From the President's Desk-
 
We are pleased to announce the release of an Issue Brief: Certified Professional Midwives in the United States. The Midwives Alliance of North American (MANA) collaborated with the North American Registry of Midwives (NARM), the Midwifery Education Accreditation Council (MEAC), and the National Association of Certified Professional Midwives (NACPM) to create this issue brief. These four national organizations-MANA, NARM, MEAC and NACPM-have played essential roles in the conception, formation, promotion and maintenance of the Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) credential.
 
This issue brief was composed to provide the background necessary to understand the genesis of the CPM and its implementation in 1994 as well as address issues related to the professionalization of direct-entry midwifery in the United States.
 
These are tough times for mothers and infants in the United States. Our current maternity care system is seriously deficient in meeting the maternity care needs of women in terms of quality, accessibility, cost, and satisfaction. As you know midwives are perfectly poised to be a significant solution to the current crisis in maternal and child healthcare. Certified Professional Midwives are a fast growing segment of the midwifery profession in the United States and are trained and credentialed to provide expert care, education, counseling and support for women and their newborns.
 
We hope this document will provide support for your midwifery practice. It presents concise and accurate information about CPMs for clients, consumers, health professionals, healthcare insurers, legislators, midwifery advocates and maternal and child health policy makers. You can access an Issue Brief: Certified Professional Midwives in the United States at www.mana.org/pdfs/CPMIssueBrief.pdf.
 
For mothers and babies,
 
Geradine Simkins
president@mana.org