Publications

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Advocating for Birthworkers in Colorado

A report from Elephant Circle and Soul to Soul Sisters based on conversations with Colorado non-clinical birthworkers of color regarding the field and what they need to succeed.

Colorado Birth Equity Bill Package: Featured on Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs Policy Hub

The Birth Equity Bill Package aims to address these perinatal racial inequities through two bills and a sunset bill by: 1) Addressing structural inequalities in perinatal care and aligning data and systems for equity, 2) Protecting the perinatal period by addressing perinatal care with a human rights approach 3) supporting the integration of midwifery care through continuing the Direct-Entry Midwifery (DEM) program.

June 2023

Response to Request For Information Regarding Maternal and Infant Health Care in Rural Communities

To: Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Office of Minority Health (OMH)

From: Indra Lusero, JD Elephant Circle, indra@elephantcircle.org

On behalf of: Organizations: American Association of Birth Centers (AABC) American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM) Association of Midwifery Educators (AME) Bay State Birth Coalition, Birth Place Lab, University of British Columbia, Elephant Circle, Foundation for the Advancement of Midwifery, National Association to Advance Black Birth. National Association of Certified Professional Midwives (NACPM) - and Maternal Health Experts: Jill Alliman, CNM, DNP, Melissa Cheyney, PhD, LDM, Wendy Gordon, DM, MPH, CPM, LM, Marian MacDorman, PhD, Karen Milgate, MPP, Carol Sakala, PhD, MSPH

March 2020

Assessing Risk And Benefit By Birth Setting

All places of birth carry risks and benefits. Given that there is no risk-free birth setting, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) committee recognized a birthing person’s right to choose where and with whom they give birth.

Mobilizing the Office for Civil Rights’ Authority to Address Obstetric Violence and Obstetric Racism

To: Pamela Barron, Carla Carter & Audrey Wiggins

From: Indra Lusero, Anna Reed, et. al.

Date: July 25, 2022

WE MUST FIGHT IN SOLIDARITY WITH TRANS YOUTH

Drawing the Connections Between Our Movements

This collaborative document was co-written and edited by Maria Thomas, Beyond Do No Harm Fellow at Interrupting Criminalization, Gabriel Arkles, Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund, and Jessica Kant, Black and Pink, Massachusetts, and informed by feedback and suggestions from Beyond Do No Harm Coalition members and partners.

Racial Coercion and Control Over Reproductive Decision-Making and Families Shadow Report to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination for the Tenth Periodic Review of the United States.

This report is submitted on behalf of the following organizations: Human Rights & Gender Justice Clinic, CUNY School of Law; If/When/How; Elephant Circle; National Advocates for Pregnant Women; Movement for Family Power; Birth Rights Bar Association; Center for Reproductive Rights; Changing Woman Initiative; National Birth Equity Collaborative; National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice

Decriminalization and Abortion

This collaborative document was organized and edited by Maria Thomas, Beyond Do No Harm Fellow at Interrupting Criminalization, with contributions from Beyond Do No Harm Coalition members and partners.

Model Flowchart for a CAPTA Compliant Notification

by The Colorado Coalition to Protect Children and Family Rights

Mandatory Reporting: A Guide for Practitioners (with laws by State)

By: Ariane Frosh

Blueprint for Birth Justice

By: Indra Lusero

Equity and Insurance in Colorado

By: Heather Thompson

Community Birth and Pandemic Planning

By: Indra Lusero

Certified Professional Midwives in Colorado Birth Centers

By: Indra Lusero and Heather Thompson

Substances and Human Milk: Legal and Child Welfare Considerations.

By: Heather Thompson

10 Facts to Know about Cannabis and Human Milk

By: Heather Thompson

The Condensed Recap of the Lecture about the Recent Publication “Transfer of Inhaled Cannabis Into Human Breast Milk.”

By: Heather Thompson 

Molecules 101:  The Molecules involved in Cannabis Ingestion, Metabolism, and Detection.

By: Heather Thompson

10 Concepts to Understand When Reading or Thinking about Cannabis and Human Milk

By: Heather Thompson

Fetal Exposure to Cannabis: A Review of the Literature.

By: Heather Thompson

Making the Midwife Impossible: How the Structure of Maternity Care Harms the Practice of Home Birth Midwifery

By: Indra Lusero

Published in the WOMEN’S RIGHTS LAW REPORTER, 2015

Racial Disparities in Birth Outcomes and Racial Discrimination as an Independent Risk Factor Affecting Maternal, Infant, and Child Health: An Executive Summary of Existing Research

By: Shandanette Molnar

Published by International Center for Traditional Childbearing, International Cesarean Awareness Network, Midwives Alliance of North America, and Elephant Circle, 2015.

Birth Rights: A resource or everyday people to defend human rights during labor and birth

By: Birth Rights Bar Association and National Advocates for Pregnant Women

Who’s Who in Colorado Politics: A Guide to the Executive Branch

By: Elephant Circle and Forward Together via the Strong Families Network

También en Español pero el archivo esta demasiado grande. Por favor, email para: indra@elephantcircle.org

Invest in Midwives-- Trailblazers for SRHR during and beyond COVID-19

Submission from White Ribbon Alliance on The right to sexual and reproductive health: Challenges and Possibilities during COVID-19 to Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights Special Rapporteur on the Right to Physical and Mental Health.

Signed by The White Ribbon Alliance, Roda - Parents in Action, Human Rights in Childbirth, Farah-Diaz Tello, JD on behalf of If/When/How: Lawyering for Reproductive Justice, Indra Lusero on behalf of The Elephant Circle

Submission to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, General Recommendation on the Rights of Indigenous Women and Girls

Submission from Changing Woman Initiative on the Rights of Indigenous Women and Girls, with attention to the perinatal period. Signed by CWI, Breath of My Heart Birthplace, Parteras be Maiz and Elephant Circle

COVID Mistreatment Report

A report based on stories received through our Tracking Mistreatment form during the early days of the pandemic.

Birthworkers of Color Survey Report

A report of a survey conducted by Elephant Circle, the National Association to Advance Black Birth, the National Black Midwives Alliance, and Southern Birth Justice Network with regard to whether and how birthworkers of color might like to gather and connect.

Birth Unchained: A case-study of SB 10-193, ending shackling of pregnant prisoners in Colorado

By Sunnivie Brydum

A Call to Funders: Tactics in Law, Policy and Advocacy for Reproductive and Birth Justice

Produced by Funders for Birth Equity and Justice and as follow-up to the funder education panel in November 2022. Elephant Circle helped lead the process from panel to report.

Redefining Birth: The Legal History of Midwifery in Colorado and Forging a Path Toward Perinatal Care that Prioritizes Health and Wellness for All

A law review article published in Drexel Law Review, October 1, 2022.

Assessing Risk and Benefit by Birth Setting

A fact sheet developed in collaboration with the Uplift Lab based on data from the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine.

New York State Assembly Health Committee and Assembly Task Force on Women’s Issues Hearing Regarding Improving Maternal and Newborn Health: Access to and Quality of Perinatal Care

Joint Written Testimony of Ancient Song Doula Services, Brooklyn Defender Services, The Bronx Defenders, Drug Policy Alliance, Dr. Mishka Terplan, Elephant Circle, JMacForFamilies, Movement for Family Power, National Advocates for Pregnant Women, Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, and the New York Civil Liberties Union.

Drug Use and Human Milk: Legal and Child Welfare Considerations

Preventing new parents who use drugs from bonding with and bodyfeeding their babies undermines public health. This paper by Anna Reed, Jaid Redmon‑Greene, Heather Thompson, and Indra Lusero, explores this issue.

Medicaid Reimbursement for Certified Professional Midwives

Despite the fact that Certified Professional Midwives (CPMs) provide high-quality, evidence-based, and cost-efficient care, they remain excluded from many Medicaid plans, which violates Federal law and some state laws. This memo focuses on Colorado but will be relevant in other states as well.

Birth Center Policy Context

These graphics were prepared for “Birthing Powerful State Policy” during Birth Center Week 2023, and include maps from AABC and the National Conference of State Legislatures.