Course Description
In this talk, I will envision what midwifery could look like in 5 - 10 years—a model for midwifery-led integrated community-based primary and reproductive health care. I will present data from the 2023 annual report, which recommended increasing midwifery density and ICM projections, and explore the steps we must undertake in education, practice, AI, and community collaborations on the state and federal levels to reach our vision.

Speaker
Heather Clarke, DNP, CNM, APRN, LM, FACNM



Speaker Bio
Heather Clarke is the current president of the board of directors of ACNM. Her formal training as a midwife was obtained at Columbia University in 1979, however, it was the hundreds of women and families who taught her the art, compassion, and knowing that is required to be “ a midwife” Over the years, she provided care to women in variety of clinical settings. She has taught and precepted midwifery students in association with several educational programs. Throughout years of academia and clinical practice, she was driven to understand why some women developed life-threatening obstetrical complications while others with risky lifestyles had problem-free pregnancies and good outcomes. Her doctoral focus on pre and perinatal psychology and the associated disciplines of epigenetics, embryology, neurobiology, and intergenerational hereditary transmission has led her to understand the importance of a holistic approach to improve maternal wellbeing as a means to improve perinatal outcomes during the preconception period.