Chamberlain & Mitchell

Can I just say...I love South Dakota. Our laws concerning midwives need some work, but the beauty of the land and the people are truly amazing. I feel truly blessed to have this opportunity.

It was a great priveledge for me (and a whole lot of fun)to walk today at both walks with Miranda Chaney. I am so grateful that she chose to celebrate her 8th birthday by walking for midwives. Miranda and all her siblings were born out-of-hospital with the help of midwives. Her mother had to travel to another state for her little brother's birth last year in order to have the help of a Certified Professionl Midwife, because there is no way for them to be licensed in SD.

Putting this kind of stress on a family is so unnecessary. Certified Professional Midwives specialize in home birth and are legally authorized to practice in 26 states. 18 states like South Dakota are working on updating our laws. No state that licences CPMs has ever recinded its laws, because the midwives there are having excellent outcomes and saving families and the health care system a great deal of money. Some of these laws have been around for over 20 years. South Dakota families are just asking for what has already proven to be safe and cost-effective care in other states.

It was wonderful to have such a diverse group of walkers today. The young and the old enjoyed each other's company as we walked along the banks of the Missouri River in Chamberlain and right past the one and only Corn Palace in Mitchell. One young mother, who is preparing for the birth of her first child, was so enthusiastic about the great care that she is receiving from her midwife, that she convinced her 2 teenage brothers to walk with her. We were so pleased to have them!

Thanks so much to Len & LaLainya Lambright for hosting our Mitchell event at their Dakota Prairie Grocery. This is such a neat store! It has everything from locally grown produce to a deli and is located on Sanborn Ave, one of the busiest streets in Mitchell. In the three hours it was up, hundreds of folks saw our Walk for Midwives banner at this great location.


As our base of supporters keeps growing, so does my hope that soon South Dakota families will be able to hire a skilled midwife whether they want to give birth at home, in a hospital or in a birth center. We still have a ways to go, but we'll get there, because we won't give up. We'll just keep taking it one step at a time until we reach our destination...healthy moms & healthy babies thanks to the integration of Certified Professional Midwives into our healthcare system and an increase in the number of Nurse Midwives available.

Spearfish and Rapid City Walks

Thanks so much to everyone who has been praying for the Walk for Midwives. God is definitely blessing us! We had a great start with our first 2 Walks today. The weather was absolutely gorgeous, and it was wonderful getting to meet with everyone.

There were almost a dozen of us in Spearfish where we were hosted by CNM, Jeanne Prentice at her WomanKind Midwifery clinic. We walked along some beautiful trails along Spearfish Creek and then up and down Main Street. The local paper, The Black Hills Pioneer sent a reporter who interviewed me and took a picture of some of us in front of our banner. Look for it in tomorrow's paper.

In Rapid City we had around 50 supporters including District 33 Representative Phil Jensen, who has been a champion for us in the state legislature. We so appreciate his taking the time out of his busy schedule to come and walk with us. It was such a blessing to see so many beautiful families who are concerned about this issue. Cassie took some great pictures. I'll post a couple here and get more put on our Walk For Midwives Facebook Page. They tell the story so much better than I can.

Cassie and I will be on the road by 5 am tomorrow morning in order to make our first walk in Chamberlain tomorrow at 9:30am. We are also really looking forward to our Walk in Mitchell that begins at 6pm.

Eve of the Walk

My daughter, Cassie, who just passed her driver’s test yesterday, drove me across the state this afternoon. This is our longest drive of the journey (381 miles) from our house to the Brinks just east of Rapid City. I googled all the locations last night and put together a little map book for us. I know that is rather anal…but I like to be prepared. If we don’t take any detours, we will have traveled 1500 miles by this time next week! Now that’s what I call mother / daughter bonding time!

Chandelle invited me to a Nursing Moms meeting in Rapid City where we explained the situation for home birth families. Home birth is legal in South Dakota, but there is only one midwife in the whole state who can legally assist in out-of-hospital births. The specialists in out-of-hospital births, Certified Professional Midwives are not allowed to practice here. Nurse midwives, who mostly work in hospitals, are greatly restricted and there are only 9 in the whole state who are doing maternity care (not counting those working for IHS). Five of those midwives are in Sioux Falls, leaving the rest of the state severely under served.

South Dakota families need more midwives and that’s what this Walk is all about. I’m looking forward to getting started. The Walks tomorrow are in Spearfish at 8am and Rapid City at 6:30pm. The website has all the details.

The Dell Rapids paper carried an article about our walk today thanks to Ronda Kvigne! The timing couldn’t be better on the eve of our first Walk.

Birthday Girl Walks for Birth Options

On August 22, Miranda Chaney from Platte, SD will turn 8 years old and she will be doing something a bit unusual to celebrate. She will be walking 8 miles with her mom and other midwife supporters to raise awareness of the need to change South Dakota's laws regarding Certified Professional Midwives.

Eight years ago, Miranda was born at home with the assistance of a skilled midwife. Last year her mom was forced to go out of state to receive the same care at her baby brother's birth, because Certified Professional Midwives are no longer allowed to practice in South Dakota. Miranda and her mom agree, South Dakota mothers should be able to have their babies in their own homes with the assistance of a CPM. They are definitely doing their part to make that a reality.

Miranda's mom, Tammi, has been working very hard to organize the Walk in Chamberlain that begins at 9:30 am on Miranda's birthday. But 4 miles isn't enough for Miranda! She is planning on attending the Walk in Mitchell that evening beginning at six. When the day is over, she will be able to say she walked 8 miles on her 8th birthday for midwives and the South Dakota families who so desperately need them.

So if you are wondering how you can fit one of these Walks into your hectic schedule, please think of Miranda and the sacrifices she is making to contribute. It will be a real privilege for me to be walking with her on her special day. Come join us if you can and don't forget to wish Miranda a Happy 8th Birthday!