Over 40 people joined us for Philadelphia's First Annual International Day of the Midwife 5K walk. Motherland mama Stephanie Dodd organized the event with help from Christy Santoro in response to the call from the International Confederation of Midwives in the few weeks leading up to May 5th and has plans to make the walk an annual event and to grow it much bigger next year!
The weather was perfect and all had a great time. We handed out over 200 fliers with information and resources about midwifery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the US and the world! See below for the information from the flier.
Here are some great pics from the walk! Look forward to seeing this event grow in the years to come!
Happy International Day of the Midwife! All over the world today midwives & their supporters are walking to promote increased access to midwifery care for all women & babies.
The world needs midwives more than ever. Access to essential midwifery services lowers maternal & infant mortality & reduces the cycle of poverty in developing countries. We want to demonstrate our commitment to tackling maternal & newborn mortality by walking shoulder to shoulder with midwives & mothers around the world. While inequalities are a global issue, we also want to raise awareness of local challenges. Right here in the Philadelphia region the quality of maternal & newborn care is being affected by continued closures of hospital maternity care units, the lack any freestanding birth centers within the city, & the state of Pennsylvania not offering licensure for Certified Professional Midwives (CPMs) which limits access to homebirth services. Join our efforts to ensure there is a midwife for every mother & baby who needs one in Philadelphia & around the world! For more info & to get involved in local, national & international efforts go to: www.pamidwivesalliance.org www.mamacampaign.org www.internationalmidwives.org or send us an email at midwivesmatter@gmail.com to receive updates or be informed of future events in the Philadelphia region!
