CIMS GAC Ambassadors

High Impact Birth Activists....Together Making Mother-Friendly Care a Reality

We are birth activists who support the CIMS Transparency in Maternity Care Project: The Birth Survey,

CIMS and TBS on the Web

Websites:
The Birth Survey
CIMS
Facebook:
CIMS Cause Page
TBS Group Page
My Space:
TBS

Forum

How to Get Started

Find information and conversations about how to get started as a Marketing or GACSTAT Ambassador .

4 discussions

Please Introduce Yourself

Take a minute and introduce yourself to other ambassadors and activists on the Grapevine.

1 discussions

Important Files

This category houses important files and instructions for ambassadors (not really to be used as a discussion area as much as an area to access files)

11 discussions

Marketing Ambassadors General Discussion

Discussions related to the work of marketing ambassadors. Information on getting started as an ambassador is under the "Getting Started" category.

16 discussions

GACSTAT Ambassador General Discussion

Discussions related to the work of GACSTAT ambassadors. Information on getting started as an ambassador is under the "Getting Started" category.

7 discussions

Misc General Discussion

This is a misc discussion category for birth related issues

6 discussions

FAQ

This is an FAQ section for answering questions the public or providers/facilities may have about the project. This is the dynamic and up to date version of the FAQ at the back of the Marketing handbook. Please see the specific discussions for marketing or gacstats for detailed questions or problems ambassadors are experiencing.

28 discussions

Groups

Birth Activist- Robin's Blog

Birth Poetry Contest

Birth is something that inspires us.  And poetry is definitely something that inspires many people.  While I work with pregnant and birthing families all day and realize the fire that birth can bring, I’m only now realizing how poetry can provoke intense feelings too.  When I’m having a rough day or go through a very [...]

Citizens for Midwifery Blog

Articles of Interest

I have a lot of projects going on lately that are taking precedence over blogging here in a frequent or creative way (I am pregnant with my third baby and recently started teaching college classes. I also teach birth classes on a regular basis, homeschool my two boys, etc., etc., etc.). Bear with me and in January I should have more blog-time again!

So, this week I wanted to share some links to articles I read recently:

Three Minute Interview with Ginger Garner (yoga therapist) from the National Association of Mothers' Centers focusing on "Childbirth in America: Why it Needs to Change."

A quote I enjoyed from the article: "Birth is valuable. It gives rise to our entire future. There is power in our ability to give birth to the future of our planet. We need to reclaim that power."

Pregnant Prisoners article. In one residential parenting program mentioned in the article, "Another perk for pregnant women at the prison is access to a volunteer doula program. A non-profit group called The Birth Attendants offers monthly prenatal care, labor and delivery assistance, postpartum services, and family planning education courses."

Also getting a lot of attention in birth activism blogs are the new international infant mortality rankings.


Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/

Or directly from: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db23.htm

Key findings

Infant mortality rates for preterm (less than 37 weeks of gestation) infants are lower in the United States than in most European countries; however, infant mortality rates for infants born at 37 weeks of gestation or more are higher in the United States than in most European countries.

One in 8 births in the United States were born preterm, compared with 1 in 18 births in Ireland and Finland.

If the United States had Sweden’s distribution of births by gestational age, nearly 8,000 infant deaths would be averted each year and the U.S. infant mortality rate would be one-third lower.

The main cause of the United States’ high infant mortality rate when compared with Europe is the very high percentage of preterm births in the United States.

--
Molly
CfM Blogger

Lamaze Giving Birth with Confidence Blog

Birth Bloggers: Enter to Win the Lamaze Media Award!

Cross-posted from the Science & Sensibility Blog. Each year, Lamaze International presents awards to the best and brightest in childbirth education and advocacy at its annual conference. We are thrilled to announce that for the first time, bloggers will be considered for the annual Lamaze Media Award. Increasingly, bloggers are shaping the conversation about birth, highlighting [...]
 

Welcome to The CIMS GAC Grassroots Grapevine on Ning for GAC Ambassadors

Welcome to a ning.com network for the CIMS GAC Ambassadors supporting the Transparency in Maternity Care Project: The Birth Survey. We are are just getting started with this network platform and we hope you will help us build it. To network and have forum discussion with other ambassadors in your state please look under groups for your state. Then you can add discussions under each state group. To have conversations with the entire network of ambassadors (like the ambassador yahoo group) make posts under the "General Discussion" area on the Main Forum. The Ambassador Training and Support Committee is working to add files to the Main forum and discussions. Let us know what we can add, and hope you will add things as well. Thank you- GAC Leadership Team

Tips on Using the Grapevine

1. To get alerts when others post to the Grassroots Grapevine please be sure to click the "follow" links at the bottom of each discussion thread. I recommend signing up for as many threads as you can. We are a low volume forum and you won't know others are posting unless you "follow" the discussions.
2. Check your personal account settings to be sure they are set to send you emails.
3. For a quick glace at the latest activity of the grapevine, scroll down on the home page. Under the ads.
4. Check out the aps and customizations possible for your personal pages. Also please ad photos, videos, music, facebook aps etc. to ad your personal touch and share with other advocates.
Happy Networking!

Blog Posts

doula angelita

BOLD RED TENT EVENT SAN DIEGO2009!

On October 18, 2009, there is going to be a BOLD RED TENT EVENT:SAN DIEGO held in La Jolla, California!

BOLD, Birth on Labor Day is an organization which gives a voice to women nationally through recording their personal birth stories and creating a treasury of birth knowledge.

Their RED TENT events are women’s convocations, full of laughter, insight, empowerment, and information. With guest speakers and workshops, yoga sessions and art expression experiences, the RED TENT represents a red-let… Continue

Posted by doula angelita on September 17, 2009 at 11:25pm

Nasima Pfaffl

Check Out Lamaze Transparency in Maternity Care Webinar Tuesday Sept 15th.

Increasing Transparency in Maternity Care
A Webinar Brought to You by Lamaze International
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. EDT
11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. CDT
10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. MDT
9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. PDT

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at https://www.lamaze.org/default.aspx?tabid=366.
Transparency and public reporting of health outcomes can play a key role in compelling quality improvements in our maternity care system. This Webinar evaluates the evidenc… Continue

Posted by Nasima Pfaffl on September 14, 2009 at 10:28am

Jacqueline Levine

A little boost for TBS in the JPE

I managed to get a paragraph boosting TBS into the August issue of the Journal of Perinatal Education, in a letter-to-the-editor I wrote in response to a prior editorial. It's just the choir, of course, but I'm in the "every-little-bit-helps" frame of mind.

Posted by Jacqueline Levine on September 10, 2009 at 4:33pm

Gwendolyn Cameron

It's a Boy!

Owen Thomas Barlow was born at home on Monday, August 24 at a whopping 10 lbs., 3 oz.

Mom and baby are blissfully recovering. :-) I haven't processed it all enough to post the Big Birth Story, but I can say that I'm glad to have that intense labor behind me!

Posted by Gwendolyn Cameron on August 27, 2009 at 7:53pm — 1 Comment

Gwendolyn Cameron

ICAN Sponsoring VBAC Webinar

"The Truth About VBAC"

For information and registration details:
http://vbacfacts.com/2009/08/15/the-truth-about-vbac-class-offered-as-an-on-line-seminar/

Posted by Gwendolyn Cameron on August 17, 2009 at 9:30am

Events

Monthly Ambassador Support Calls

Join the Monthly ambassador support calls.Come connect with other ambassadors. Share challenges, successes, strategies and support. Talk about what's working and what's not in your efforts to market The Birth Survey or obtain the official facility level stats. Get your questions answered by project leadership. This conference call is held monthly on the first Tuesday of the month from 9:00 PM - 10:00 PM EST (You no longer need to register for this ahead of time. We are also only using a conference call line not the webinar system.)

The call in number for all the dates below is :
Dial-in Number: 1-218-936-4700 (Midwest), Participant Access Code 390546


June Ambassador Support Call
Date: Tuesday, June 02, 2009, Time:9:00-10:00PM Eastern Daylight Time

July Ambassador Support Call
Date: Tuesday, July 7, 2009, Time:9:00-10:00PM Eastern Daylight Time

August Ambassador Support Call
Date: Tuesday, Aug 4, 2009, Time:9:00-10:00PM Eastern Daylight Time

September Ambassador Support Call
Date: Tuesday, Sept 1, 2009, Time:9:00-10:00PM Eastern Daylight Time

October Ambassador Support Call
Date: Tuesday, Oct 6, 2009, Time:9:00-10:00PM Eastern Daylight Time

November Ambassador Support Call
Date: Tuesday, Nov 3 , 2009, Time:9:00-10:00PM Eastern Daylight Time

December Ambassador Support Call
Date: Tuesday, Dec 1 , 2009, Time:9:00-10:00PM Eastern Daylight Time

Upcoming Webinar Trainings

The following Transparency in Maternity Care Project: The Birth Survey Ambassador Training Webinars are planned for October 2009 -January 2010.

Click on the links below to register for a webinar training.

The GACSTAT Ambassador Training will provide information on how you can help make official facility level maternity care data available to the public. The training will explain the data we are looking to make public, and how to go about obtaining this data from state departments of health. (Note prior to June 2009 this training was a two part training. If you have previously taken Part 1 or Part 2 please register for this single training to complete your training series.) If you want to help “get the word out” about the project in your community, you only need to take a stand alone “Marketing” training below. This training will help explain the project and help you learn about how to market The Birth Survey in your community.

We currently only have one Marketing Training planned for this Fall/Winter. We are looking for a new trainer to present these marketing trainings. Please contact admin@thebirthsurvey.com if you are interested in serving as a webinar trainer for The Birth Survey.

Get The Word Out About The Birth Survey: GAC Marketing Training:

Thu, Oct 15, 2009 9:00 PM - 10:15 PM EDT
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/417844506

GACSTAT Transparency Project Ambassador Training:
Demystifying and Collecting the Data:


Thu, Oct 8, 2009 8:30 PM - 10:30 PM EDT- Webinar Canceled
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/861416362

Mon, Nov 16, 2009 8:30 PM - 10:30 PM EST
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/867046451

Mon, Dec 7, 2009 8:30 PM - 10:30 PM EST
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/864861715

Thu, Jan 7, 2010 8:30 PM - 10:30 PM EST
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/510223811

Calendar

 
 

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Science and Sensibility- Amy Romano's Lamaze Blog

Calling All Bloggers (Again)! Healthy Birth Blog Carnival #3

We’ve had two successful Healthy Birth Carnivals and it’s time to make it to the half-way point through Lamaze’s Six Healthy Birth Practices. We’ve heard what bloggers had to say about letting labor begin on its own and movement in labor. Next up? Bring a loved one, friend, or doula for continuous support. Here are some Lamaze [...]

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