Our Mission
WE are committed to scaling up and sustaining US Midwifery.
It’s no secret to those who work in women’s healthcare that the United States is experiencing a shortage of providers. At this critical moment in history, the medical community is tasked with providing high quality care without adequate resources. This shortage is part of why the US ranks last among high-income countries for maternal health outcomes.
Midwives are an underutilized resource and we believe this underutilization is due to a lack of understanding surrounding the midwife role within a technology-focused healthcare system. By incorporating Midwives into collaborative care teams, as in other high-income countries, we can address the provider shortage and improve outcomes.
The American College of Nurse-Midwives, as well as the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, have described how to incorporate Midwives into a team-based, collaborative care model, but very few obstetric care providers or health systems know how to make this a reality.
The goal of Grow Midwives is to build relationships and educate Physicians, Hospitals, and Midwives about best practices in collaborative experiences. A variety of care models, in a variety of settings, can be implemented with expert assistance . Our aim is to help scale up and sustain Midwifery in the US through four product lines:
- One-on-one assistance with midwives
- Practice development (Obstetrician’s, Family Medicine or Midwives)
- Birth Facility Settings (Accredited, Developing or Alongside Maternity Units
- Advocacy work: In midwifery practice, state legislative work, strategic planning
Our Team
GINGER BREEDLOVE, PhD, CNM, FACNM, FAAN
PRINCIPAL CONSULTANT
Solving the shortage of women’s health care providers in the US is a daunting task that will involve coordinating stakeholders from every level of the medical community. There are few people in the world today who understand this complex issue as well as Ginger Breedlove, PhD, CNM, APRN, FACNM, FAAN.
LESLEY RATHBUN, MSN, CNM, FNP, FACNM
SENIOR CONSULTANT
The main job of any OBGYN or Midwife is to ensure the health of mothers and babies, but birth in the United States is still a business. Lesley Rathbun has spent the last 30 years advocating for women’s health while becoming a well-known figure in the fields of birth center entrepreneurship and legislation.
JOSEPH BOOTH, JD, Mdiv., FAAML
IN-HOUSE COUNSEL
Today’s Physicians and Midwives spend the majority of their early careers learning how to administer care. So much so that learning the legal and business aspects of running a practice simply isn’t feasible. The legalities surrounding maternity care require careful navigation by a knowledgeable advocate.
Connect With Us
Facebook Posts
The best way to grow your mission, business, or even industry is by partnering with other people that can build upon that vision with you. That's why we've created new content with Marketing TEA to do just that. Grow Midwives is interested in seeing midwifery grow in every way, and we want to showcase our passion and information with everyone in effective and entertaining ways. Stay tuned for all of the new exciting content that is coming your way!
Working to change US Maternity Care. Honored to be part of the movement.
*PA Organizations - FUNDING SOURCE
"With funding from the Heinz Endowments and Merck for Mothers, the WHAMglobal Community Fund is offering grant support for five community-based organizations. The fund will provide small grants of $20,000 to build collaborative partnerships, coordinate services, share best practices, receive training and technical assistance, and build consensus on priorities for improving maternal health outcomes in communities hardest hit by maternal health disparities. Applications are now open, and the application deadline is Friday, August 21 at 5:00 PM." -- [will include organizations interested in building more collaborative networks among their peer community-based organizations, sharing best practices, and working together to strengthen their impact in their communities toward improving maternal health outcomes. As part of the grantee selection process, WHAMglobal will prioritize funding for organizations led by women of color serving the community in Allegheny County, PA.]
www.jhf.org/news-blog-menu/entry/whamglobal-solidifies-plans-for-role-in-future-of-maternity-care...
www.jhf.org
WHAMglobal continues to make new connections in maternal health leadership. On July 7 and 9, WHAMglobal team members joined other Safer Childbirth Cities project teams from around the country for a tw...Published today from UK OB/GYN online source.
A good historical read for many reasons.
To learn insight in how the UK is managing childbirth and Covid, if you are a history fan and want to understand how midwifery responded in war times, and to have a sense of why families are challenged in every corner of the globe by this yet to be managed pandemic.
#midwivessavelives
#2020yearofthemidwife
#GrowMidwives
#growconsumers
medicalxpress.com/news/2020-08-birth-national-emergency-world-war.html
Birth at a time of national emergency: from the second world war to coronavirus
medicalxpress.com
Women the world over have had their pregnancy and birth experiences drastically altered as a result of the global pandemic. In the UK, the NHS had to quickly put measures in place to ensure that it co...Excited to see this recent marketing piece by the University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics promoting their expanding Midwife service, a group that has demonstrated inter-professional collaboration, inter-professional education, and now expanding to fill gaps in rural health needs — for more than 20 years.
Honored to have facilitated two on-site Midwifery Service retreats over the past two years and watch the team scale up midwifery-led care.
Congratulations to Laura Murphy Dellos, Lastascia Coleman and their eight midwives on UI midwifery team! uihc.org/doctors?providers%5Bquery%5D=Midwives
#2020YearoftheMidwife
#GrowMidwives
uihc.org/health-topics/ask-expert-should-i-consider-midwife