2026 MAWS Conference

November 10, 2026

Hotel Murano, Tacoma, WA

Booking Link for discounted room rate (open until October 19)

8 am - 5 pm
Followed by a happy hour until 6pm

7 ACNM CEs available

The MAWS Conference is a space for all midwives to come together for a day of learning and connecting across all educational backgrounds, approaches, and certifications.

Speakers

Thyroid Physiology and Nutrition in Maternal Healthcare
Sarah Thompson L.Ac., CFMP, Doula

Sarah is the author of “Beyond Results: The Practitioner’s Guide to Functional Lab Analysis in Pregnancy.” She has been caring for pregnant people for over 20 years, with a passion to educate about the vital role that nutrition plays in pregnancy and labor outcomes.

At the conclusion of this session, participants will be able to:

Describe hgc regulation of the thyroid gland and associated maternal biophysiology
Understand updated lab reference ranges for thyroid lab panels
Integrate advanced nutritional guidelines into their practices
Apply guidelines for breastfeeding with thyroid conditions

Outcomes Associated with Advanced Maternal Age in the Community Setting
Missy Cheyney, PhD, LM
Distinguished Professor, Anthropology, Oregon State University

Melissa (Missy) Cheyney, PhD, is Distinguished Professor of Clinical Medical Anthropology at Oregon State University (OSU) and an expert in midwifery and community birth. After more than a decade in primary midwifery care, and in addition to her academic work, she remains actively engaged in clinical practice by assisting at home births. This ongoing involvement allows her to stay closely attuned to the barriers community midwives face and the most pressing issues that require research. Her dual position—working both as a care provider and a scientist—enables her to generate research that is deeply grounded in lived experience and directly responsive to the needs of midwives, birthing people, and community‑based care systems.
Upon completion of this session, participants will be able to:

summarize the state of the science on AMA in hospitals settings in the US and in peer nations;
describe the methods used to analyze the impact of maternal age on birth outcomes in a large cohort of planned home and birth centers births in the US;
evaluate relative and absolute risks associated with AMA for a series of outcomes including transfer, cesarean birth, genital tract trauma, NICU admissions, hemorrhage, and combined fetal/neonatal demise; and
discuss clinical implications for older than average birthing people planning physiologic births in the community setting, attended by midwives

Immunizations Through the Childbearing Year: Structure and Rationale
Elias Kass, ND

Meet Elias Kass, a naturopathic physician and former licensed midwife practicing at Intergalactic Pediatrics in Seattle, WA. He graduated from Bastyr University in 2010. After five years of dual naturopathic and midwifery practice, he now focuses on pediatric primary care, with a specialty in infant feeding. He promotes healthy childhoods through immunizations, proper use of car seats, dental teaching, and preventing exposure to lead.
Having come from a place of vaccine ambivalence, he is passionate about helping parents understand the rationale for vaccines, the process by which they are developed, tested, implemented and monitored, and finding ways for parents to inoculate themselves against misinformation.

After participating in this session, attendees should be able to:

Describe how maternal immunization protects infants through transplacental antibody transfer.
Apply current recommendations for timing Tdap, influenza, COVID-19, and RSVvaccines during pregnancy.
Counsel pregnant individuals about the benefits, safety, and common concerns related
to immunization using evidence-based communication
Describe the potential consequences of vaccine-preventable infections during pregnancy.
Compare strategies for preventing severe RSV disease in infants, including maternal vaccination and newborn monoclonal antibody.
Explain the importance of the hepatitis B birth dose in preventing perinatal transmission and chronic infection.

Preeclampsia: Translating Current Evidence into Clinical Decision Making for Community
Midwives
Jessica Swan, DNP, CNM, LM

Dr. Swan served in many leadership roles over the years as an LM. She has been a professor and Clinical Education Supervisor at Bastyr University, Vice President of MAWS, and a midwife and preceptor.
In 2022, she decided to expand her scope by becoming a CNM through the University of Washington, where she received she received the Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing followed by the Doctor of Nursing Practice-Nurse Midwifery specialty.
During that program she worked at Eastside MFM, where she deepened her understanding of high-risk pregnancies. She now works as a full-scope CNM at Evergreen Hospital in Kirkland, WA. She values quality education and clear communication above all else and hopes to foster learning and collaboration amongst all types of perinatal care providers. Her talk will dive deep into what LMs need to know about preeclampsia.
At the conclusion of this activity, participants will be able to:

Differentiate contemporary definitions of preeclampsia and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy using current diagnostic criteria and professional guidelines.
Describe current understanding of the pathophysiology of preeclampsia and its relationship to organ dysfunction in the birthing person.
Explain why low dose aspirin can lower the risk of preeclampsia and understand individual risk factors that warrant recommending its use in pregnancy.
Recognize birthing person symptoms and clinical findings associated with preeclampsia with and without severe features.
Interpret common laboratory studies used in the evaluation of preeclampsia and explain their clinical significance.
Recognize the clinical picture that warrants consultation, escalation of care, or transfer from a community birth setting.
Apply evidence-based decision making through case studies to determine appropriate referral and transfer for pregnant and postpartum clients.

Antidepressants in Pregnancy and Postpartum: Supporting Informed Choices

Amritha Bhat, MBBS, MD, MPH
Associate Professor, Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington
Dr. Amritha Bhat is the Director of the Perinatal Mental Health & Substance Use Education, Research & Clinical Consultation (PERC) Center at the University of Washington works to improve perinatal mental health and substance use care by strengthening the capacity of providers, clinics, and health care systems to identify and respond to behavioral health needs during pregnancy and postpartum. The Center’s work spans clinical consultation, workforce education, technical assistance, and health services research.

Key center offerings include:

Perinatal Psychiatry Consultation Line (Perinatal PCL) for providers, which provides free, timely consultation with UW perinatal psychiatrists to Washington providers caring for pregnant and postpartum patients;
Perinatal Telepsychiatry Clinic, which provides one-time telepsychiatric assessments to Washington state patients, followed by treatment recommendations/consultation to the referring provider.
Technical assistance to help clinics and health care systems develop and implement clinical workflows for perinatal mental health and substance use care; and
MAP ECHO, a CME-accredited virtual case conference series that combines brief didactics, real-world cases, and multidisciplinary expert consultation to build providers’ capacity to address perinatal mental health and substance use conditions.

To learn more about the PERC Center and its programs, visit perc.psychiatry.uw.edu or contact the team at [email protected].

Midwife Happy Hour
5:00 - 6:00 pm