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<div class="quote-block">Originally Posted by <strong>Sijae</strong> <a href="/community/forum/thread/1281559/student-midwives-where-are-you-going-to-school#post_16076680"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/community/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border-bottom:0px solid;border-left:0px solid;border-top:0px solid;border-right:0px solid;"></a><br><br><p>I don't like the standardization and limits that come with accreditation. When you combine accreditation, certification and licensure, you homogenize midwifery and I don't think that is whats best for mothers. I think we need to hold on to midwifery as an organic and dynamic community service position, not a professional organization that becomes more medicalized every year. I think MEAC and NARM are a part of the medicalization process of midwifery and both support licensure and the funneling of all students through one route to midwifery - attendance of a meac school, clinicals with a narm approved preceptor or clinic, certification and licensure.</p>
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<p>That's why in a very abbreviated nutshell

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Yeah, I totally agree. Several years back I looked into all available midwifery schools (about 03-04 it was) and first I found that I was not eligible for any sort of public student funding because I already had a BA. But I did a study on what programs were available, spoke with some of the directors and students, looked them over carefully (all sorts of programs...pretty much everything I could locate). And was saddened to see the 'homogenization and medicalization' of midwifery, the move away from that 'organic and dynamic community service position' that midwifery has traditionally--and SO beneficially for families--been. At the time I was actually taking a Feminist Rhetorical Criticism class, and wrote a feminist critique of the Seattle Midwifery School (which stood out to me as the worst of the 'management, medical and homogenization' stuff I was seeing in many of the programs at the time). To me, by the way, 'medicalization' is not just about tools, drugs, etc--it's about the managerial position over clients that is at the core of medical philosophy. I see that inherent heirarchy as so damaging to us all, and to birth itself...although I confess to lifelong egalitarian tendencies, even knowing how dangerous that is...<span><img alt="orngbiggrin.gif" height="15" src="http://files.mothering.com/images/smilies/orngbiggrin.gif" width="15"></span></p>
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<p>I have always been self-taught. Now, I have taken many college courses, and NRP, and attended conferences and so forth over the years...just saying that I was self-motivated to self-design my midwifery education (and have read countless books/articles on my own as well). That self education started in the late 70s and has been fairly ongoing. When I found that I could not get public funding for midwifery school (returning to practice after a long break), the only option was to find a department of the graduate programs available at the local Uni that would take me on. So, I was officially a grad student of Speech Communication and took several classes in that program--but also took many undergrad science, health ed, women's studies courses--I was aiming to cover the territory of coursework required by the MEAC schools (not claiming to have covered it all!)--and I was planning to become a CPM and move to a CPM legal state. And this self education has had it's good side and not-so-good (as any education has)--but in the end I realize that for the struggles involved it was really the best thing for me: and that is mainly because I was always able to maintain my vision of midwifery as that organic, dynamic service work Laura mentioned. I was never exposed much to the medicalization/homogenization aspects of NARM and the meac schools.</p>
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<p>As for NARM...well I am in agreement with it's founding ideals as I understand them. And very disappointed with the realities, nuff said. </p>
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<p>So now I don't know if I will actually become a CPM after all. But it hardly matters since my education will be ongoing as it always has been. Which I recommend to every mw, in whatever fashion suits you. Just know that if you are going to get a MEAC education--just like any other institutionally-run education in any field--you are going to also get the 'social/political education/indoctrination' that comes along with the facts, figures and skills. Knowing this, and deciding for yourself how much you do or do not agree with that part of the education, forming and holding to your own values, can help you get the best out of that education without accidentally ingesting the koolaid along with everyone else.</p>