Rally Speech

Remarks of Mary Ann Shah
President, American College of Nurse Midwives
October 30, 2003
Rally for Our Midwives
Austin, Texas

I am delighted to join all of you here in Austin and to represent the ACNM at this rally in support of midwives.

The good news is that midwives now attend more than 10% of all vaginal births in this country ... a statistic that has never ceased to grow since 1975 when we attended only 0.6% of all births. Do not doubt for a moment that we are here to stay and we are going to continue leaving an indelible mark on our nation's radar screen.

The bad news is that the powers-that-be continue to block our efforts to get out of survival mode and into image building endeavors. But, we will no longer be silenced by our detractors. We will increasingly engage the media in debunking the misguided myths that surround midwifery and we will advocate even more vigorously for access to our services.

Let our voices be heard by those we serve, those with whom we serve, those who make the health policy decisions, and those who control the purse strings. We must convince all of them that midwifery care is safe and satisfying ... compassionate and competent ... and cost-effective!!!

We cannot allow the public to forget the atrocities of the "Twilight Sleep" era!!! Because 50 years later, the "Joy of Birth" is once again being threatened.

We can no longer allow women to passively submit to the lures of birth by appointment, birth without pain, or birth without labor. We must educate them about the risks and benefits of all birthing options and reassure them that midwives can help them to regain control over their birth experiences. As inductions, epidurals, and cesareans on demand soar, we must empower women to just say no ... unless the medical evidence demonstrates that a particular intervention is truly warranted. We must collaborate with ... but not be controlled by ... the medical establishment.

In short, we must make certain that women have confidence in their ability to birth their babies without undue interference - while assuring them access to all life-saving technologies when they are truly needed.

Mutual respect and collegial relations between and among midwives, physicians, nurses, doulas, and all members of the health care team must be our goal.

By providing the right balance of art and science, midwifery can ... and will ... provide the gold standard of care for women and their families here in Texas and throughout the United States.