Episode 185: Grab Bag (Epilogue)

Birth in the News:
Woman delivers baby while brain-dead
US rated below other developed nations in maternal health
Breastfeeding may change breast cancer risk

Tonight, Ryan eased back into the Maternally Yours fold with a grab bag of topics for this show. Dana and Ryan were joined by WSLR's youngest and cutest co-host, Arber.

The Maternally Yours gang has been up to a whole lot this month! WSLR's spring membership drive was hugely successful and we thank our listeners, supporters, and guests for showing their support. Mom Prom, sponsored by the International Cesarean Awareness Network (ICAN), was a an amazing night of fun and frivolity for moms! The event raised over $2000 and recruited 11 new members of ICAN.

In international baby news, the newest UK royal was born last Saturday. Ryan called up Midwife and Honorary Maternally Yours Across the Pond Correspondent Lizzie Norton to chat about the Royal Baby and midwifery in Europe and the UK. Speaking of midwifes across the pond, May 5th was International Day of the Midwife! IDM has been observed since 1991 and is organized by the International Confederation of Midwives to raise awareness of the important job midwives do and the care they provide in your community. The International Confederation of Midwives reminds us that this year the International Day of the Midwife is more important than ever before: as the United Nations Millennium Development Goals come to an end in September, this is the last chance to shine a spotlight on midwifery before the world enters into a new era.


One of our favorite international midwives, Robin Lim, is on her way from the BirthKeepers Summit in the US to Nepal to assist with the tens and thousands of pregnant women who have been left homeless from last month’s earthquake.. She and the team from Bumi Sehat, will be building birth tents, assessing prenatal care and delivering babies in the disaster zone.

Next, we were joined by Mary Ellen Mancini, Director of Development for Safe Place Rape Crisis Center in Sarasota who told us how we can help moms in our community by supporting SPARCC's 2015 Mother's Day Initiative. This opportunity provides a unique way to honor your mom, or someone special, with an offering that continues the cycle of heartfelt giving to mothers and survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault all throughout our community.

Joining us by phone to discuss a way to bring social justice action into your Mother’s Day celebration was Sachi Feris, a blogger at raceconscious.org a resource for parents to talk about race with young children. Sachi partnered with Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) to create a Mother’s Day Action Toolkit that includes suggestions and talking points we can ask our children as we take action for racial justice on Mother’s Day.