M.A.M.A.S. In Action

As part of our mission, M.A.M.A.S. is committed to community and grassroots advocacy in support of the rights of every woman to make informed choices regarding her own health and the health of her family.  To that end, we are involved in a number of initiatives, including:

• Work to support women’s rights as human rights, inclusion, healthcare for everyone, and respect for all people.

• Work to change laws and  regulations that pose barriers to practice for midwives in Maryland:  We successfully passed legislation in 2010 which eliminated the requirement for a signed practice agreement with a physician (for which Máiri received an American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM) Public Policy Award!), but CNMs were still required to file a Collaborative Plan with the Board of Nursing.  Since our own professional Standards for the Practice of Midwifery (ACNM) require midwives to have written plans for consultation, collaboration, and referral to other providers, this documentation was redundant, restricted women’s access to midwifery care in Maryland, and is not required in DC.  In 2013 M.A.M.A.S. worked successfully with Delegates Ariana Kelly, Heather Mizeur, ACNM and the MD Board of Nursing to eliminate this requirement, leading to the Board of Nursing to create new regulations that took effect in November 2014, recognizing CNM’s autonomy in practice!  Mairi currently serves on the MD Governor’s Task Force on Maternal and Infant Mortality.
• Active participation in Professional Organizations:
  • American College of Nurse-Midwives National, and Maryland and DC Affiliates:  The midwives are members and active in the DC and MD affiliates.  Máiri served on the national Board of Directors, representing Region II (mid-atlantic states).  Máiri pioneered “The Heart of Midwifery,” an annual meeting celebration of the calling to midwifery through story, dance, and song.  Máiri has been a frequent presenter at the annual meeting including topics such as the sacred hour after birth, green midwifery, breastfeeding, and how to manage pre-labor without pitocin.  Mairi currently serves on the ACNM Fellows Board of Governors and chairs their Anti-Racism Task Force.  Emily is currently Co-President of the DC Affiliate. Both Emily and Mairi have contributed to ACNM’s Home Birth Handbook.
  • Midwives Alliance of North America: Máiri and Emily are both members. Máiri and Erin presented on Community Care at the 2012 MANA/ACNM/CAM conference in Ontario, CA.
  • Association of Independent Midwives of Maryland: Máiri and Erin were part of the founding group of midwives who formed the Association of Independent Midwives of Maryland (AIMM) in 2011, and our administrator Leslie was the first consumer member.  AIMM worked with the Board of Nursing, ACNM, and key legislators in the MD General Assembly, led by Ariana Kelly, to pass a bill allowing Certified Professional Midwives (non-nurse midwives) to practice legally in Maryland, beginning in 2016.  Erin served as Moderator for a Dept. of Health & Mental Hygiene committee comprised of key stakeholders, with the goal of reaching consensus on the contents of the bill before it was introduced. Mairi is the current Secretary of AIMM.  Both Emily and Mairi serve on numerous committees of AIMM.
  • Asociación de Parteras de Cuzcatlán:  Máiri has had an ongoing relationship with this extraordinary community of midwives in El Sálvador, and has visited 4 times with International Partners and Global Connections.  These 24 midwives deliver birth care and basic health services, under extremely difficult circumstances, to 24 rural communities around Suchitoto, near Guasapa, “La Montaña,” which played a central role in winning the civil war for the people.  Our trips to El Sálvador (and Máiri’s trip to Honduras with Hope for a Healthier Humanity) have all been for capacity-building and training of midwives and health promoters, rather than delivering direct care.
  • International Confederation of Midwives (ICM): Máiri and Erin both attended the ICM Triennial Congress in Prague in 2014, as members of the U.S. Delegation. They also presented at a post-conference on issues in home birth for a group of Czech home birth midwives who could not attend the ICM conference.  Mairi presented in the 2021 Congress on The Sacred Hour after Birth (online due to the pandemic).
  • International Conference on Normal Labour and Birth Research: Mairi has presented her original research on home birth simulation at this conference, which she attended in 2018 and 2019.