How are You Celebrating National Midwifery Week?

by Melissa Garvey, ACNM Writer and Editor

We’ve been thrilled with the updates rolling in about how midwives and their supporters are celebrating National Midwifery Week across the country. Check out these highlights and make a comment to tell us how you’ve been celebrating.

On Sunday, October 10, Andrea Bendewald will give a unique “Blessing the Hands” to the remarkable midwives of Los Angeles who work tirelessly serving women and families. A dedicated group of more than 300 midwives and supporters, including Ricki Lake and Carrie Ann Moss, will gather at Golden Bridge Yoga. The event honorees are Peggy O’Mara, editor and founder of Mothering magazine, and Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA), who is a consistent supporter of women and infants’ health and is the congresswoman who introduced the Maximizing Optimal Maternity Services for the 21st Century Act (MOMS 21—H.R.5807) to promote evidence-based maternity care.

Governor Beshear proclaimed Midwifery Week in the state of Kentucky.

Where’s My Midwife? is hosting daily activities throughout the week, culminating with the National Walk for Midwives on Saturday, October 9. New York City, San Francisco, and Seattle midwives are also hosting Miles for Midwives walks.

The Morgan Library and Museum features a photograph of the pioneering nurse-midwife Mary Breckinridge in their current exhibition "Anne Morgan's War: Rebuilding Devastated France." You probably know Breckinridge’s story—many consider her the founder of nurse-midwifery in America—but before creating the Frontier Nursing Service, which brought midwives on horseback to women in the rural mountains of Kentucky, she volunteered with Anne Morgan's civilian relief organization in the devastated regions of France. She was one of the group's most distinguished volunteers, drawing on her wartime experience to make a huge difference in people's lives (and the very future of prenatal and infant care) back home.