AABC Annual Meeting Recap

I just returned from the American Association of Birth Centers (AABC) Annual Meeting in Savannah, Georgia. It was quite an investment but well worth every penny, as I came home with ideas, connections and inspirations for how to make the birth center a reality. Some highlights:

• I attended the Commission for the Accreditation of Birth Centers’ (CABC) “Preparation for Accreditation” workshop , learning how to apply for CABC’s provisional accreditation so that the Seasons of Life Women’s Health and Birth Center can be accredited from Day 1 of its operation.



• During the opening ceremonies, each of the 150 or so attendees introduced themselves. When I stood up and said I was not a midwife, but “just a mom” who will open a birth center in Takoma Park, MD in 2014, the whole room applauded. I was inspired by these supporters of birth centers who were cheering me on. I was also reminded by many that a mother is never “just a mom”, no matter what her passion or profession.



• I got a great suggestion on how to obtain recent safety data on birth centers, in absence of an updated National Birth Center Study. (The most recent national study was conducted 20 years ago!) Ann Sober of Special Beginnings in Arnold, Maryland said that I could obtain data on infant mortality, maternal mortality and birth location from the Maryland Vital Records Office and crunch the numbers myself. It took a journey of 600 miles to get this great suggestion from Ann, who is only 30 miles away near Annapolis. Go figure.



• I talked with a representative from the Centering Healthcare Institute and learned that the company is developing a Centering Menopause program. This could be the way to “do for menopause what we did for birth” by offering humanistic care of this natural life transition, supplemented by medical intervention when warranted.



• I talked with Farah Diaz-Tello from the National Advocates for Pregnant Women (NAPW) about an issue that is near and dear to my heart: birth options as a women’s rights issue. The NAPW has achieved the seemingly impossible: getting conservative pro-life activists to join forces with pro-choice feminists to advocate for birth options.



• I talked with Susan Hodges, president of Citizens for Midwifery, the only other “just a mom” in this sea of midwives and other birth professionals. Susan gave me a lot of useful advice about how to identify and join forces with other birth consumer advocacy groups, such as regional Birth Networks.



• I toured the Family Health and Birth Center in Savannah, Georgia’s only birth center. Business is booming there, with people driving from up to two hours away just to give birth at the center. There were even two clients in labor while we were taking our tour.



• I watched two great DVDs on the train ride home: Laboring under an Illusion and Orgasmic Birth, making interesting viewing for the people in the seats behind me who could see my laptop. This lead to some interesting discussions with people from very different walks of life.



• The personal highlight of the trip may have been when I ordered a beer at a Savannah restaurant and was asked for my ID! The thought that I could be mistaken for a 20-year-old trying to scam a beer made this 41-year-old “just a mom” very happy.

-Amy Polk