Thanks for coming out for a great walk and party!

Thanks to all those who joined us in the warm afternoon to walk and celebrate midwifery! We had great food as well as music by Glenn Hughes afterwards, and raised money for midwifery advocacy.

2nd Annual International Day of the Midwife Walk

We are excited to host another walk again for 2012! This year we will be walking on Saturday May 5, starting and ending the walk at Dar a Luz Birth Center. Pre-registration, (if not done online), can be done on the day of the walk between 3-3:30pm. We will begin waling at 4pm. After the walk, we will have a celebration with food and music (bring a dish to share, it is a potluck!)

Look forward to raising money for midwifery advocacy. Hope you can join us!

Success at the 1st Annual IDM Walk in Albuquerque!

We had a wonderful turnout of over 50 midwives and supporters at our walk on May 7th.
The band played as the walkers returned from the trail.
We collected and donated $1870 to the International Confederation of Midwives
We are already brainstorming ideas for next year's walk - stay tuned!

May 5 is International Day of the Midwife

Today, May 5, is the official International Day of the Midwife. Here in Albuquerque, we will be walking on May 7, with the hopes that more people can participate and help raise money for the Safe Motherhood Project for ICM.

Walks are occurring around the country and around the world on this day and upcoming days. See the following links for walk info in the U.S., other places midwives are planning walks in the U.S., and walks planned around the world.

Some more inspiration for walking with us this Saturday...
Jaymi McKay, LPM is walking with us on Saturday. She tell  us,

"Why I am walking? Being a midwife feeds my soul.  Being "with woman" is the second most important thing I have ever done in my life next to birthing my own children. In our culture, I believe midwives have the capacity to change the world one sweet, caring, gentle, woman-led and baby-led birth at a time. I am walking to support midwives and the fortunate women in their care around the world."

Director of Global Outreach for ACNM will be walking with us!

Suazanne Stalls, CNM who was one of the founding midwives of the local practice Women's Specialists of New Mexico, retired from clinical practice last year to start a new job as the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM) Director of Global Outreach. She will be coming out to Albuquerque from her new home in Washington DC to walk with us and help us raise money to support ICM's mission: "To strengthen member associations and to advance the profession of midwifery globally by promoting autonomous midwives as the most appropriate caregivers for childbearing women and in keeping birth normal, in order to enhance the reproductive health of women, and the health of their newborn and their families".

Suzanne was asked why she is walking, and she replied:

"Why am I walking?  I am walking because being a midwife has been one of the greatest good fortunes of my life.  I am walking in gratitude for that.  I am walking because of all the other midwives in the world who time and again demonstrate commitment, courage and passion beyond anything I can imagine.  I am walking because I can’t stop walking until the women and the families of the world are served in a manner that is safe, loving, and just."

Less than one month! Things to remember for walk:

May 7 is fast approaching. Please remember to register as soon as possible to insure that you get a t-shirt in your size on walk day!

Some things to keep in mind on walk day:

·   Please bring water to walk with. We will have water on the trail, but it is always good to carry your own, and the weather would be quite warm!

·   Bring a picnic lunch to enjoy afterwards. While we will not have “food” at the event, everyone is invited to picnic after the walk in Kit Carson Park. We will have the band “Java Divas” http://www.myspace.com/javadivas playing for us as we picnic.
 

Java Divas and John is a 5 piece rock and country band, all female except for one of us - you'll have to guess which one. We sing rich harmonies and play everything from "Devil Went down to Georgia" to stuff you hear on the radio today. Tina's on guitar and lead vocals, Bria on bass, John on guitar, Bronson on drums, and Kat on violin, mandolin, guitar, and pretty much any instrument you put in front of her.

Look forward to seeing everyone and helping raise money for the Safe Motherhood Initiative!

http://www.internationalmidwives.org/Projects/TheSafeMotherhoodInitiative/tabid/616/Default.aspx

Why We are Walking

We are walking because...

It is International Day of the Midwife and one of the most appropriate days to highlight that over 340,000 women and over 5 million infants around the world die each year as a result of preventable pregnancy and childbirth complications.

The world needs midwives now more than ever. The World Health Organization,

UN agencies and other global partners have identified that midwives are the key to achieving reductions in maternal and newborn deaths and disabilities globally.

We want to demonstrate our shared commitment to tackling the issue of maternal and newborn mortality with midwives and mothers around the world. The locations and levels of maternal mortality indicate serious inequalities throughout the developing world.

We’re on the Road to Durban

The International Day of the Midwife walk on 5 May is the first leg of a walk that will finish on 18th June at the International Confederation of Midwives Congress in Durban, South Africa. http://www.midwives2011.org/

By participating at this stage, midwives and supporters are taking the vital first steps to Durban, where 3,000 midwives will meet to share their knowledge and skills about better quality care for mothers and their newborn and greater access to skilled midwifery support.

The Road to Durban walk is about ‘midwives supporting midwives’ and nations walking side by side to publicize the urgent need for better maternal and newborn health across the developing world. By finishing the walk in Durban we can also draw attention to the particular problems in Africa and the Sub-Saharan Region.