The second most important thing you can do as a would-be legislative activist is to educate yourself about the status of midwifery and birth issues in your state. This includes fully understanding the differences of birth setting and among different midwives (CNMs, DEMs, etc.) . The most important thing you can do is to connect with an existing organization: midwifery, midwifery advocacy, etc., to add your energy to their work.

Isolated efforts stand a higher chance of failure than do group efforts, and there is a chance that inconsistent information coming from many sources at the grassroots could confuse or confound progress that is on the verge of happening. Some organizations are already on the ground, and have specific messages and agendas for bringing about change. Some places to start:

• Citizens for Midwifery: "the Midwifery Model of Care works!"
• Coalition to Improve Maternity Services: "The Mother Friendly Childbirth Initiative"

At the state level, you can connect with state organizations through CfM's website: if you don't see what you're looking for, email or call them.

And if you can't find anyone else in your state, your first task is to find out what the existing statutes are that affect birth and midwifery, find what if any problems there are, and start building a group by finding like-minded people.

Legislative changes require grassroots action—the coordinated efforts of lots of people with a consistent message—so there really is room for you to "get on the train".

You might also find that you want to create change, but that legislative work is tedious, slow, and difficult. Consider public awareness work and community education: this can have as dramatic an impact on your peers and neighbors as legislation can. Click here to look at our other publications that support work with the film.

Thanks for your energy! And we'll see you out there...

Click here to send us an email to let us know what you're doing: patchworks@igc.org