Resources for Reproductive Health
The following are midwife-recommended resources to help you make informed decisions regarding your healthcare.
Share with Women
Share With Women is a series of patient education handouts from the Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health (JMWH). We encourage you to print and share these handouts. The information and recommendations in this handout are not a substitute for health care. Please consult your health care provider for information specific to you and your health. These handouts may be reproduced for noncommercial use by health care professionals to share with clients, but modifications to the handouts are not permitted.
Birth by the Numbers
The goal of Birth by the Numbers is to present accurate, up-to-date information on childbirth practices and outcomes in the United States and internationally. We strive to make timely data accessible and understandable to key audiences including prospective parents, clinicians, childbirth educators, college faculty and students, policymakers and the media. Visit their website or watch the video below to learn about some of the latest birth data available.
Childbirth Connection
Founded in 1918 as the Maternity Center Association, Childbirth Connection is now a core program of the National Partnership for Women & Families. For nearly 100 years, they have helped develop and advance many forms of care that are now critical components of the nation’s maternity care system. More recently, we launched a long-term program to promote evidence-based maternity care through policy and quality initiatives. They will continue working to improve and transform the nation’s maternity care system so that childbearing women and babies consistently receive high-quality, woman- and family-centered care.
Black Mamas Matter Alliance
Black Mamas Matter Alliance is a Black women-led cross-sectoral alliance. We center Black mamas to advocate, drive research, build power, and shift culture for Black maternal health, rights, and justice. Click here for a 2018 BMMA BlackPaper on Setting the Standard for Holistic Care of and for Black Women.
National Birth Equity Collaborative
NBEC creates solutions that optimize Black maternal and infant health through training, policy advocacy, research and community-centered collaboration. Their vision is that every black infant will celebrate a healthy first birthday.
Every Mother Counts
Every Mother Counts is committed to supporting groups led by women and people from the communities where they work, and that place mothers at the center of their work. By partnering with local organizations that serve historically marginalized communities, they help deliver high-impact, low-cost solutions to improve maternal health outcomes. Click here to read about some of the Benefits of Midwifery
March of Dimes
March of Dimes leads the fight for the health of all moms and babies. We believe that every baby deserves the best possible start.
Changing Woman Initiative
Changing Woman Initiative was dreamed up by founder Nicolle L. Gonzales, Navajo Nurse-Midwife. After years of working as a midwife in her community and seeing many Native American women struggle with navigating western medical healthcare systems, she felt there was a better way that would center the needs of the women and families she cared for.
Research about Midwifery
The Journal of Midwifery & Women's Health (JMWH)
The Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health (JMWH) is the official journal of the American College of Nurse-Midwives. This peer-reviewed journal includes new research and current knowledge across a broad range of clinical and interprofessional topics including perinatal care, gynecology, sexual and reproductive health, primary care, public health, health care policy, and global health. With a focus on evidence-based practice, JMWH promotes health equity and excellence in midwifery.
Articles highlighting the value of midwifery care:
Beyond Medicalization: Midwives & Maternity Care in America
Beyond Medicalization: Midwives & Maternity Care in America is a publication from the Jewish Healthcare Foundation that examines America’s approach to pregnancy and delivery beginning in the 19th century.
Birth Settings in America: Outcomes, Quality, Access, and Choice
Birth Settings in America: Outcomes, Quality, Access, and Choice is a publication from the National Academies of Science and Engineering that seeks to reevaluate the United States’ approach to maternal and newborn care.
The Birth Place Lab
The Birth Place Lab (BPL), in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of British Columbia facilitates community-based participatory research, and knowledge translation around equitable access to high quality maternity health care.
Additional Resources
Lamaze International
Lamaze International is a non-profit organization, a trusted global leader, with a mission to advance safe and healthy pregnancy, birth and early parenting through evidence-based education and advocacy.
Evidence-Based Birth
Evidence-Based Birth is a website and podcast full of resources to make high quality birth research available to the public. EBB has become a trusted, non-biased source for the most current, evidence-based information on pregnancy and childbirth.
American College of Nurse Midwives
American College of Nurse Midwives (ACNM) is a professional association in the United States for certified nurse-midwives (CNMs) and certified midwives (CMs). The mission of ACNM is “to support midwives and advance the practice of midwifery in order to achieve optimal health for women through their lifespan, with expertise in well woman and gynecologic care, promoting optimal pregnancy, physiologic birth, postpartum care, and care of the newborn.”
Spinning Babies
Spinning Babies® is a unique approach to birth created by midwife, Gail Tully. Spinning Babies website offers resources for parents and healthcare providers to help optimize childbirth.