Midwives Should have to Carry Insurance
www.themidwifefromhell.com
Some people are mad about this chapter of the blog because they said that I did not get their authorization from them personally to post this chapter. For all who don't know I am indeed a member of the babycenter.com and I created a thread that stated "Midwives should have to carry insurance" Anyways many women commented on the thread and are now still commenting. I just wanted to share with people who are not apart of the babycenter.com world on what women are saying in regarding this unique situation. Some will be mad but I'm sorry these are your words and once you put them in the atmosphere your words are alive. I didn't post the entire thread just a couple pages just to get a generalization. Sorry ahead of time for whoever it offends. For whoever would like to see the entire thread please create an account with the babycenter.com and become a member. The thread is in the Natural Unmedicated Home Birth group. Thanks for your support. You may follow this link to the thread http://community.babycenter.com/post/a45447496/midwives_should_have_to_carry_insurance
Also this is what I created this is a manifestation of my thoughts and responses, and each and every woman had a choice to respond or not. Most of the women that complained don't even have profile pictures so with all that being said here it goes.
Midwives should have to carry insurance. Why should it be a choice? I had a homebirth that went so wrong. Lost my twin daughter. Midwife still delivering babies!
Woah woah woah. Mass of jumping to conclusions and erroneous information. I NEVER said that the midwife had an excuse. In fact, in my second post I said the midwife failed. YOU have decided that I am looking to solely blame you and you are lashing out. I am merely pointing out that your birth timeline is a freak occurance. If you had been at home and called the hospital they would have told you to make your way in and you may not have made it then either. You are blaming the midwife for not making it to your side with her amazing teleportation abilities. And cord prolapse did NOT happen because she wasn't there. That is bullshit. It happened and there were treatments that MIGHT have saved the baby. But to blame her because she wasn't there 45 minutes after you called is extreme considering most first time moms labor for HOURS during active labor. Hell, transition alone can last an hour and a lot of first timers push for an hour alone. I blame your midwife for taking on a twin birth out of a hospital. That was a faulty move. And it looks like she was handling the entire situation horribly. But even you said that your friends and family were concerned that you were attempting this so you had to know it was a risk. Did you interview a lot of midwives? Did no one tell you this was potentially dangerous?
I don't think anyone is making excuses for the midwife, the midwife probably shouldn't have taken you on as a client and would've had better backup. But when you choose someone and know certain factors (like how far away they live) and then get upset because those factors played into a devastating outcome, I don't think that's entirely fair. You didn't know it was going to be such a short labor and neither did she. How can you blame her if she lives 2 hrs away and the time between when you called her and when she got there was 2 hours?
I may be wrong but aren't twins in the same amniotic sac at an additional risk (higher than twins in two separate sacs)? I am so sorry Andrea. My heart absolutely breaks for you and your family. You are totally doing the right thing in outing this negligent midwife and standing for better regulations of midwifery and home birth.
Posted 13 hrs ago
I don't know all of your story, OP, so I won't comment on it. But I do want to say that I am very, very sorry for the loss of your daughter. No matter what circumstances under which it happened, you've lost a child, and I'm really sorry about that for you.
I would consider my state to have good laws concerning midwifery care and birthing at home, but I know this is not true for all states. That's a shame.
Joni
I would consider my state to have good laws concerning midwifery care and birthing at home, but I know this is not true for all states. That's a shame.
Joni
Posted 13 hrs ago
I really just can't understand people who say that they 'are against home birth' because a baby died. Is it just as logical to say that I am against hospital birth because I know a baby who died during one?
andreamcgh · you!
Posted 13 hrs ago
What are you talking about? I was for home birth until I hired a midwife that did not show up to my birth!
I think that's a valid reason. Sorry you haven't lost a infant to understand what its like to loose a infant at home opposed to a hospital
I think that's a valid reason. Sorry you haven't lost a infant to understand what its like to loose a infant at home opposed to a hospital
Posted 13 hrs ago
People really put you under a microscope when you decide to have children at home anyway and to loose one at home is worst.
Most told me that if I would have decided to have my twins at the hospital they would have been able to do an emergency c-section
Most told me that if I would have decided to have my twins at the hospital they would have been able to do an emergency c-section
andreamcgh · you!
Posted 13 hrs ago
+ I would have rather been at a hospital then at home by myself unassisted child birth with twins. I'm just saying
Posted 13 hrs ago
You are angry and in pain for having to experience a horrific tragedy. But the fault is localized to you and the midwife, not the concept of home birth. The midwife failed you and you made the choice to have a home birth knowing that twins are a default to high risk. You are attacking the entire profession and that isn't fair.
OP I'm sorry for the insensitive comments above. I have seen it a lot when women want to protect the midwife or home birth and blame the mother instead... As if a mother should be held accountable and not the professional she hired to look out for her best interests.
Most people don't know how crappy our home birth midwifery system is here in the US until something goes wrong at their own home birth. Only after a loss do moms figure out the truth... They find out that even a negligent midwife faces no consequences. They find out that their midwife might even have other preventable losses while under her care that they never knew about (bc those things are not a matter of public record for a home birth midwife). They find out they have to pay for a funeral with no option of a lawsuit seeking financial help bc the midwife has no insurance (this is especially a financial burden for families who are left paying for lifelong medical assistance for their mentally and/or physically birth injured baby). Those who were high risk find out that their serious high risk situation was brushed off as a "variation of normal." They find out all these other things they once believed are not actually true: that home birth is just as safe if not safer than hospital birth (while this *may* be true in some countries, it is not true in the US), that "trusting birth" will keep a mother and her child safe, that home birth midwives (or even paramedics) are just as capable of handling emergencies as a team of nurses and hospital CNMs and doctors in a hospital, etc etc.
Heartbreaking....
Most people don't know how crappy our home birth midwifery system is here in the US until something goes wrong at their own home birth. Only after a loss do moms figure out the truth... They find out that even a negligent midwife faces no consequences. They find out that their midwife might even have other preventable losses while under her care that they never knew about (bc those things are not a matter of public record for a home birth midwife). They find out they have to pay for a funeral with no option of a lawsuit seeking financial help bc the midwife has no insurance (this is especially a financial burden for families who are left paying for lifelong medical assistance for their mentally and/or physically birth injured baby). Those who were high risk find out that their serious high risk situation was brushed off as a "variation of normal." They find out all these other things they once believed are not actually true: that home birth is just as safe if not safer than hospital birth (while this *may* be true in some countries, it is not true in the US), that "trusting birth" will keep a mother and her child safe, that home birth midwives (or even paramedics) are just as capable of handling emergencies as a team of nurses and hospital CNMs and doctors in a hospital, etc etc.
Heartbreaking....
Nothing says pass the buck like blaming those who point out accountability instead of seeing all points of view. I flat out said the midwife failed her. She clearly wasn't equiped to deal with a twins delivery and she didn't make it to the birth.... you know, the one that happened 45 minutes after the mother called her. She was also negligent in her follow up. But there is a wealth of information on the internet for the inherent dangers of multiple birth delivery and choosing to have a home birth inspite of the information IS a choice and you need to accept the risk.
Your still missing the point.
This is the point!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Your still saying I was aware of the risk and indeed I was but I never in a million years knew that the midwife would not show up.
Come on. If your birthing babies at home you have to be on time. Now if I would have had the same outcome and she would have been there then there probably wouldn't be an Outreach Warning Mothers because that's what I'm doing. Stop fighting against the awareness that is trying to be spread to inform other mothers about the risk. I'm trying to spread life not death or at least help a mother make an educated decision. Wish I had someone doing this for me while I was pregnant. But when your pregnant your not really focused on what can go wrong.
andreamcgh · you!
The midwife was not there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is the point!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Your still saying I was aware of the risk and indeed I was but I never in a million years knew that the midwife would not show up.
Come on. If your birthing babies at home you have to be on time. Now if I would have had the same outcome and she would have been there then there probably wouldn't be an Outreach Warning Mothers because that's what I'm doing. Stop fighting against the awareness that is trying to be spread to inform other mothers about the risk. I'm trying to spread life not death or at least help a mother make an educated decision. Wish I had someone doing this for me while I was pregnant. But when your pregnant your not really focused on what can go wrong.
So a mother should trust her Google searches and not what her midwife tells her??!
Most women who choose home birth with a midwife trust their midwife to a very powerful, intimate degree. This midwife is at fault but the whole system is at fault bc this midwife will face NO consequences! How does any woman know if her home birth midwife is not like the OPs midwife?? How does any woman know if she is high risk if her midwife assures her she is not??
Most women who choose home birth with a midwife trust their midwife to a very powerful, intimate degree. This midwife is at fault but the whole system is at fault bc this midwife will face NO consequences! How does any woman know if her home birth midwife is not like the OPs midwife?? How does any woman know if she is high risk if her midwife assures her she is not??
I guess I approach child birth differently. I was VERY aware of what could go wrong from the moment of conception till post partum. I knew that having my child at the birth center meant that in the case that I needed a very rare emergency c section that me or the baby may not survive. I acknowledged that risk and took it.
OP - even if your midwife were there, in the case of a prolapsed cord all she would have been able to do is get you to a hospital ASAP. It is one of those complications that if they happen outside the hospital, all a midwife can do is offer help to act as a temporary bandaid until you can get into an OR. A prolapsed cord at home will likely mean death or neurological injury for a baby, no matter how well-skilled a midwife may be. She should have explained the risks to you. Sharing the clear risks are a part of informed consent. Cord prolapse and placental abruption are huge risks with twins and that is why they are delivered in ORs in the hospital. I'm so sorry you were lied to.
So we should completely trust the midwife no questions asked but when women are bullied and harrassed in the hospital environment then we blame them for not knowing their rights? Love the double standard.
I did not say an any of my posts that the midwife system is without faults. I believe that the system needs an overhaul. But that is the SYSTEM, not the practice of midwifery or homebirth. I was specifically saying that homebirth should not be outed as an option for women because some experience loss. It happens in all environments and we as a society need to accept that as humans we will always have errors in choices and actions.
OP- I'm very sorry for your loss. That must be heartbreaking.
I am planning a home birth in a few weeks and I feel well educated about the risks involved. I have weighed them against the risk of delivery in a hospital (and yes there are risks there as well) and I have made a choice. It's not risk free. I realize something could happen. But if it does I won't attack the entire profession of midwifery or the choice for home birth. I'm owning it. Giving birth is not risk free no matter how healthy you are. My midwives do not deliver twins at home. If I had been pregnant with twins I wouldn't be having a homebirth either. However...I understand why some twin mamas decide that's what's best for them.
I only read your first paragraph so far in your latest response, Blackheadedwitch, but who said anything about blaming women who were bullied in a hospital??
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C + D 2007 . DS1 (2.75 years) . DS2 (1 year)
And who said anything about home birth being outed as an option? She said she is against home birth now and you said you didn't understand why. I don't think it should be illegal but changes definitely need to be made for regulation and protecting families in the event of a loss. The regulations should protect the mothers and babies. But they don't. They protect the midwife.
The regulations should protect the mothers and babies. But they don't. They protect the midwife.
In the US, this depends on the state. I, personally, do NOT feel that homebirth is, across the board, less safe than a hospital birth. I do think a distinction needs to be made between various modes of midwifery and the kind of training, licensing, and oversight they receive, because these can vary dramatically. And they do vary by state here in the US. Here in CA, I would (and did) feel quite comfortable planning a homebirth with midwives. In other states, I would not have.
Again, OP, I'm so sorry for your loss.
Joni
Again, OP, I'm so sorry for your loss.
Joni
Yes, midiwves should be required to carry malpractice insurance, and if they are found to be practicing without insurance they should be prosecuted. Why? Because of accountability. Lay midwives and CPM's aren't required to meet the basic educational standards that undergraduates master. They are a danger to women and babies, they take on high risk clients for their own financial gain, and if a problem occurs they face no consequences. Massage therapists and hair dressers are bound by more stringent educational requirements. OP, I've read your story and am appalled. I wish your "midwife" had insurance that forced to be accountable, because obviously she hasn't wasted her time on personal accountability. She discredits her profession, and I'm so sorry your family has had to suffer for her lack of ethics.
I'm really failing to see how the midwife was at fault here, unless she was truly negligent as to why she didn't show i.e. didn't come when called, purposefully came late etc.. Even still had she been there as a PP stated, not much she could have done. There ARE inherent risks with home births and we as parents have to accept those risks when we choose to birth outside of a hospital.In your pain for your horrific loss, I don't see how lashing out at the midwife will help.
I also complete disagree with PPs statement about lay midwives and CPMs... One not need to be a CNM to be a legitimate home birth midwife. I hate to see a few bad eggs ruin it for all... Let me tell you my CPM is far better than the CNM & 2 OB's I had previously. Women need to be educated in seeking their care giver no matter their credentials. I wouldn't hire a crack pot OB with all the schooling and insurance backing them just as I wouldn't hire a lay midwife who was incompetent. I'd really hate to see too much regulation placed on home births. Many choose home births to get away from all the rules and protocol. If rules and regulation are what you seek, birth in the hospital and leave the home birth arena alone.
--
DD 8/99, DD 1/02, DS 2/08 ~ NUCB, DD 2/11~ NUCB, ERF, DS 9/13 ~ NUCB- home water birth, EBF, CD
SAHM ~ Homeschooling mom
SAHM ~ Homeschooling mom
Let me do my Job and you do yours okay. My job now is to educate women on home birth and midwives criteria and so on.
Educate them how? Because you had a natural accident that occurs with labor? Because you chose to take a higher risk pregnancy & birth at home? Because you also chose not to go to hosp with delivery iminent and no professional assistance there to help so you went unassisted which is even more dangerous?
Most who choose home birth are very educated and would not have taken the risks you did.
Most who choose home birth are very educated and would not have taken the risks you did.
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DD 8/99, DD 1/02, DS 2/08 ~ NUCB, DD 2/11~ NUCB, ERF, DS 9/13 ~ NUCB- home water birth, EBF, CD
SAHM ~ Homeschooling mom
SAHM ~ Homeschooling mom
Well, having the correct equipment when she finally showed up would have helped. I read the OPs story this morning, and it is absolutely horrific. Not being there for the labor/birth is only a small part of that midwife's incompetence.
Andrea, I am so sorry for the loss of your darling Aminah. Thank you for speaking out. I know that haters like annasrobbie staceyon#3 and blackheadedwitch will keep attacking you because they don't like what you have to say, but it is important for us all to hear it.
Andrea, I am so sorry for the loss of your darling Aminah. Thank you for speaking out. I know that haters like annasrobbie staceyon#3 and blackheadedwitch will keep attacking you because they don't like what you have to say, but it is important for us all to hear it.
"One not need to be a CNM to be a legitimate home birth midwife. "
And that's fine, I suppose. I don't agree. I think earning hospital privileges in the event of a transfer benefits mothers and babies. But it is very confusing, all the different types of midwives. For women who are given several studies to read to prove to them that "home birth is just as safe as hospital birth" they need to know that those studies are from different countries where they have different systems and different midwives.... midwives that have a training and education similar to a CNM, *not* a CPM. Studies from different countries do not reflect home birth in the US. It is completely different here.
Homebirth in the US with a CPM has been shown to have a much higher risk of death or serious neurological injury for babies than hospital birth in the US. As it becomes more and more popular to have a home birth, more studies based on home births here in the US keep coming out. And they keep showing the same thing.
For women who acknowledge this and still want a home birth, so be it. I don't think it should be illegal. But not a lot of women fully understand the risks. Then the worst happens and they are completely blindsided.
And that's fine, I suppose. I don't agree. I think earning hospital privileges in the event of a transfer benefits mothers and babies. But it is very confusing, all the different types of midwives. For women who are given several studies to read to prove to them that "home birth is just as safe as hospital birth" they need to know that those studies are from different countries where they have different systems and different midwives.... midwives that have a training and education similar to a CNM, *not* a CPM. Studies from different countries do not reflect home birth in the US. It is completely different here.
Homebirth in the US with a CPM has been shown to have a much higher risk of death or serious neurological injury for babies than hospital birth in the US. As it becomes more and more popular to have a home birth, more studies based on home births here in the US keep coming out. And they keep showing the same thing.
For women who acknowledge this and still want a home birth, so be it. I don't think it should be illegal. But not a lot of women fully understand the risks. Then the worst happens and they are completely blindsided.
Why didnt u delivery in hospital if u was having twin bec of all things that could go wrong I pray for gives u peace
I'd like to read OPs full story. Where can I find that? I will say I know very little about anything other than CNMs as that's all I've ever considered. My 2 CNM's have hospital privileges in the event I need to deliver in the hospital and our closest hospital is less than 5 minutes away.
areawoman1 - Calling me a hater because I don't think that ONE person's experience warrants condeming an entire field of birth is like saying that you are a bully for a line item in your post. Stop being a drama queen.
Staceyon#3 - she was waiting at home for her midwife. Her midwife was two hours away and sent a backup midwife who was not experienced in twins which was ridiculous.... Her midwife should have told her to go to the hospital or call 911. Her midwife decided to play Russian Roulette without OP knowing - not just regarding the actual birth but yes including the birth that she was unable to make it to. But nothing to lose for the midwife!! Still practicing. Hopefully she isn't YOUR midwife!
Hopefully your midwife doesn't brush off high risk situations! Hopefully your midwife hasn't lost any babies due to her own negligence! You would never know the difference bc your midwife certainly has no obligation to share any losses with you and there is no way to look up if she has. One midwife who recently lost a baby at a home birth was working as a midwife using a FAKE NAME so that her clients couldn't do internet searches on her!! Women have no idea what a CPM or LM or lay midwife's track record is bc there is no way to know!! MANA and NARM don't care about accountability or babies that have injured or that died. They care about protecting home birth at all costs. A midwife certainly isn't going to give the names of clients to call for references if their babies died. And clearly you are ok with all of this bc you want the "home birth arena" to be left alone.
The system is FLAWED and whether you like it or not, people are fighting for changes to be made.
Hopefully your midwife doesn't brush off high risk situations! Hopefully your midwife hasn't lost any babies due to her own negligence! You would never know the difference bc your midwife certainly has no obligation to share any losses with you and there is no way to look up if she has. One midwife who recently lost a baby at a home birth was working as a midwife using a FAKE NAME so that her clients couldn't do internet searches on her!! Women have no idea what a CPM or LM or lay midwife's track record is bc there is no way to know!! MANA and NARM don't care about accountability or babies that have injured or that died. They care about protecting home birth at all costs. A midwife certainly isn't going to give the names of clients to call for references if their babies died. And clearly you are ok with all of this bc you want the "home birth arena" to be left alone.
The system is FLAWED and whether you like it or not, people are fighting for changes to be made.
--
C + D 2007 . DS1 (2.75 years) . DS2 (1 year)
http://whatifsandfears.blogspot.com/
First of all, I think everyone here is sympathetic to the OP's horrible loss (I have friends who lost their first son after a homebirth, and I know it's an unbelievably devastating experience). With a new baby myself, I can't even imagine... But, the fact is that deaths (of the mother or the child) can happen as part of birth. I don't think anyone can say for sure without being privy to all the conversations that happened ahead of time who's at fault, but from what we've heard here, it does sound like this midwife showed bad judgement.
But as far as the quote above, how do you define "preventable"? It's a lot easier to know the right course of action with hindsight. Depending on the model of care (in terms of more or less intervention), different situations may have a different outcome. A c-section may well have had a better outcome in this case, but it's a procedure with its own risks to the mother and child.
Generally, by using the midwife model of care, especially outside of a medical setting, you're requesting an approach that is less interventionist. In some cases, that may result in better outcomes, and in other cases, worse. It's not simple arithmetic -- C-sections come with their own set of risks. Ultimately, by choosing a non-mainstream way to give birth, it's important to educate yourself about those risks and benefits and make informed decisions.
http://whatifsandfears.blogspot.com/
Dear OP:
Keep telling your story. I'm so, so, so sorry this happened to you and your family. And by the callous remarks made in response to your story, empathy seems to be in short supply.
Your story needs to be heard - over and over and over again. So good to see your strength. Keep speaking. Don't back down. This is not an isolated incident - it is a system of belief that pervades the OOH midwifery community - that "twins are just a variation of normal" and that they can be promoted as safe for home birth.
For some, yes, a twin home birth can be result in two healthy, living babies. For others - and I would say for TOO MANY - twin births at home are not safe. And one baby dying a preventable death is one too many. It is deplorable that others would shrug this off as a 'natural occurance'.
I stand by you. I wish I didn't have to. I wish you had your twins with you and that this was not a fight you were standing up and fighting. But I want to support you. Your story needs to be heard.
Your story needs to be heard - over and over and over again. So good to see your strength. Keep speaking. Don't back down. This is not an isolated incident - it is a system of belief that pervades the OOH midwifery community - that "twins are just a variation of normal" and that they can be promoted as safe for home birth.
For some, yes, a twin home birth can be result in two healthy, living babies. For others - and I would say for TOO MANY - twin births at home are not safe. And one baby dying a preventable death is one too many. It is deplorable that others would shrug this off as a 'natural occurance'.
I stand by you. I wish I didn't have to. I wish you had your twins with you and that this was not a fight you were standing up and fighting. But I want to support you. Your story needs to be heard.
It is also important to point out that she called her midwife for the first time at 8:45pm and the first baby was born around 9:30pm. Even if her midwife was less than 30 minutes away she may or may not would have made it for the first birth. I am surprised that she isn't pointing this out since it is practically a stastical anomaly.
If the midwife operated by professional standards or if she cared a rat's behind about the lives of those twins, she would have made better professional decisions that could have improved the outcome in this circumstance.
No, the midwife - ahem - the PROFESSIONAL midwife - should not be able to evade responsibility for this outcome.
And yes, midwives, professional midwives, should be mandated to carry malpractice insurance.
OP, I'm going to repeat it until I'm blue in the face:
I am so, so sorry this happened to you. This midwife failed you. Midwifery failed you.
And yes, midwives, professional midwives, should be mandated to carry malpractice insurance.
OP, I'm going to repeat it until I'm blue in the face:
I am so, so sorry this happened to you. This midwife failed you. Midwifery failed you.
Good for you!!! If you need some help, here is a link of women that have either gone throught the same thing, or believe in the same cause. ((((hugs)))) Tara It's a closed group, but just ask to join and you will be welcomed with open arms.
Ahhh, but the problem arises that it is NOT one experience. It is an experience that is sadly repeated over and over again because uneducated and under-educated care providers call themselves midwives and encourage women to "trust birth." People like the OP are encouraged to have high risk births at home by these so-called experts, and it often ends in tragedy. It's just another variation of normal, right? If she had come on baby center and mentioned that her OB wanted to perform a cesarean section at 39 weeks because she was carrying twins, she would have been roundly chastised for being SO UNEDUCATED, but both her babies would have been alive. As it stands, because of the outcome, here she is being told to shut up and that things would have been different if she educated herself. It's disgusting that she and all these other mothers who listened to the "trust birth" yahoos are treated this way by the exact same group after they experience a loss.
Because her midwife neglected to mention that she was a high risk pregnancy. Because the midwife failed in her ethical duty to provide informed consent. Any professional should appropriately warn a client about the risks before taking them on. It's called ethics and scope of practice. Her midwife was grossly negligent.
Ah, but it's not one person's experience. I read devastatingly sad birth story like this almost every day. Andrea, you are not alone.
My midwife was called two days prior than that day I just chose not to mention that because I felt it was irrelevant. Let's not start nit picking on times to try to bring my story to a halt.
Regardless of time I was in labor my times can only by off 15 -30 minutes either way she was contacted and my daughter Aminah report shows born she was born around 10:30. Joann still was not there.
My daughter was born and my husband assisted me while I stood in the shower standing up. He caught my baby NO midwife. WHY would I neglect to call my midwife if I was having contractions.
Your picking. Believe me baby this story is very True. Times may vary a little but not much.
Bottom line midwife was too late. Aminah arrived around 10:30. Still no Joann but I did have an inexperienced midwife as a substitute
Regardless of time I was in labor my times can only by off 15 -30 minutes either way she was contacted and my daughter Aminah report shows born she was born around 10:30. Joann still was not there.
My daughter was born and my husband assisted me while I stood in the shower standing up. He caught my baby NO midwife. WHY would I neglect to call my midwife if I was having contractions.
Your picking. Believe me baby this story is very True. Times may vary a little but not much.
Bottom line midwife was too late. Aminah arrived around 10:30. Still no Joann but I did have an inexperienced midwife as a substitute
But your midwife practices out of Cape Girardeau, yes? Wasn't it known that there was to be a lot of travel time?
I'm sorry you went through that–I can't imagine.
All my appointments were here in my local city. She advised me to call when contraction were 5 minutes apart. We met at different homes and at Hotels in conference rooms until about 33 weeks when she started doing home visits. I met with her all that time never had a doubt in my mind that the night of my birth she would arrive after my babies were born. I guess that's part of the Game. Most of her clients were in the city of St. Louis, MO as well. I meet and talked with another woman that was pregnant with twins also that was birthing with Joann. So broncosoccer11 I thought it was safe when I confirmed she had other clients in my area
I don't want to keep describing every single detail that doesn't match up with someones brain my birth story is out and I'm speaking out about the midwife system because my birth went all wrong bottom line and I would like to give a mother unfamiliar with with the risk the full picture. Yes it can go right but it can also go so wrong. Keep birthing at home just know your midwife
Midwife System needs healing. When its healed is when I will birth at home again.
Midwife System needs healing. When its healed is when I will birth at home again.
I was not even remotely saying your story wasn't true. I was suggesting that the speed at which they were born was a huge problem in the birth. Most women who have such short labors end up with unassisted births.
Its important to know how many deaths a Midwife carries. The interview process is bland. You need a place to go to where you can pull names and make judgement on numbers and statistics. Taking someones word is not good enough. I wonder if most midwives would still be midwives if they weren't getting paid.
Money makes people do crazy things.
Money makes people do crazy things.
andreamcgh · you!
Last edited 6 hrs ago
Blackheadedwitch Time is vital in a birth!!!!!! Your still making excuses for the midwife. Midwife needs to be at home like when an ambulance is called within a resonable time. 15-20 mins at the most.
And one baby dying a preventable death is one too many. It is deplorable that others would shrug this off as a 'natural occurance'.
First of all, I think everyone here is sympathetic to the OP's horrible loss (I have friends who lost their first son after a homebirth, and I know it's an unbelievably devastating experience). With a new baby myself, I can't even imagine... But, the fact is that deaths (of the mother or the child) can happen as part of birth. I don't think anyone can say for sure without being privy to all the conversations that happened ahead of time who's at fault, but from what we've heard here, it does sound like this midwife showed bad judgement.
But as far as the quote above, how do you define "preventable"? It's a lot easier to know the right course of action with hindsight. Depending on the model of care (in terms of more or less intervention), different situations may have a different outcome. A c-section may well have had a better outcome in this case, but it's a procedure with its own risks to the mother and child.
Generally, by using the midwife model of care, especially outside of a medical setting, you're requesting an approach that is less interventionist. In some cases, that may result in better outcomes, and in other cases, worse. It's not simple arithmetic -- C-sections come with their own set of risks. Ultimately, by choosing a non-mainstream way to give birth, it's important to educate yourself about those risks and benefits and make informed decisions.
My cord was prolapse because I didn't have assistance birthing. I was trying to support my live daughter in my arms while standing up umbilical cord was still connected to placenta inside me. My twins were in the same sac. So me not having proper assistance birthing caused my daughters death.
What sort of a midwife was she? I didn't see that mentioned. It was certainly negligent of her to send someone inexperienced with twin delivery. If she didn't have someone as a back up with as much experience as her she shouldn't have traveled so far from you when you were 39 weeks and obviously could have delivered at any second. There was definitely negligence there.
Anyway, again I am so sorry for your loss. I share a birthday with your sweet girls. I hope your story will help another mother not go through what you did.
--
Kate
Married 6/2004 DS- 7 DS-5 DD-2 DS- EDD 12.8.13
http://tilmyheartlookslikeyours.blogspot.com
These are just a few of the comment that were left on the thread.
Married 6/2004 DS- 7 DS-5 DD-2 DS- EDD 12.8.13
http://tilmyheartlookslikeyours.blogspot.com
These are just a few of the comment that were left on the thread.
It's shocking to see how badly loss mothers are treated by other women; it's almost as if they are ganging up on her with a view to destroying her due to her being 'broken' in some way. She has violated the taboo that dictates that homebirth midwives are somehow saints, 'wise women', 'birth keepers', Earth goddesses and suchlike. They are placed on pedestals, and when the more dangerous of them kill a baby, she is regarded as a victim, a sacrifice, and protected by colleagues and clients alike.
ReplyDeleteDreah has committed the ultimate sin of publicly sharing her devastating story, even naming the 'midwives' involved, and she has compounded her error by calling for tighter regulation and mandatory insurance for homebirth midwives.
Of course the midwives are to blame; if you have a client who is 39/40 weeks pregnant with twins, especially a multip with previous quick labours, you need to either hang around in the nearish vicinity, arrange PROPER cover in case you might not make it in time (and TELL the client who is providing this cover), or else say, I'm sorry, this isn't safe, I advise you to go to hospital. This midwife did NONE of these things; she simply strung her clients along until it was too late.
Whether or not the baby's death was avoidable is irrelevant; the midwives failed spectacularly, and should not continue to practise until they've had adequate training.
Dreah, I am so sorry for your terrible loss, and I am ashamed of the behaviour of some of your commenters. I hope one day your family is able to add another precious little member, not to replace your darling little daughter, but to bring the joy of new life (if that is what you wish, of course). By fighting for other mothers' babies, you are honouring your own gorgeous little girl. Much love, and best wishes. Xxx
Wow im speechless. Well said. Thank you for taking the time to read and bring insight to the matter.
DeleteI can't believe some of these women's comments to you. Your midwife was absolutely negligent in multiple ways. It is wrong that these women are allowed to practice unregulated, so that when bad things happen there are no consequences at all for them. There needs to be a better system in which there is REAL regulation and REAL consequences for those who want to be midwives.
ReplyDeleteagreed
DeleteI have so many thoughts about these midwives, I don't even know where to start. Here's one thought. Joann knew exactly how far away she was from your home, when you called her with your 5 minute contractions. She absolutely should have disclosed this information and given you the opportunity to decide to go to the hospital instead of waiting for her. If you still wanted to deliver at home, she absolutely should given you the option of having Jennifer called in immediately - with full disclosure that Jennifer had no experience delivering twins. And she absolutely should have given you information on what to do while you waited. Perhaps, just perhaps, if she had advised you appropriately, your husband might have been able to help manage the prolapsed cord long enough to give paramedics a chance to arrive and help.
ReplyDeleteThe professional incompetence just takes my breath away. I am so very sorry that your family had to pay the price.
Commentators blaming the mum seem to me to be wrong as well as harsh. Most women who choose home/birthcentre deliveries do so because they believe, or to put it more strongly trust, the midwives looking after them. There is, in medicine, a concept of Informed Consent: if you're having, say, surgery then the risks must be explained. Ant the responsibility for that is the doctor's not the patient's. It is not the woman's fault if an undertrained underexperienced overenthusiastic midwife has lulled her into a false sense of security. These practitioners can seem very plausible. Until and unless it all goes wrong. I recently attended a hospital identical twin delivery. Mum will have seen the two midwives in with her, and the consultant obstetrician popping in and out. I don't know if she ever knew that as delivery got close, there were 3 paediatrians, another obstetrician, an anaesthetist and a theatre team poised outside the room in case. Happily we were not needed. But that back up is what a homebirth midwife cannot provide, but rarely tells her client about. Oh, and not some fancy expensive private centre - just a small rural good old NHS hospital.
ReplyDeletePlease can we stop blaming bereaved mothers who thought they were doing the right thing, and start blaming the so-called professionals who should have known they weren't.
Down the years, I have seen about the same numbers of dead babies from hospital and home deliveries. But only about 1% of our deliveries are at home. And most of the high risk deliveries are at the hospital. Read it and weep. As I have cried for every baby I have tried to save, then had to break the news.
A British paediatrician.