American Association of Birth Centers

Registration for the 2024 AABC Birth Institute is now open!
Session Spotlight: Julie Moon and Olga Ryan will share the Art and Science of Newborn Assessment at the conference on Friday. This session is perfect for clinical staff at your birth center.

Register for the conference today to get the Early Bird registration discount!
Learn more and register: https://buff.ly/2Rfq89Z

AABC's Pennsylvania State Chapter has sparked crucial conversations in their communities!
After meeting with state chapter members, the Pittsburgh Gazette has released an editorial identifying midwives as the solution to the state - as well as the country's - maternal health crisis.

To read the article and spread the word, go to: https://buff.ly/3xI8q9a

We're delighted to share that Writing Us Back Into The Birth Story Trans Birth Fund is open for applications!
This opportunity just launched from and and supports BIPOC Trans*, Intersex, and Gender Expansive individuals and organizations with grants of $10,000 to $20,000 for birth work and family building projects.

Application Deadline: July 23.

Let’s build a beautiful, inclusive future together!

🔗 Apply now: https://buff.ly/4eQXeYL

AABC's Diversity + Inclusion scholarship applications are now open!
AABC understands the importance of increasing access to birth center care for all families and increasing access to education for all providers in a profession that too often centers the voices of white, affluent, cishet women at the expense of other communities.

We offer Diversity + Inclusion Scholarships to Members of the Global Majority*, LGBTQIA+ folks, and people with disabilities. AABC seeks to expand access and lower barriers to entry through these scholarships.
For more information and to apply for our scholarships, go to https://buff.ly/3MgGxtL

Happy Juneteenth from AABC! Today, we honor and celebrate the long overdue freeing of over 250,000 enslaved people on June 19, 1865. Since then, Black folks have survived and persevered in a system that marginalizes and oppresses them. This is evident in our work, where we continue the fight to reduce the staggering disparities in health outcomes for Black birthing people and their infants.

Do you know the significance of the color red in Juneteenth's history?
Red symbolizes strength, resilience, joy, and life in West African culture. It has been used to honor these qualities in people across the African diaspora, which allowed them to overcome enslavement and engage in the continued fight for equity today. As such, many people celebrate Juneteenth by sharing red food and drinks: hibiscus tea or punch, watermelon and strawberries, red beans and rice, red velvet cake.

We hope that this day is filled with joy, celebratory food, and - most importantly - honor to the history of Juneteenth.

🛍️ MERCH DROP🛍️
Your favorite new birth justice swag is here! is about growing a world where birth is safe, sacred, loving and celebrated in EVERY community. Ready to join us? 🌿

You can start by ordering limited edition merch! We have sweatshirts, posters, mouse pads, coffee cups, stickers and more.

We cannot wait to see our communities glowing in these designs & growing the power of birth centers together!

Nothing brings us joy like seeing our AABC State Chapters in action! Five freestanding birth centers met with Acting Secretary of Health Dr. Debra Bogen and Secretary of Human Services Dr. Val Arkoosh for a tour of Lifecycle WomanCare.

The tour included a roundtable discussion exploring how to improve birthing experiences and health outcomes for the community, with a particular focus on improving outcomes for people of color in Pennsylvania.

These face-to-face, personal interactions can make a world of difference in local and state legislation and helping people understand the birth center model of care. We're proud to have AABC members who foster those crucial connections.

To read more, check out: https://buff.ly/3VGoS36

Black women and birth givers have a long-standing history of disparities in health outcomes and mortality and morbidity rates when giving birth.
We are grateful to have multiple articles from AABC's Perinatal Data Registry cited in a new qualitative study about Black women's experiences with giving birth in Texas and their thoughts on birth centers and midwifery care. To read more, go to: https://buff.ly/4bUINjY

We are thrilled to partner with for the second annual Birth Center Week! This event is an opportunity for us to and ; a week to imagine a world where birth is safe, sacred, loving and celebrated in EVERY community.

An entire week to honor ? Yes!! was born from the vision of former BCE member China Tolliver, in conversation with BCE CEO and Co-Founder Leseliey Welch.

Event details, ways to participate and more will be coming soon! In the meantime check out birthcenterweek.org!

Join us for the AABC Midwifery-Led Resuscitation Trainings in Florida (June 30 and July 1) - https://mailchi.mp/birthcenters/nrp-june30-july1-florida

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) is examining the status of newborn screening (NBS) in their Newborn Screening, Current Landscape, Future Directions study project. Newborn screening is administered by each state through state laboratories and is mandatory in all 50 states.

AABC would like to hear from you about newborn screening in your practice, and how these costs impact your bottom line. This information will be shared with NASEM. To complete our survey, go to: https://buff.ly/4c56OF6

Fostering up-to-date, evidence-based practice through research is foundational to what we do at AABC.
We're excited to share new research regarding neonatal morbidity and mortality in birth centers in the United States. The study utilizes data from AABC's Perinatal Data Registry; now available with open access online ahead of print!

To read the article, go to: https://buff.ly/3x0Fby1

Pregnancy and parenting can feel like a confusing, sometimes lonely ride for anyone. There is extra nuance when navigating pregnancy as an LGBTQIA+ person or family.

Rainbow Birth Space offers a monthly space for folks in the LGBTQIA+ community to connect with other expecting q***r families - to share the beauty, the love, the questions, the fears, the nuances. This is a safe space for birthing folks to be vulnerable and feel heard. Next session will be June 5.
While this is not an AABC-affiliated event, we want to share this incredible resource with our community!

To register, go to: https://buff.ly/3VjgHt4

Happy Pride Month from AABC to you!

A core value in the birth center world is the idea that everyone deserves a safe space to give birth comfortably, authentically, and with unwavering support. We believe that we can take this ideology beyond birth into the rest of the world.

We hope that this month, you can find or create your safe space. You will always have one in us.

Join AABC staff for a Webinar Wednesday to learn what AABC membership is all about!

Whether you're new to AABC , you've been with us for years, or you are considering joining AABC, this Member Benefits Tour is an excellent opportunity to familiarize yourself with the many resources included in your membership. These benefits include toolkits, office hours, career center, scholarships, affinity circles, webinars, courses, the Perinatal Data Registry (PDR) and more!

Webinar Wednesday is free to register for AABC members, and this particular webinar will also be free to the public! We'll see you there!

Register at https://buff.ly/3wm8Wcf

In February 2024, AABC members Moira Tannenbaum and Christy Peterson participated in support of the Mary Carol Akers Birth Center Act at Kentucky Lobby Day for Kentucky Birth Coalition. This legislation aims to exempt freestanding alternative birth centers from the certificate of need requirement and establishes modern accreditation standards for
licensure.

For more information, click here: https://buff.ly/3QuNl8r

The United States has the worst maternal health outcomes of all developed countries despite spending more. Those enrolled in Medicaid experience significant disparities in maternal health care and poor health outcomes for themselves and their newborns.

CMS is rolling out a new model, Transforming Maternal Health (TMaH), that aims to improve maternal health outcomes for Medicaid beneficiaries. One of the key elements of this plan involves increasing access to birth centers and midwifery care!

AABC has invited all State Medicaid agency staff across the country to attend a free webinar on May 17th. We look forward to educating the agencies on the significant impact that freestanding birth centers and midwifery care can have on maternal health outcomes in the US.
For the link to our webinar, please visit https://buff.ly/4bhL9Ji

Join us June 15th in Sacramento, CA for AABC Midwifery-Led Resuscitation Training - https://mailchi.mp/birthcenters/nrp-june15-sacramento

NRP Instructor criteria has been expanded to include Certified Midwives and Certified Nurse Midwives as additional clinician types. Additionally, location of practice has been expanded to include accredited birth centers as well as hospitals.

This change is a result of the collaborative advocacy of AABC, CABC, NARM, ACNM, NACPM Birth Center Equity and Elephant Circle.

Link to AABC news - https://buff.ly/3UJrQDt

The National Postpartum Awareness Week for BIPOC series is co-hosted and co-produced by three black, woman-led organizations, The ARIAH Foundation, Dr. Shalon’s MAP & The Tatia Oden French Foundation, in partnership with stakeholders across the United States with a co-created vision of restoring life and dignity to the birthing and postpartum experiences of Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC).
The campaign will take place VIRTUALLY from Sunday, May 5th to Saturday, May 11th, 2024 from 7:00pm - 9:30pm EST. For more information about PAW for BIPOC and to register for the virtual event, follow this link: https://buff.ly/41H7pHT

Happy International Day of the Midwife!
While we aim to celebrate the practitioners in our community every day, we want to take a special moment to honor all midwives across the globe.

Your impact on the lives of birth givers and their infants can never be put into words.
Thank you for creating safe, warm, loving spaces to hold such a life changing moment in people's lives.

May 5th marks the annual International Day of the Midwife!
Join midwives presenting across the globe for a FREE annual conference, Virtual International Day of the Midwife 2024, or .

The 16th annual conference offers 44 free presentations over the span of 24 hours! This year's theme surrounds making midwifery care sustainable - so we can care for the planet while we care for our birthgivers!
Find more information and check out this year's presenters at https://vidm.org/

1 in 5 people who give birth develop a new mental health issue during pregnancy or within the first postnatal year. Black and brown birthgivers and young people who give birth are at a disproportionately higher risk of experiencing perinatal mental health struggles. From Apr 29 - May 5, Maternal Mental Health Week aims to uplift and demystify perinatal mental health experiences, as well as advocate for those impacted.

For more information on Maternal Health Week, go to: https://buff.ly/3WmKz8K

AABCF Changemaker | Bonfire Buy AABCF Changemaker merchandise that supports Aabc Foundation Inc.. Featuring Storm Premium Unisex Tees, professionally printed in the USA.

AABC member Dr. Yashica Robinson of the Alabama Birth Center was quoted in a recent article, saying “That one-on-one intimate care will decrease the chances of things being missed when you have someone that can spend more time with the client and addressing the client in a holistic way,” Robinson said. “We know that with midwifery care, and with clients having access to this one-on-one model of care, we’ll see increases in breastfeeding rates — which improves outcomes for babies.”

ATTENTION: The deadline to submit a proposal to present at the 2024 AABC Birth Institute has been extended to MARCH 20th.
We welcome proposals related to clinical, administrative, research and timely issues! Learn more at https://www.aabcbirthinstitute.org/proposals

The Amy Ellen Polk Memorial Scholarship honors Amy Ellen Polk, a transportation engineer and birth center advocate. It provides a tuition grant for the How to Start a Birth Center Workshop, with an additional $500 for travel expenses for in-person attendance. Attendees can also select the virtual option.

To qualify, applicants must demonstrate a financial need and be developing a birth center.

https://buff.ly/3OBLcH5

The AABC Learning Collaborative for Birth Center Sustainability program, whether in-person or online, provides a platform for fostering connections, defining sustainability, grasping the concept of value and legal aspects, and honing negotiation strategies. Participants acquire valuable resources for successful negotiation practices and receive a comprehensive state-specific reimbursement data analysis (additional cost may apply). https://buff.ly/49Dq6zV

Apply NOW for an AABC Diversity + Inclusion Scholarship and receive financial assistance for the AABC Community Birth Assistant Training (online) or the How to Start a Birth Center Workshop (online).

To be eligible, you must identify as a Member of the Global Majority*, LGBTQIA+, or a person with a disability.

DEADLINE: March 10, 2024

*The Global Majority includes Asian American (or of Asian descent) or Pacific Islander, Black or of African descent (African American, Afro-Caribbean, etc.), Indigenous to Americas (Alaskan Native, American Indian, Native American), Latinx or Hispanic, Southwest Asian or Northern African, or a person who is of multiple races).
https://buff.ly/3MgGxtL