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Author Archives: sandrabstewart
New York Healthy Birth Fair
Hats off to Elan McAllister and her crew of Choices in Childbirth (CIC) volunteers for pulling off the most amazing birth fair on Saturday.
In addition to being the launching pad for the Transparency in Maternity Care project of CIMS, CIC was able to dsitribute their new second annual New York Guide to a Healthy Birth. This new guide is chock full of great information for pregnant families.
Karen Brody’s BOLD Red Tent was pretty incredible, too! The pregnant Moms seemed to love this sacred space where they could share birth stories, receive a massage, or do some yoga poses.
We all have so much work to do to improve maternity care! It was really inspirational to be able to participate in this step in the right direction.
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One Last Post From Union Square
Getting ready to wrap up our fabulous launch of the CIMS Transparency in Maternity Care project, www.thebirthsurvey.com.
The women who live and birth in the five burroughs of NYC are among the luckiest of women in the USA!
I hope that you all will consider helping us make this project available in every community across the country. Email us at: cimsgrassroots@yahoo.com.
Thank you for tuning in today!
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Making lots of connections…
Looks like we have given away over 2000 postcards about www.TheBirthSurvey.com in the last few hours. We’re getting really positive feedback about the idea of a “Consumer Reports” of birth providers.
This project is for everyone! A few interesting anecdotes:
A new Dad was out browsing the fair and he inquired about the birth survey.com. Concerned about some of the interventions that occurred during the birth of his now two-month old child, he wanted to know if he could sit and take the survey on behalf of his wife and baby (who were home napping). Hmmm…we hadnt thought of that!
It’s almost 1:00 p.m.
Union Sqaure is overrun with birth activists!! Unbelievable birth fair. Giant RED TENT beautifully furnished with couches, puffy chairs, and pillows all courtesy of ABC Carpets in NYC. We’ve had belly dancers filling the open space between the 40-plus exhibit tables. Women are now telling birth stories into a mic amplified throughout the park. Elan has thought of everything — we even have a 10 foot uterus for women and children to climb into!
We’ve given away hundreds of birth survey postcards…women are very enthusiastic about the project!
More later… Continue reading
The sun is shining a bright light on transparency!
Michelle Kendell and I arrived this morning in NYC at 8:00 a.m. Perfect day! 70 degrees and sunny. One of the few variables that we had no control over and it worked just perfectly. Must be a good omen.
Union Square is already buzzing with activity for the weekly Farmer’s Market. Elan McAllister’s apartment is located right off Union Square, and we’re about to begin loading all the boxes with thousands of Birth Guides, flyers, cool t-shirts and all the stuff to create the Red Tent.
Check in later…
Three More Days Til’ Launch!
I am thrilled to say that we are three days away from launching one of the most exciting things to happen in maternity care activism in decades.
Thousands of volunteer hours have gone into the creation of what is now known as THE BIRTH SURVEY project. www.thebirthsurvey.com
Created by a committee of CIMS, the BIRTH SURVEY was designed to give mothers a loud and resounding voice – via the internet – about their experiences in childbirth. It connects new mothers to the experiences of those who have birthed before them, gives families their rightful access to local hospital practices and health outcomes, and offers providers and institutions the opportunity to improve care by being able to truly “listen to women”. This breakthrough grassroots project has the potential to shift the balance of power in maternity care back into the hands of the consumer – at a time when mothers and babies are experiencing some of the most significant barriers to accessing and receiving evidence-based care ever seen in the U.S.
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