Listen to women. The ACNM's vision

This presentation introduced the theme of "Listen to Women" in addressing visionary planning conducted by the American College of Nurse-Midwives in 1993. The author drew on the exemplar nurse-midwifery model of health care created at the Frontier Nursing Service, Leslie County, Kentucky, in 1925 by Mary Breckinridge, RN, MPH, SCM. It is suggested that this historical exemplar remains contemporary to women's health needs today by demonstrating a health system managed by nurse-midwives that provided continuity, accessibility, affordability, accountability, and responsivity to its community through the services and education of nurse-midwives. The author further recommends that the voices of women from the past be threaded to the voices of women in the future in preparation for further visionary planning in addressing women and childbearing family health needs in the 21st century.