Susan Hodges

Citizens for Midwifery

Susan Hodges, an activist for midwifery since 1985, is a founder and the current president of Citizens for Midwifery, a national grassroots organization promoting the Midwives Model of Care. She is a member of the U.S. Birth Practices Committee of the Coalition for Improving Maternity Services, a member of the Consumer Panel of the Cochrane Collaboration's Pregnancy and Childbirth Group, and she was a consumer member of NARM's (North American Registry of Midwives) Certification Task Force (1994-1996), which created the Certified Professional Midwife credential. Her two children were born at home with midwives. Susan has presented many workshops and talks; publications include: A consumer viewpoint: Challenges for Birth-Related Research. (BIRTH 27:4 Dec 2000).

Mother-Friendly Childbirth Is A Consumer Issue

Maternal mortality in the United States is under-reported and increasing, and we have a higher infant mortality rate than many other industrialized countries. In many of the countries with better outcomes, midwives are the primary care providers for pregnant women.