When our legislation failed to pass this year, Ida Darragh from NARM posted many great suggestions on our SDSCO email group for things we can do to keep up our momentum and keep our issue in front of legislators. Every legislator needs to be reminded frequently that their constituents want midwives to attend home births. Here are some things you can help with:

1. Send a “Thank You” note to all the legislators. Send a note to everyone who voted yes, but also send one to those who voted no. Thank them for considering the bill, and ask them to learn more about it this coming year. Send it to their home address. Have a party with your neighbors or relatives, and let everyone write a similar letter to your representative. The thank-you note is the beginning of next year's effort.

2. Send holiday greeting cards. Find out their birthday and send cards then, Mother's Day, Father's Day, 4th of July, even your own kid's birthday – especially if they were born out-of-hospital! Add a note about how important it is to you that South Dakota license CPMs to attend births at home for the mothers who want home birth. Of course, EVERY family that goes out of state to deliver, or who delivers unattended, or delivers with an unlicensed midwife, should send a letter to ALL the legislators (without identifying the midwife, of course) telling about their birth. Everyone who gets pregnant could send a letter saying that you are considering going out of state for your birth (even if you don’t eventually choose to do that). {We know new parents don’t have a lot of time or money to send out a mailing to 105 legislators, but there are many of us who could help with this. Please contact Debbie if you would like help sending these cards or if you are willing to help others send cards at 605-563-2363.}

3. If more states pass midwifery legislation this year, press releases should be sent to all the legislators showing how others states are moving ahead. Press releases should be sent to as many newspapers as possible, state and local, telling how another state passed a licensure law but SD refused to do so. Especially send those releases to the local home-town newspapers where the legislators live. Then cut it out and mail it to them.

4. Talk to your own doctor in a casual, non-threatening way, about why doctors ought to support this. It's better to have a trained midwife who is accountable to the state, than for mothers to travel out of state or deliver unattended. Talk to the docs who are parents of your kid's friends, or whom you know in church or socially. If some docs change their mind, it might affect the lobbying that goes on against your bill.

5. Get involved in local politics this year. Go to events your legislator attends, and casually mention how you hope the midwife bill passes next year. Find out who their spouses and kids are, and maybe you'll find something you have in common that you didn't know about - like hobbies or community organizations. Look at what bills they do support (you can see what bills a legislator sponsors on the web) and mention that in one of your notes (I share you concern about the environment, or education, or farm bills, or whatever). Do this for both the reps and the senators, because when we get out of the house next year, it will go quickly to the senate and won’t be time for a lot of education then.

If every legislator received 3 letters every month from constituents asking for legal midwives, they might have a better attitude about midwives next year.