An open letter to the former Advisory Board of Midwife International

Friends,

My name is Angelique Chelton- I am a doula/doula trainer, a childbirth educator, and a lactation specialist. I am also an aspiring midwife who works with my state midwifery alliance and who has founded the Hearthside Online Midwifery Study Group- a collection of almost 400 aspiring/student midwives.

I am writing to request that you who have allowed your names to be connected with Midwife International, who have- in word if not in truth- had a relationship with the organization, please respond to the statements of the site directors and students who have come forward to say they have been harmed by the actions of Midwife International. It may be that YOUR name, YOUR influence gave these students and site directors confidence to become involved with an organization that failed to deliver what was promised and, in fact, caused harm to their studies or to the sites that serve local woman and families in low-resource areas.

I am in no way implying that you hold responsibility for the actions or inactions of others. But you were invited to be an advisory board member because your name and experience hold weight and provided something of value to Midwife International. Lending your name to an organization that caused others harm does morally obligate you to make SOME kind of statement- to respond in SOME kind of healing way beyond disengaging from the organization. Harm is *still* being perpetrated upon students and women in developing nations due to the policies of Midwife International and their refusal to redress the wrongs brought to their attention. Your voice may be able to stop this from happening.

Please, I ask that you read through the letters from those harmed and then individually and corporately respond. You are women of power and influence in the midwifery world. Midwives and future midwives watch you and your actions as our teachers and our leaders. We trust that you will be ‘with women’ when they are harmed by an organization using your name to lend them credibility. We trust that you will do the right thing.

Warmly,

Angelique Chelton, CLC, CBE, SBD

Hearthside Maternity Services

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(Content below this line is not Hearthside Generated. Please disregard).