In My Mother's House

On Friday night of MANA 2010, October 15, The Foundation for the Advancement of Midwifery is hosting a

"Roast of the Farm Midwives" Moderated by Ricki Lake

with the following schedule:

7:00 - Cash bar of midwife concoctions
7:30 - Roast begins promptly
9:00 - Screening of Guerrilla Midwife

Tickets are $20 and will go on sale in September.

Please Be sure to sign up for FAM's e-newsletter at www.formidwifery.org to receive ticket notices. This event will be open to the public.

Early Registration Deadline is Sunday!

As the days get shorter and we rush to finish summer vacations before returning to work and school, don't forget to register for MANA 2010 before Sunday evening when the cheapest registration rates expire! Everything you need to know about the conference is on the Midwives Alliance
web site at this link: http://mana.org/mana2010

There you can download the registration brochure, see a day-by-day schedule of speakers and sessions and even link to the hotel to reserve your room. If you prefer to call in your room reservation, please remember to tell them you are reserving for the Midwives Alliance. We have reserved rooms specifically for our attendees, and we have a great rate!

Conference Speakers include:

• Ina May Gaskin
• Robin Lim
• Geradine Simkins
• Bridget Lynch
• Barbara Katz Rothman
• Carol Leonard
• Makeda Kamara
• Holly Kennedy
• Harriette Hartigan

Help Bring Teachers for Traditional Mexican Skills Workshops

This year the conference planning committee is bringing five midwives from Mexico to teach workshops at the MANA 2010 conference. These midwives, including traditional elder midwives and young leaders who will guide midwifery in Mexico into the next decade, are coming on scholarships provided by the conference. We are very pleased at the quality of the workshops they will be giving as they reflect the current state of Mexican midwifery, with its ancient knowledge that is so important to pass on, as well as an understanding of the current social and political forces that make Mexico one of three countries with the highest cesarean rates in the world.

In order to bring the Midwives to Nashville, MANA has provided conference registration, and we are seeking funds to cover travel, lodging, food and a visit to the Farm. Any amount of donation will be greatly appreciated! We are also seeking translators who are willing to spend one day of the conference translating for Angelina Martinez, a wise and well known midwife from Cuernavaca.

We are looking for eager and savvy Fundraisers who would be willing to donate a day of time to organize a dinner, throw down, bake sale, party, facebook drive, whatever you think would work in your community. We need to raise $6000 and have already raised $500, and I'm sure with your help we can raise the additional $5500.

You can donate on the conference registration website when you register or even if you will not be able to attend the conference mana.org/mana2010/register/index.html#donation. Or, if you'd rather mail in a donation, send your check made out to MANA and with a notation that it be used for the Partera Fund to:

Audra Phillips
5332 Sharon Ave
Columbus, OH 43214

Thank you for your help in supporting our sisters from the South.

Conference Scholarship Opportunity!

Because of the overwhelming number of inquiries we have received this year, FAM has agreed to fund three registration scholarships for midwives to come to the conference who otherwise may not be able to attend. And, MANA is also offering three partial scholarships with a registration fee of $275 each.

Please visit mana.org/mana2010/register/scholarships.html to apply for a scholarship.  Application deadline is September 1.

To apply, please be prepared to write a brief (200 word) essay about why you wish to come to the MANA conference and how you plan to use the conference information in your work.

For more information about the conference, visit mana.org/mana2010. We look forward to seeing you there!