor-Checketts, CPM LDEM Heather Whitley, CPM LDEM New Utah Informed Disclosure Requirement for Midwives Choosing to not License
1 July 2016 This spring, the law for practicing direct-entry midwifery changed slightly and went into effect July 1. While midwives choosing to license have always been required to have clients sign an informed consent document, now an informed consent document is required for all midwives, whether licensed or not. The version of the informed consent document for unlicensed midwives is very simple, consisting of only four items. The UMO Board has prepared a template for you to use to prepare your informed consent document. Just read through the document, fill in your personal information, print and have your client’s read through it and sign after discussing the contents with you. Remember, any clients in your care after July 1 need to have your signed version on file to be in compliance with the law. A template to use can be found here. UMO Statement on Proposed Utah Legislation HB202
17 February 2015 Informed decision making and self-determination are hallmarks of evidence-based healthcare. Maternity provider organizations, including the Midwives Alliance of North America (MANA), the National Association of Certified Professional Midwives (NACPM), the American College of Nurse Midwives (ACNM), the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) and the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG), recognize “the basic human right of women and families to make informed decisions regarding maternity and newborn care and to accept personal responsibility for these decisions.” (see references) In Utah, families are fortunate to have a wide variety of providers from which to choose their maternity care. However, this benefit for Utah families can also lead to some confusion about the types of midwives available, their qualifications, training and scope of practice. While HB202 - Midwife Practice Amendments seeks to reduce ambiguity and more clearly define existing sections of the Direct-Entry Midwifery Act, it also introduces additional informed disclosure requirements for direct-entry midwives serving in home and birth center settings. The disclosures required by the bill are essential to decision making by Utah families. The Utah Midwives Organization welcomes this legislation that more fully ensures families have the necessary details to make informed choices during their childbearing year. B. Maria Cranford, LDEM CPM Launa Janssen-Campbell, DEM Danielle Chancellor-Checketts, LDEM CPM Jessica Stahle, DEM UMO Executive Board References Midwives Alliance of North America. "MANA Homebirth Position Paper." http://mana.org/sites/default/files/MANAHomebirthPositionPaper.pdf. Midwives Alliance of North America. "MANA Statement of Values and Ethics." http://mana.org/pdfs/MANAStatementValuesEthicsColor.pdf. National Association of Certified Professional Midwives. "Essential Documents of the National Association of Certified Professional Midwives." http://nacpm.org/Resources/nacpm-standards.pdf. American College of Nurse-Midwives. "Code of Ethics." http://www.midwife.org/ACNM/files/ACNMLibraryData/UPLOADFILENAME/000000000048/Code-of-Ethics.pdf. International Confederation of Midwives. "International Code of Ethics for Midwives." http://www.internationalmidwives.org/assets/uploads/documents/CoreDocuments/CD2008_001%20V2014%20ENG%20International%20Code%20of%20Ethics%20for%20Midwives.pdf. ACOG Committee on Ethics. "ACOG Committee Opinion No. 439: Informed Consent." Obstetrics & Gynecology 114, no. 2 Pt 1 (Aug 2009): 401-08. Released January 30, 2014 by the peer-reviewed Journal of Midwifery & Women's Health, a critical study of almost 17,000 cases of midwifery-led pregnancy care confirms that "among low-risk women, planned home births result in low rates of interventions without an increase in adverse outcomes for mothers and babies" (MANA.org, 2014).
For the full press release from MANA, see: New Studies Confirm Safety of Home Birth With Midwives in the U.S. For a fact sheet summary of the findings see: Citizens for Midwifery For the landmark study and its companion article, see: Journal of Midwifery & Women's Health "The United States’ three midwifery organizations—American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM), Midwives Alliance of North America (MANA), and National Association of Certified Professional Midwives (NACPM)—have released a historic consensus statement. Supporting Healthy and Normal Physiologic Childbirth: A Consensus Statement by ACNM, MANA, and NACPM gives maternity care providers, policymakers, and women a succinct summary of the evidence for the benefits of normal physiologic childbirth." -- NACPM.org, 2012
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UWNQC OOH Resources for Transfer of Care
All OOH Resources Maternal Transfer Form Newborn Transfer Form 
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