2027 Ohio ACNM Forward
About this Event
Welcome to 2027 Ohio ACNM Forward, an exciting in-person event at the ! Get ready for a weekend filled with insightful sessions, networking opportunities, and engaging discussions. Don't miss out on this chance to connect with fellow professionals and advance your knowledge in the field. We can't wait to see you there!
Registration:
Get your tickets early and save money! Early bird registration ends at midnight on January 15, 2027.
We are excited to offer Ohio ACNM members a $100 discount on their Midwifery Forward conference registration this year! This discount is not available for daily ticket sales.
To receive your discount, please enter your ACNM membership ID (beginning with MBxxxxxxxx) as the promo code during checkout.
If you have any questions, concerns, or trouble applying the discount, please contact us at [email protected].
Room Reservations:
Make reservations via online: BOOK NOW or call the Front Desk (24/7): 614-880-4300
Group Code: 2702AOMWC (PLACE IN GROUP ID BOX WHEN USING THE LINK)
Reminder: Avoid third-party booking sites like Expedia or Orbitz, to ensure reservations are placed using the group code. Researve rooms directly through the hotel.
Cutoff Date: Monday, January 18, 2027
After this date, room availability and group rates are no longer guaranteed.
Dining & Dietary Accommodations:
We want all participants to feel welcome and accommodated! All meals will include vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free food selections. If you have additional dietary restrictions, cultural food preferences, or specific dietary needs, please describe them in the Dietary Needs section after checkout so we can do our best to accommodate you.
Fri, Feb 19
🕑: 08:00 AM - 05:00 PM
Registration
🕑: 09:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Step Up Together and Hemorrhage Workshop (fee required)
Host: Megan Nowland, CPM
Info: Step Up Together® is a simulation-based quality improvement program that brings together community birth providers and hospital staff to test, strengthen, and sustain a real-world perinatal transfer process.
🕑: 12:00 PM - 12:30 PM
Lunch (for workshop attendees only)
🕑: 12:30 PM - 01:00 PM
Welcome and Introductions
🕑: 01:00 PM - 02:00 PM
Ohio Law Update
Host: Jeana Singleton, JD
Info: Jeana Singleton, JD, will present on Ohio healthcare law updates, drawing on her extensive experience as a trusted advisor and healthcare regulatory navigator. She will highlight practical strategies to maintain compliance while advancing practice goals. With a focus on regulatory updates and evolving health policies, Jeana will offer actionable insights to help advanced practice providers navigate Ohio’s complex legal landscape, support practice growth, and advocate effectively within the state’s healthcare system.
🕑: 02:00 PM - 02:30 PM
Awards: State Senators Ingram & Hicks
Host: Jackie Gruer, CNM (ret), FACNM
🕑: 02:30 PM - 03:30 PM
Community Midwifery & Earth-based Birth: A Guide to Birthing
Host: Ruth Ann Colby Martin, CPM, EMT
Info: Community midwifery plays a vital role in supporting safe, respectful, and physiologic birth across diverse settings, including disasters, humanitarian contexts, and low-resource environments. In less-than-ideal conditions, midwives and birth attendants must adapt care practices while maintaining safety, dignity, and autonomy for birthing people and families. This presentation introduces the Five Cornerstones of Birth Work, a practical framework outlining essential elements for supporting birth in any context. Drawing from community-based practice and childbirth response training, the session examines the role of midwives in promoting physiologic birth and continuity of care amid environmental, systemic, and material constraints. Emphasis is placed on the minimal yet critical supplies, skilled support, and environmental factors needed to facilitate safer, more empowering birth experiences in crisis and low-resource settings.
🕑: 03:30 PM - 04:00 PM
Break
Info: Student Posters & Vendor Tables
🕑: 04:00 PM - 05:00 PM
250 Years: Midwifery History in US
Host: Cindy L. Farley, Ph. D, CNM, FACNM
🕑: 05:00 PM - 06:00 PM
Ceremony for Midwives and the Childbearing Years
Host: Ruth Ann Colby Martin, CPM, EMT
Info: This session explores the significance of ceremony in human life, particularly during the transformative childbearing year. Participants will examine the essential components of ceremony, explore common ceremonies surrounding pregnancy, birth, and postpartum, and consider the complexities of honoring cultural traditions while avoiding cultural appropriation. Through lecture, discussion, and a facilitated workshop, participants will have the opportunity to design and share a culturally respectful ceremony that supports meaning-making, connection, and community during the childbearing year.
🕑: 06:00 PM - 07:00 PM
Hospitality Hour
🕑: 07:00 PM - 08:00 PM
Dinner & Keynote Address: Inequities in Respectful Care by Provider and Place
Host: Saraswathi Vedam, Ph. D, CNM, FACNM
Info: Saraswathi Vedam is Lead Investigator of the Birth Place Lab at University of British Columbia. Over 35 years, she has been a midwife, educator, and researcher. She led the provincial, community-based participatory studies, Changing Childbirth in BC and the Giving Voice to Mothers Studies, exploring access to respectful maternity care across birth settings in North America. These projects led to two new quality measures: the Mothers’ Autonomy in Decision Making (MADM) scale and the Mothers on Respect (MORi) index, that assess quality and safety as defined by the service user. She is currently PI of a 5-year CIHR funded national study of respectful maternity care across Canada. Professor Vedam has been active in setting international policy on place of birth and interprofessional collaboration. She led a multidisciplinary team to conduct the Access and Integration Maternity care Mapping (AIMM) Study; and convened 3 national Home Birth Summits.
🕑: 08:30 PM - 10:00 PM
PJ Social & Craft Party
Info: Participants are welcome to bring any craft they’re working on, and if you’d like, we’d love for you to share your talent with others. We’ll also have knit/crochet needles, yarn, paint-by-numbers , and other crafty items available. Enjoy a relaxing evening of creativity, connection in your favorite PJs.
Sat, Feb 20
🕑: 07:00 AM - 08:00 AM
Hike (2-3 miles)
🕑: 08:00 AM - 09:00 AM
Breakfast (hotel guests only)
🕑: 08:00 AM - 04:30 PM
Registration
🕑: 09:00 AM - 10:30 AM
Ohio ACNM Business Meeting
Host: Lucia Jenkusky, DNP, CNM, FACNM
🕑: 10:30 AM - 11:00 AM
Break
Info: Student Posters & Vendor Tables
🕑: 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Medical Trips to Underserved International Areas
Host: Rhonda L. Whitten, CNM (ret.)
Info: This presentation explores the experiences, challenges, and opportunities of providing midwifery and medical services in underserved international communities, with a focus on Guatemala. Through firsthand experiences, participants will examine culturally responsive care, collaboration with local healthcare providers, resource limitations, and the benefits of international medical service trips for providers, patients, and communities. The session will also address medical colonialism and the importance of approaching international service work with cultural humility, respect, and an understanding of local needs and healthcare systems.
🕑: 12:00 PM - 01:00 PM
Lunch & Learn: Columbus Doula Services
Host: Aly Romot, CD(DONA), CLC, HBCE, EBB®, BRM® Pro
🕑: 01:00 PM - 02:00 PM
MFM Updates
Host: Christopher T. Nau, MD
🕑: 02:00 PM - 02:30 PM
Break
Info: Student Posters & Vendor Tables
🕑: 02:30 PM - 04:30 PM
Panel- Bridging the Gap: Collaboration, Continuum, and Community in Birth Care
Host: Saraswathi Vedam, Ph. D, CNM, FACNM
Info: Moderated by Lyndsay Quinn, CNM, this expert panel explores how community midwives, obstetricians, maternal-fetal medicine specialists, and doulas can strengthen collaboration and continuity of care when an out-of-hospital birth requires hospital transfer. Participants will examine opportunities to improve risk assessment, communication, transfer processes, and interprofessional relationships while addressing barriers, biases, and the emotional needs of families. The discussion will emphasize practical strategies for creating respectful, patient-centered, and integrated care models that prioritize safety and support families throughout the birth experience.
🕑: 04:30 PM - 05:30 PM
When Birth Leaves a Mark: Trauma-Informed Midwifery as the Foundation
Host: Shatoya McQueen, DNP, CNM
🕑: 05:30 PM - 06:30 PM
Hospitality Hour
🕑: 06:30 PM - 07:30 PM
Dinner & Keynote: The Impact of Midwifery Integration
Host: Saraswathi Vedam, Ph. D, CNM, FACNM
🕑: 08:00 PM - 09:00 PM
Midwife Roundtables
Sun, Feb 21
🕑: 07:00 AM - 08:00 AM
Yoga
🕑: 08:00 AM - 09:00 AM
Breakfast (hotel guests only)
🕑: 08:00 AM - 09:00 AM
Registration
🕑: 09:00 AM - 10:00 AM
High-Tech, High-Touch: Weaving the Midwifery Model into Emerging Digital Tools
Host: Nina Wilson, CNM, IBCLC
🕑: 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Trauma informed care: Caring for patients and ourselves
Host: Courtney C. Steer-Massaro, CNM, FNP, MPH
🕑: 11:00 AM - 11:45 AM
More Than a Heavy Period: Evidence-Based Fibroid Care Across the Reproductive
Host: Tamara Noy, DNP, CNM
🕑: 11:45 AM - 12:00 PM
Blessing of the Hands Ceremony
Host: Ruth Ann Colby Martin, CPM, EMT
Info: Farewell & Closing remarks
🕑: 12:00 PM
Conference Concludes
Where is it happening?
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
USD 40.00 to USD 475.00
