Category Archives: Coalition for Improving Maternity Services (CIMS)

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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The good folks over at CIMS are still hard at work on the Transparency in Maternity Care Project. They have outlined their goals and objectives and have additional information available at Give Meaning. By going to visit the site you can learn more about the project as well as vote to help sustain the project. You can also help by making a donation of any amount if you wish. Either way, simply visiting helps them out as they help educate so that consumers are “informed about quality of care benchmarks and how their providers stack-up in order to make the best decisions about their own health care.” Continue reading →

Dear friends from CIMS all over the world:

My name is Ricardo Jones, and I am an obstetrician from Brazil.

Some of you already know me from the previous CIMS meetings and the International Forum.

This message is just a break from the important discussion about VBACs.

By the way, I do agree with Helene, Henci and Jan…

But the issue I am trying to bring up is also important for us, in South America and Brazil… and it has to do with…. soap operas.

Yes… In Brasil, soap operas have the same cultural effect that the “sit coms” have in the United States.

Normally, the 9:00 OM soap opera – the mot important of all (we have about six during the day) – brings to debate an important social problem. Last one talked about the blind and handicapped individuals. Some other shows brought the issue of homosexuality (male and female), abortion, legal adoption, euthanasia, etc.
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