The History of the Coalition for Improving Maternity Services (CIMS) to the International MotherBaby Childbirth Organization (IMBCO)

In 1996 the ratified the Mother-Friendly Childbirth Initiative (MFCI): 10 Steps to Mother-Friendly Hospitals, Birth Centers, and Home Birth Services for the U.S. In subsequent years, CIMS received many requests from individual groups in various countries to help them create their own initiatives, and then began receiving an increasing number of requests to create a global initiative, especially from representatives of various birth-related organizations who began attending the CIMS conferences in the U.S. 

Read the Full Article in The Journal of Perinatal Education on the Coalition for Improving Maternity Services (CIMS)

The history of the Coalition for Improving Maternity Services as part of a global effort to promote normal birth is described. The principles underlying the Mother-Friendly Childbirth Initiative are presented, the Ten Steps of Mother-Friendly Care are identified, and the evidence basis for the Ten Steps is introduced.

Creation of the International MotherBaby Childbirth Initiative (IMBCI) and Founding of the International MotherBaby Childbirth Organization (IMBCO)

This article tells the story of the creation of an international initiative designed to improve childbirth care and childbirth and breastfeeding outcomes for all women and, most specifically, of the organization and the individuals behind it. This initiative arose from a dream and is well on its way to becoming a reality grounded in a strong evidence basis and in a clear human rights framework. The specifics of this initiative and the process of its creation form the subject matter of this article. In telling this story, we hope to offer a template for positive change—a template that builds on the prior work of many others, created by and for the birth-giving women of the world.

Read the Full Article The International MotherBaby Childbirth Initiative (IMBCI):
Working to Create Optimal Maternity Care Worldwide*

Robbie Davis-Floyd, Debra Pascali Bonaro, Mayri Sagady Leslie, and Rodolfo Gómez Ponce de León
This article appeared in the International Journal of Childbirth 1(3):196-212.
Copyright IMBCO and the International Journal of Childbirth.
Permission is hereby granted to reproduce this article for educational purposes.
Please note that this is not the final, copyedited version.   

The Development of the International Childbirth Initiative (ICI)

Launched in 2018, this initiative, The International Childbirth Initiative (ICI): 12 Steps to Safe and Respectful MotherBaby-Family Maternity Care provides clear steps for implementing evidence-based maternity care worldwide, acknowledging the interaction between the MotherBaby dyad, Family and Environment as well as their interactions with health providers and health systems. The ICI also supports the implementation of the 12 steps and self-initiated quality improvement mechanisms that can be used to monitor the process, effect and engagement in safe and respectful maternity services.