Having a baby? See birth at a Baby-Friendly Hospital versus a Typical Hospital. 
Cosponsored by the Breastfeeding Coalition of Oregon and the Massachusetts Breastfeeding Coalition.
www.breastfeedingOR.org
www.massbreastfeeding.org
www.babyfriendlyusa.org

Download the mp3 for free

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American Herbalists Guild has an amazing line-up of herbalists coming to teach in St. Pete October 20-23.  Flyer

Join midwife – herbalist – medical doctor Aviva Romm for this full-day workshop geared toward midwives, childbirth educators, doulas, and herbalists interested in women’s health and herbal medicine. Her more than 30 years of clinical practice, and wealth of experience as a teacher and author of seven books on women’s and children’s health make Aviva uniquely qualified to lecture on the use of botanical medicines in women’s health and perinatally. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to learn from a practitioner with a remarkable depth and breadth of experience in botanical medicines, conventional medicine and the care of women. From conception & pregnancy, through birth, postpartum, and care of the newborn, learn how to safely and effectively use botanicals for common and complex conditions in the childbearing years.

Friday, October 21 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
For information and to register,
visit www.americanherbalistguild.com,
call (857) 350-3128 or
email ahgoffice@earthlink.net

‘Down There’ (for men and women), the Wise Woman Way

The conference runs from Friday to Sunday, but these two day-long intensives are actually "stand alone" events.  In other words, someone can attend the intensives without attending the conference itself -- or vice versa.  

Susun Weed will teach on Thursday, October 20 from 9 to 5 (with a break for lunch) on 'Down There' (for men and women), the Wise Woman Way.  This class will be based upon her just-published book of the same title. As Susun describes it:  "With ceremony, story and song, Susun will lead an expedition “down there.” First stop, the ovaries, where we will learn the early warning signs of ovarian cancer, and discover foods and herbs that can be used to help women with PCOS, cysts, and other ovarian conditions. We’ll give our ovaries an ovation, then it’s on to the prostate. Though at least half of American men will have BPH or prostate cancer by the age of 50, neither are inevitable. Foods, herbs, and lifestyle can shift the odds in favor of your health and longevity. We’ll ponder saw palmetto’s relationship with LUTS, have a fling with Pinus pollen, dance with rye pollen, share pumpkin seed recipes, ponder tomatoes and echinacea, and learn how to power up the prostate. Time permitting, Susun will be happy to address other down there issues as well.

Then on Friday, October 21 from 9 to 5, Aviva will offer Herbal Medicine for the Childbearing Year.  Join midwife – herbalist – medical doctor Aviva Romm for this full-day workshop geared toward midwives, childbirth educators, doulas, and herbalists interested in women’s health and herbal medicine. Her more than 30 years of clinical practice, and wealth of experience as a teacher and author of seven books on women’s and children’s health make Aviva uniquely qualified to lecture on the use of botanical medicines in women’s health and perinatally. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to learn from a practitioner with a remarkable depth and breadth of experience in botanical medicines, conventional medicine and the care of women. From conception & pregnancy, through birth, postpartum, and care of the newborn, learn how to safely and effectively use botanicals for common and complex conditions in the childbearing years."

The cost for each of these full-day intensives is $100.  

Download the flyer here. 

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Presents

Women's Health and the Environment (WE) Conference

Join us for a special day of learning and interacting with an extraordinary team of renowned experts, researchers, educators, integrative health practitioners, and advocates in the field of women and children’s health and the environment to develop strategies and solutions for healthier lives and healthier communities.

Register to Attend the WE Conference

Conference Presenters

• Devra Davis, PhD, MPH, Former Director of University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute’s Center for Environmental Oncology. Internationally known Epidemiologist in Women’s Health and the Environment. Founder, Environmental Health Trust.
• Dr. Tyrone Hayes, PhD, Researcher and Biologist, Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley. World renowned researcher on Endocrine Disruptors in the environment
• Carolyn Raffensperger, M.A. JD, Executive Director, Science and the Environment Health Network (SEHN), works with communities and governments in the effective application of science to protect and restore public and ecosystem health.
• Ted Schettler, M.D., MPH Science Director, Science and Environmental Health Network (SEHN), a leading medical voice for environmental health and public health policy. Author, Ecological medicine: Complex systems, health, and disease

Conference Goals

• Present current research and information on the links between environmental exposures throughout the lifecycle and the connection to breast cancer, infertility, endocrine and immune disorders, and children's health issues
• Offer effective, preventive strategies and interventions for safeguarding our health and the health of our children, families, communities, and future generations
• Engage participants in discussions to increase environmental awareness of personal lifestyle choices
• Create an outreach community to sponsor regional and local follow up meetings and ongoing activities, and to offer education and inspire advocacy efforts for healthier communities

About EarthRose Institute

EarthRose Institute (ERI), a 501©3 organization, was founded in 1997 in response to the urgent and growing need for disseminating information, providing education, and effecting research collaboration on the environmental links to women’s and children’s health. Preventing exposures to toxic compounds in the home, workplace, food chain, and community, are primary goals of ERI. ERI works with women, communities, institutions, and other organizations, on advocacy and health policy issues related to environmental health on a local and global level. www.EarthRose.org

Contact:

Susan Luck –Executive Committee Chair

Office: 305 865-9747

Email: sluck@EarthRose.org

Advertising: maria@EarthRose.org

Advertising Opportunities

The WE Conference funding campaign will include, but is not limited to, engaging foundations with a shared mission of environmental health giving and donations are welcome to continue and to meet our community outreach and education goals.

Sponsorhip/Donation Opportunities

The WE Conference funding campaign will include, but is not limited to, engaging foundations with a shared mission of environmental health. Giving and donations are welcome to continue to meet our community outreach and education goals for creating healthier communities.

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A GLOBAL CALL TO ACTION: STRENGTHEN MIDWIFERY TO SAVE LIVES AND 

PROMOTE HEALTH OF WOMEN AND NEWBORNS

Maternal Mortality: Still the greatest health and gender inequity in the world

We, midwives and other health professionals of the world and development partners, gathered here on the occasion of the Women Deliver Conference in Washington DC, June 2010, share the view that bold and unprecedented action is required to achieve Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 5: Improve Maternal Health and the newborn component of MDG4: Reduce child mortality.

Today 99 per cent of maternal and newborn deaths occur in developing countries. Each year more than two million women and newborns die needlessly due to preventable causes related to pregnancy, childbirth and post-partum conditions.

Millions more suffer disabilities. When a woman dies, her children are less likely to receive nutritious food and education. Saving women's lives and improving their health are key to achieving all of the MDGs.

We know what to do - it is a cost-effective investment

There is international consensus on the set of evidence-based and cost-effective solutions required to ensure that every pregnancy is wanted, every birth is safe and every newborn is healthy. Central to these interventions is a high quality workforce supported by a functioning health system. Midwives, as part of this workforce, provide the continuum of care needed by pregnant women and their newborns from the community to the hospital level.

Midwives and midwifery services save lives and promote health

Up to 90 per cent of maternal deaths can be prevented when midwives and personnel with midwifery skills are authorized and supported by the health system to practice their full set of competencies, including basic emergency obstetric and newborn care. In addition midwives improve the sexual and reproductive health of individuals and couples, including adolescents, by providing family planning services and counseling, and HIV prevention, including the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), some 334,000 midwives are needed to fill the gaps in high-mortality countries by 2015.

A Call to Action to strengthen midwifery services

We pledge to join forces with governments, civil society, and other partners to continue supporting implementation of World Health Assembly Resolution 59.27 on Strengthening nursing and midwifery and initiating a global movement to strengthen midwifery services. This will ensure rapid progress in achieving MDG 5 and contribute to the achievement of MDGs 4 and 6 (to reduce child mortality; and combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases). In response to the UN Secretary General's Joint Action Plan for Women's and Children's Health, we call on all governments to increase investments in midwifery services now and to make this a high priority at the UN Summit on the Millennium Development Goals in September 2010 and beyond.

We call on governments to address the following vital areas:

1. Education and training-Provide education and training in the essential competencies for basic midwifery practice. Build institutional capacity, including strengthened clinical training, post-graduate programs and research. Increase South-South collaboration to expand the production of midwives with evidence-based quality training.
2. Legislation and Regulation-Strengthen legislative and regulatory frameworks to ensure midwives have appropriate standards of practice and are regulated to practice their full set of competencies as defined by the WHO and the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM). Also, ensure immediate notification of maternal deaths.
3. Recruitment, retention and deployment-Implement national, costed health workfoorce plans and strengthen management capacities of Ministries of Health regarding training, recruitment, retention and deployment of the midwifery workforce, as per The 2008 Kampala Declaration and Agenda for Global Action on Health Workers and which is vital to increasing access to midwifery services for poor and marginalized women.
4. Association-Strengthen national professional midwifery associations to promote the profession, improve standards of care, participate in policy making at regional and national levels, and establish closer collaboration with other professional organizations, especially obstetric and pediatric societies.

Finally, we call on development partners - particularly the G8 and G20 - to provide long-term support to countries seeking to strengthen midwifery services by investing in a midwifery workforce as a fundamental step towards a functioning primary healthcare system that can deliver for women and newborns, fostering a healthier future for all.

-------------------------------------------------

International Confederation of Midwives

Laan van Meerdervoort 70

2517AN The Hague

Tel. +31 70 3060520

Fax +3170 355 5651

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Greetings all

I am overjoyed with the victory we all accomplished....The Women's Center at Jackson South Community Hospital will remain open! The Miami-Dade County Commission is going to reconsider the decision as part of their overall budget discussion in September. Commissioner Seijas stated, "We will find the $2.5 million to balance the budget." The commissioner's understand that the health of the community and the value the OB services at JSCH is more valuable than money. The commissioner's were outraged that the Public Health Trust (which was appointed by the commission) would attempt to close maternity services at JSCH without consulting the community. 

Thank you to everyone who wrote a letter and/or signed the petition and those who came out last Thursday. Your voices were heard loud and clear. Please take a moment to write your commissioner a "thank-you" note. We will keep you updated on future updates and any needed action. 

Here is a link to an article in the South Florida News.........http://cbs4.com/local/jackson.south.hospital.2.1794604.html

Video on the story 

http://www.justnews.com/video/22848567/

Sheila

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