It’s Already Hard Enough, Feature, May 6
There is more than one type of Midwife
Is the writer of this article unaware of the thriving Licensed Midwife community in the Bay Area? We are on the front lines, delivering babies safely at home to a low-risk population of people during this pandemic. Midwives who practice in the state of California are licensed by the State Medical Board. We are certified in neonatal resuscitation and carry all the same anti-hemorrhagic drugs that would be offered in a labor and delivery room. We carry IV supplies, antibiotics and always attend births with two licensed providers. In addition to hour long prenatal care visits, we provide 6 weeks of postpartum care to mother and baby. The skills that we acquire in midwifery school are specific to low-risk populations. We routinely screen mothers throughout care to see if they are good candidates for homebirth. As a homebirth midwife who has been attending births safely at home for over 10 years, I am saddened that the Express failed to highlight our profession as a viable option during Covid-19 and only focused on Nurse Midwives.
Hannah Weiss, LM, CPM, Woom
Midwifery, Oakland Birth & Wellness
Licensed and Certified Midwives in California ARE and HAVE been attending home births for healthy pregnant people in for a long time. The Bay Area in particular has a robust Licensed Midwifery community. Articles like this feel like an attempt to erase our hard-fought history and are misleading to folks looking for real options for birthing at home. I suggest the author and readers check out CalMidwives.org and NARM.org to learn more about Licensed and Certified Midwives.
Francine Madrid
How to Bike Shop in a Pandemic, News, May 6
Don’t Forget classes and fit
And take a free (now online) bicycle riding education class from Bike East Bay BikeEastBay.org/Education
BikeEastBay
This is slightly off topic. Fit is the most important part about buying a bike. If you have a friend (of the same sex) who has arms and legs about your size, who happens to own a bike that fits them: First classify the type of bike (mountain road touring) then get the size of the frame usually from the down-tube that runs below the saddle. That is a good starting place.
dougiesmyth
