Ohioans for the Preservation of Traditional Midwifery
Welcome!
NOTICE: It has been brought to my attention that there are some mistakes and on the site. While we try hard to ensure that the site is well- done, due to our busy lives and thus lack of time to work on the site, we sometimes make errors.
We will be editing the site and correcting these errors over the next few days; please be patient as we do this and respect that fact that this site is a work in progress!
THANK YOU FOR YOUR UNDERSTANDING AND SUPPORT!
Why Should I Care?
Why Should I Care? (Please see NOTE at bottom of page!)
If you are a homebirth advocate, you should care because the current OMA bill will change the practice of Ohio Midwifery forever.
If you are a homebirth mother or father, you should care because this bill will change the way you birth at home and may limit your ability to birth at home.
If you are a VBAC advocate, you should care because soon VBAC women will have an even harder time finding hospitals who will allow VBACs therefore homebirth may soon be the only option VBAC mothers have if they want to avoid another section. If the State risks out VBAC moms from homebirth practice, then women will have no choice but to submit to being sectioned.
If you are an HBAC advocate, you should care because this bill may limit access to HBAC.
If you are a mother or father, you should care because this bill may limit the ability of your children to birth at home.
If you are an advocate for women's and children's rights, you care because this bill may effect the health and safety women and their newborns.
If you are a defender of individual rights, you should care because the individual liberties of women and families will be infringed upon should this bill pass.
If you are a defender of religious freedom, you should care because the current OMA bill will severely infringe upon the religious rights of women and families.
If you are a gay rights advocate, you should care because if this bill passes, gays may be subjected to the very same homophobic treatment and attitudes they wish to avoid by birthing at home.
If you are a homebirth advocate, you should care because the current OMA bill will change the practice of Ohio Midwifery forever.
If you are a homebirth mother or father, you should care because this bill will change the way you birth at home and may limit your ability to birth at home.
If you are a VBAC advocate, you should care because soon VBAC women will have an even harder time finding hospitals who will allow VBACs therefore homebirth may soon be the only option VBAC mothers have if they want to avoid another section. If the State risks out VBAC moms from homebirth practice, then women will have no choice but to submit to being sectioned.
If you are an HBAC advocate, you should care because this bill may limit access to HBAC.
If you are a mother or father, you should care because this bill may limit the ability of your children to birth at home.
If you are an advocate for women's and children's rights, you care because this bill may effect the health and safety women and their newborns.
If you are a defender of individual rights, you should care because the individual liberties of women and families will be infringed upon should this bill pass.
If you are a defender of religious freedom, you should care because the current OMA bill will severely infringe upon the religious rights of women and families.
If you are a gay rights advocate, you should care because if this bill passes, gays may be subjected to the very same homophobic treatment and attitudes they wish to avoid by birthing at home.
Some not- so- good excuses:
But I don't have the time!
Who does! All of us at OPTM have children, most of us have jobs, some of us homeschool, and all of us have lots of things to do! Still, we realize that if we don't take a little bit of time out of our lives to protest this bill, women, babies and families will suffer and Traditional Midwives will either have to retire or practice illegally. It doesn't take hours to write a representative or sign a petition or tell friends and family about what it going on! There are many things you can do to help that require very little time and effort- the point is not that you spend all your time helping but rather that you help at all!
But I am done having kids; this doesn't effect me!
Even if you are done having kids, you must realize that this will effect your children's ability to birth at home in the future, therefore it does effect you! It also effects other people you may know and care about.
But I will never have a cesarean and thus will never be risked out of homebirth practice!
Never say never! While most births progress normally, midwives do sometimes need to transport clients and clients do sometimes need to be sectioned! Unless you can see into the future, you have no accurate way of knowing whether or not you will have a section in the future.
You should also know that this bill may affect a woman's ability to have twins or breech babies at home! Can you be certain that you will never carry twins or a baby with breech presentation?
But I am only one person, surely my help will not change anything!
WRONG! All of us at OPTM are individual people but collectively we make a difference! Every voice counts, every supportive person counts! If you don't help, who will? If you don't care, who will? None of us here at OPTM are super- heros; we just care a lot about what is going on and want to change things for the better. In order to effectively enact any sort of change, though, we need help and lots of it!
You should also know that this bill may affect a woman's ability to have twins or breech babies at home! Can you be certain that you will never carry twins or a baby with breech presentation?
But I am only one person, surely my help will not change anything!
WRONG! All of us at OPTM are individual people but collectively we make a difference! Every voice counts, every supportive person counts! If you don't help, who will? If you don't care, who will? None of us here at OPTM are super- heros; we just care a lot about what is going on and want to change things for the better. In order to effectively enact any sort of change, though, we need help and lots of it!
You have a voice; now find it!
NOTE: It is important not to forget that many people from many different cultures and belief systems choose to birth at home. While normally many of these different groups may have little or nothing in common and may actually strongly oppose the life-style or beliefs of other groups, everyone ought to have the right and thus ability to birth at home without State interference! OPTM supports the right of ALL women to choose to birth at home with the birth attendant of her choice!
