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Message from the President
Dear Community,
Our CNMA Election is coming very soon! That’s right, in just a few short weeks, our ballot will go out to all CNMA members and you’ll have the opportunity to vote for your next CNMA President. But first, we need some candidates! I’ve said this before, but I’m not afraid of saying it again. WE NEED YOU!
If you’ve ever thought about serving on the CNMA Board of Directors but were worried you might not have what it takes, believe me when I say you are good enough! Don’t believe me? When I was nominated to serve as President, I was a new graduate nurse-midwife, less than a year out of school. If I can do this, so can you. You don’t have to be perfect, you just have to be willing! We’ve built mentorship into our leadership structure, and I promise we won’t let you fail. If you’re interested in serving as President-Elect, Secretary, Northern California Representative, Central California Representative, or Representative from Under-Represented Group, email me at parisbury@gmail.com or text me at (805)415-2553.
Want to serve, but not yet ready for the Board of Directors? Join one of our committees! Put your tech skills to use as our Communications Committee Chair,, grow our membership by joining the Membership Committee, or help plan the upcoming Annual Meeting by joining our Continuing Education Committee! There is so much work to do, and we make it fun (I promise).
Now’s your chance to pad your CV and make new friends. Join us! Read on for more details and don’t hesitate to reach out. I’m super friendly and almost always caffeinated!
As always, I’m available by email at parisbury@gmail.com and by text at (805) 415-2553.
In the spirit of service and solidarity,
Paris Maloof-Bury, CNM, IBCLC
President, California Nurse-Midwives Association
Join the CNMA Board of Directors!
President-Elect (10/2023-10/2027)
During the first year (10/2023-10/2024), the President-Elect is mentored and supported by the current President as they learn the role and prepare to take on leadership of the board of directors (BOD) and the affiliate. Duties include:
Non-voting member of the BOD.
Attend virtual BOD meetings and other committee meetings throughout the month to learn about the structure and inside operations within the association.
Attend 2 in-person meetings annually that alternate between Northern and Southern California.
During the second and third years (10/2024-10/2026) the President’s duties include the following:
Be the face of CNMA. Be prepared to give interviews, help draft legislation and correspondence when needed, advocate for midwifery and birthing people, stay up to date on health policy issues within the association and the state.
Lead all BOD meetings (prepare the agenda, establish a quorum, get approval for the agenda, approve the minutes along with the secretary, make corrections, sign the minutes).
Voting member of the BOD.
Lead the CNMA Annual Meeting (present the awards, introduce speakers, recognize off going BOD members, and welcome incoming BOD members).
Contribute to the CNMA newsletter.
Attend the ACNM Annual Meeting and represent CNMA during the California Affiliate Meeting and Regional Meeting.
Communicate with the ACNM National Office when necessary.
During the fourth year (10/2026-10/2027), the Past President's duties include the following:
Non-voting member of the BOD.
Offer support and guidance to the sitting President.
Serve as a source of continuity with other groups and organizations in California who have associations with ACNM and CNMA.
Ensure historical context for important issues impacting CNMA and the BOD.
Secretary (10/2023-10/2026)
Voting member of the BOD.
Send out the agenda to all the BOD members 10 days before the BOD Meeting.
Attend and take minutes during the BOD meeting.
Send minutes to the President and other BOD members for corrections.
Get signature on minutes once the corrections have been made.
Send out final minutes to BOD members.
Store minutes on Dropbox and keep Dropbox files organized.
Onboard new BOD members.
Participate in strategic planning.
Facilitate CNMA’s annual election.
Three year term, may serve up to two consecutive terms
Northern California Representative (10/2023-10/2026)
Voting member of the BOD.
Attend monthly virtual BOD meetings.
Develop relationships with the members of the region.
Establish two-way communication with regional chapter chairs and members to update them on affiliate issues; and bring chapters’ and members’ issues, comments, needs, and requests from regional members to the BOD.
Should attend their own chapter meetings.
Help lead and organize in-district visits and advocacy efforts.
Stay involved and participate in events in their region as a representative of CNMA.
Three year term, may serve up to two consecutive terms.
Central California Representative (10/2023-10/2026)
Voting member of the BOD.
Attend monthly virtual BOD meetings.
Develop relationships with the members of the region.
Establish two-way communication with regional chapter chairs and members to update them on affiliate issues; and bring chapters’ and members’ issues, comments, needs, and requests from regional members to the BOD.
Should attend their own chapter meetings.
Help lead and organize in-district visits and advocacy efforts.
Stay involved and participate in events in their region as a representative of CNMA.
Three year term, may serve up to two consecutive terms.
Representative from Under-Represented Group (10/2023-10/2026)
Voting member of the BOD
Attend monthly virtual BOD meetings.
Acts as liaison and represents the interests of a community under-represented in midwifery and/or on the CNMA Board
Three year term, may serve up to two consecutive terms
Join a CNMA Committee!
Membership Chair
CNMA is dedicated to promoting midwifery and supporting midwives in California, and we need someone passionate and committed to help us recruit and retain members, manage our databases, collaborate with other committees, and engage with our chapters and members. If you're enthusiastic, organized, and want to help shape the future of midwifery in California, please reach out to our current membership chair, Emily Carter, at membership@cnma.org.
Continuing Education Committee
The CNMA Continuing Education Committee is responsible for planning and hosting the CNMA Annual Meeting and creating continuing education content that will be available throughout the year. Please consider joining this small and focused team. The work is targeted and specific, but there’s still plenty of room for creativity. Interested members, please contact jillcauley4@gmail.com.
Health Policy Updates
It's CELEBRATION TIME!
Thanks to all who called in and wrote letters. ALL of our bills that we are sponsoring or co-sponsoring were voted out of their houses of origin on May 31st and are moving into the next phase.
Particularly, SB 667 (Dodd), our midwifery integration bill passed the Senate floor with an unanimous 40-0 vote. Can't do much better than that! Senator Dodd and his staff, as usual, did a great job moving this forward. It now moves into the Assembly.
SB 345 (Skinner), the provider protection bill to protect abortion providers in California from legal attacks by other states that have criminalized abortion or gender-affirming care, passed the Senate with a 32 -8 vote count. It now moves to the Assembly.
AB 571 (Petrie Norris), the abortion provider protection bill for malpractice insurance passed the Assembly 63-14, and now moves into the Senate.
For regular updates go to cnma.org/advocacy.
Education, Trainings, and Webinars
CNMA 2023 Annual Meeting
Join us in Los Angeles for the 2023 CNMA Annual Meeting. Speakers this year include: King Yaa: Queer Reproductive Care, Dr. Anna Glezer: Perinatal Mood Disorders, Gabriela Grant: Care and Evaluation of the sex worker, and more to come! Our site will be updated as presenters confirm. 8 CEUs. August 26, 2023 at the Omni Hotel in Los Angeles. Get your tickets early. CNMA 2022 Annual Meeting Recording: If you weren't able to make the 2022 Annual Meeting in real time this year, here’s another opportunity to purchase tickets and catch up! Janelle Palacios spoke on the Arrive Trial. Ana Delgado spoke on Using Quality Improvement to Advance Equity. Rixa Freeze spoke on Breech Birth Maneuvers. Tanya Khemet Taiwo spoke on Environmental Factors affecting Fetal Development. Paris Maloof-Bury spoke on the Marginalization of Black Midwives in America. 8 CEUs. Register here.
CNMA White Antiracism Group - Book club event
If you are a white identifying midwife and are dedicated to antiracism work or are learning, we would love to meet you! The White Antiracism group will be meeting and discussing: Killing the Black Body by Dorothy Roberts. Join us on June 23rd at 12 noon for a virtual conversation.
Book Background: "In 1997, this groundbreaking book made a powerful entrance into the national conversation on race. In a media landscape dominated by racially biased images of welfare queens and crack babies, Killing the Black Body exposed America’s systemic abuse of Black women’s bodies. From slave masters’ economic stake in bonded women’s fertility to government programs that coerced thousands of poor Black women into being sterilized as late as the 1970s, these abuses pointed to the degradation of Black motherhood—and the exclusion of Black women’s reproductive needs in mainstream feminist and civil rights agendas. Killing the Black Body remains a rallying cry for education, awareness, and action on extending reproductive justice to all women."
Group Background: the CNMA white antiracism group started in 2020 in response to a call to action for white CNMA leadership to support each other in antiracism work. We meet quarterly to share. If you are new to antiracism, this is a great place to learn. If you have been dedicated to antiracism, we would love your perspective.
We are all learning and we are all on a different path. We encourage humility, patience, courage and most of all LOVE.
Please email alisonnyoung@gmail.com for more information and virtual link to this event!
The Black Birth Equity Summit 2023
The California Black Birth Equity Summit will be held on August 28 - 29, 2023. Hosted by the California Endowment, this Summit will elevate and celebrate the numerous policy, program, research, and innovation advancements since the 2019 Black Birth Equity Summit. This year's Summit will be one of the largest gatherings of leaders and stakeholders in California dedicated to advancing Black birth equity and justice. The hybrid convening (virtual and in-person) will bring together diverse and multidisciplinary participants to raise awareness, build capacity, and implement sustainable strategies to eliminate racial inequities and mitigate their impact. The program will feature expert dynamic keynote speakers, interactive concurrent sessions, strategic planning for policies and programs impacting Black families, meaningful dialogue, and networking opportunities.
There is an Early Bird registration discount until June 30, 2023. In-person registration will end August 18th and virtual registration will end August 27th. Register here!
If you have any summit questions, please contact Mashariki Kudumu at mashariki@black-enterprises.com
ACNM First Assist Workshops
ACNM has a full schedule of The Midwife as Surgical First Assistant (First Assist) Virtual Clinical Labs available in 2023! First Assist focuses on training midwives to participate and provide continuity of care for patients during a cesarean section.
The First Assist Virtual Clinical Labs fill up fast, so be sure to Register for the date you need NOW! The June workshop is now full.
Tuesday, July 25 (10:00 AM EST) - Registration deadline is Monday, July 10, 2023.
Tuesday, Aug. 22 (10:00 AM EST) - Registration deadline is Monday, Aug. 7, 2023.
CENTERING: To Reduce Perinatal Inequities: Leverage Appreciative Inquiry, Black Feminism, and Radical Imagination
This presentation will be held virtually on June 7th, 2023 at 7pm EDT. The webinar will equip participants with an integrated change management approach that grounds the 5D Cycle of Appreciative Inquiry (Define, Discover, Dream, Design & Deliver) in Black Feminism and Radical Imagination to serve as a conduit for creating equitable care. The interactive format will review what’s wrong with traditional racial equity quality improvement initiatives and describe the benefits of applying a Black Feminist and Radical Imagination lens. Participants will reflect on ways to apply this approach to Centering Pregnancy programs and develop three goals for their work.
Learning Objectives:
At the conclusion of this session participants will be able to:
Identify three ways that traditional quality improvement approaches to address racial health inequities perpetuate racism
Describe the steps of Appreciative Inquiry and relate them to Radical Imagination and Black Feminist recommendations for quality improvement.
Discuss how to apply the 5D Cycle for Health Equity to Centering Pregnancy
CEs Offered: 1 CE. Click here to register.
Diversity Impact 2023- Better Together: Advancing a Culture of Identity and Belonging in Healthcare
Join Frontier Nursing University on June 8-9, 2023, for the 13th annual Diversity Impact conference! The Diversity Impact Conference brings together renowned thought leaders and speakers to increase awareness of the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the healthcare workforce, particularly for those working in underserved and rural communities.
This year’s conference will feature over 10 speakers and panelists from all over the U.S. and several engaging activities. Register here!
AWHONN 2023 Convention
The 2023 AWHONN Convention, taking place June 17-21, 2023 in New Orleans, will be a transformative event that will help you to develop and hone your leadership skills, empower your team to adopt and adapt new standards in care, reevaluate and inspire change to historically challenging workplace cultures, and understand how playing a part in nursing and patient advocacy can increase delivery of quality patient care while improving the nursing environment. *Members experiencing financial hardship and members of underrepresented groups are strongly encouraged to apply for a convention scholarship.
Not able to make it in person? Our On-Demand Program features 46.5 nursing contact hours, including recorded presentations from the main stage, podium sessions, and more. On-demand recordings will be available at the conclusion of the live Convention. Access to this content and the last day to claim contact hours for this program is August 15. Check out the full list of On-Demand sessions.
March Of Dimes: Beyond Labels Training
March of Dimes is offering a virtual training Thursday June 15th, 2023 10-11:30am PST titled Beyond Labels: Reducing Stigma Related To Maternal Mental Health & Substance Use Disorders that focuses on our toolkit, developed in partnership with the CDC: March of Dimes Beyond Labels. This training is 90 minutes and is open to everyone serving in the Maternal and Infant space and is also credentialed for CNE, CME & SW credit. **Local Expert Panelists: Dr. Jessica Kingston, Midwife Nikki Helms, Samantha Williams FNP, Lauren Ariniello
TEACH Northern California- Reproductive Health and Justice in Primary Care Conference
TEACH invites you and your colleagues to join us for the 1st Annual Summer Northern California Reproductive Health and Justice in Primary Care Conference on Saturday, June 24, 2023 from 9 am - 4:30 pm in San Francisco (Details to follow registration by email)
Morning Topics
Reproductive Healthcare for Transgender and Gender Expansive Individuals
Reproductive Care for Incarcerated Individuals
Perspectives on Self-Managed Abortion
Restoring black autonomy in the California post-Dobb’s environment
Afternoon Workshops
Resolving to make change: the who, what, and why to resolutions
Medication Abortion Innovations 101 / 201 / 301: Clinical issues, Telemedicine, FQHC implementation
Registration is now open!
Beyond the A Word: Reproductive Life Stories
TEACH is organizing our 7th annual storytelling event, “Beyond the A Word”, which tackles abortion stigma, celebrates our bodies, and supports abortion providers. The event will be in-person in San Francisco on Saturday August 26th, 2023 at 6pm.
We are looking for storytellers for the event and would love for you to be a part of it! If you are chosen to share your story, you will receive a $100 honorarium for your time and paired with an experienced story coach team to support you in the process. As an organization that is actively working towards becoming a fully inclusive anti-racist organization, we are especially interested in uplifting and sharing stories from people of color. If you have any questions, please email Sarah McNeil sarah@teachtraining.org. Story submissions due by June 30th.
Job Opportunities
PER DIEM CNM Position with COMMUNICARE HEALTH CENTERS in Davis, CA.
Join our midwifery-led, evidence-based, practice as a PER DIEM MIDWIFE. We have two open per diem positions and are looking for candidates with at least 1-2 years of experience, ideally, to help us cover multiple clinic sites in an FQHC setting in Yolo County and to cover call in a hospital-based Birth Center at Sutter Davis Hospital. New CNM graduates will be considered for clinic only per diem positions. Our practice has been recognized nationally and locally for providing great outcomes (low c/s rates, low PTB rates, high breastfeeding rates, high patient satisfaction) while serving a diverse patient population. Please consider applying to join our supportive midwifery community. To view the job description and to apply, click here!
For more information, feel free to contact Associate Perinatal Directors Cathy McGovern, CNM at cathym@communicarehc.org or Kristen Cates, CNM at kristenc@communicarehc.org, as well as HR Recruiter Mariah Baldwin at mariahb@communicarehc.org.
To view previously listed job opportunities, please visit our website at https://www.cnma.org/jobs.
Volunteer Opportunities
Call for Nominations for the IBLCE Board of Directors
The International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners® (IBLCE®) is seeking to fill one to two volunteer leadership positions on the IBLCE Board of Directors, each for a three-year term from October 2023 to September 2026. IBLCE seeks to fill one to two positions with an IBCLC®. The IBLCE Board reflects diversity in geography, culture, language, lactation practice setting, discipline, and expertise relevant to the Board’s needs. Nominations are due by June 14, 2023. While IBLCE encourages all qualified candidates who are interested to apply, IBLCE is particularly seeking candidates as follows: One (1) Position, or Perhaps Two (2) for IBCLCs:
Whose highest degree held is an Associate’s or Bachelor's degree
Who is from the Americas & Israel (AMS) region
Who has a nursing, midwife, dietitian background
Who has breastfeeding/chestfeeding peer-to-peer and/or parent-to-parent support leadership experience
Who practices in an independent/private practice, physician’s office/medical practice, community clinic, volunteer organization, educational institution, or government/policy development
Who has a background in academic or scientific research
IBLCE recognizes that candidates will likely not meet all of these criteria and encourages those meeting some or all of these qualifications to apply. Please email international@iblce.org for more information and Board Member Position Descriptions.
Call for ACNM Clinical Standards & Documents Committee Chairs
The Clinical Standards & Documents (CS&D) committee is one of the most important ACNM committees. Volunteers work to write and revise ACNM documents that affect midwifery practice. The CS&D committee is seeking a committee chair.
Responsibilities of the committee chair:
Keep documents up to date (every 5 years)
Shepherd all documents through the committee and approval
Communicate with Division Chair (BOD reports etc.)
Committee meetings (monthly/bi-monthly, or quarterly and at the national meeting)
Send final drafts to National office
Respond to requests from national office (for example endorsement of ACOG documents)
Update the yearly index for JMWH (in December)
CS&D Section Responsibilities:
Develop and maintain clinical practice standards and documents.
Identify appropriate clinical experts for document updates.
Identify and collaborate with other organizations who provide women, children and persons centered healthcare.
Promote the practice of midwifery and maintain high standards to support ACNM membership.
Provide expertise to the ACNM on clinical management issues.
Apply here and contact executiveoffice@acnm.org with questions.
Medi-Cal Rx
Sign up for the Medi-Cal Rx Subscription Service to be notified when new information is posted!
See additional updates below:
Midwife Crush Mondays!
Do you know an amazing Midwife who is doing revolutionary work? We want to feature them on our social media platforms!
CNMA is looking for submissions for our new social media series “Midwife Crush Monday” where we highlight the stories of trailblazing midwives across the industry who are making a difference in the midwifery profession. You can even submit yourself!
Here’s what we’re looking for:
Midwife’s name (include pronouns)
Affiliated organization(s)
Why you became a midwife (and anything awesome you’d like to brag about)
Headshot/Photo if available
Bonus: Please include social media handles for tagging!
Please send submissions to sm@cnma.org for consideration!