There are lots of ways for childbirth educators and other birth professionals to keep up to date on research, policy and best practice. Attending conferences, listening to podcasts, reading Science & Sensibility and other blogs are all good sources of up to date information. One of my favorite ways to stay in the loop is to sign up for the newsletters of organizations that I want to stay connected with and who I feel are the shakers and the movers in the field of maternal-infant health. Signing up to receive their periodic newsletters means that things drop into my inbox regularly, and are usually jam-packed with up-to-date news, research, and information.

Here are nine great newsletters that you should be signed up for now. Running through the entire list will take but a few minutes. Consider doing that now.

Council on Patient Safety in Women's Health Care - this organization's mission is to continually improve patient safety in women's health care through multidisciplinary collaboration that drives culture change. They offer periodic updates through their newsletters and regular webinars and teleconferences for free on relevant topics to improve outcomes.

California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative (CMQCC) - A leader in the field of maternity care improvements, this organization has a mission of improving maternity care and outcomes through data-driven quality improvement. They have a quarterly e-newsletter and offer regular webinars. They set the standard for obstetric care bundles that improve birth outcomes.

BirthTools.org - Tools for optimizing the outcome of labor safely. Facilitated by the American College of Nurse-Midwives, the goal is to encourage all professionals involved in maternity care to implement process improvements that support, promote and facilitate physiologic birth through the dissemination of actionable resources, case studies, and examples.The quarterly newsletter will provide updates on new resources added to BirthTOOLS.org in the past quarter, highlight an Improvement Story as a way to inspire change or to share the work being done to improve maternal-infant health and general updates

Ariadne Labs - Their mission is to create scalable healthcare solutions that produce better care at the most critical moments in people's lives, everywhere. These solutions or tools are simple, practical and designed to have global impact. Their vision is to ease suffering, optimize patient choice, and save lives, everywhere. Select "join the community."

National Partnership for Women & Families - This organization works hard to promote fairness in the workplace, reproductive health and rights, access to quality, affordable health care, and policies that help women and men meet the dual demands of work and family.

Cochrane and here too- (access is a benefit for Lamaze members) - Their vision is a world of improved health where decisions about health and health care are informed by high-quality, relevant and up-to-date synthesized research evidence. Their mission is to promote evidence-informed health decision-making by producing high-quality, relevant, accessible systematic reviews and other synthesized research evidence.

Cochrane UK - news out of the United Kingdom

Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine - This worldwide organization of medical doctors dedicated to the promotion, protection, and support of breastfeeding. Our mission is to unite members of the various medical specialties with this common purpose. The field to sign up for e-newsletters is in the right-hand column.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - CDC's Division of Reproductive Health is the focal point for issues related to reproductive health, maternal health, and infant health.

It is good to stay in the loop with organizations who have a leadership role in maternal-infant health. These are some national and international resources and you can connect with more local resources in your community. Do you subscribe to any e-newsletters that you find useful and enjoyable? Let us know in the comments section below.

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