I would like to state my appreciation for the information you are trying to spread.

My wife’s brother and his girlfriend attempted to have a baby at their house with a midwife. To make a long story short, her water broke Friday night – she didn’t have the baby until late Sunday. The baby was very large, not breathing, and no pulse. The baby might live with brain damage, if she is lucky. Both mother and baby are at the hospital for longer than if the would have planned to go there, and they both are on many drugs.

I am not trying to use a case study to prove my point, but I would not recommend a risky home birth – unless you want a brain dead or totally dead baby.

You are correct that some or most US midwives are not qualified to assess medical situations. I am sure for a problem-free childbirth, they can manage, but they certainly don’t have the means to deal with an emergency.

Take your baby to the hospital where they belong… This isn’t the 18th century.

“ruptured her symphysis, the piece of cartilage that holds the two halves of the pelvis together in the front at the pubic bone… The patient also developed a raging infection that required a week-long hospitalization for IV antibiotics…”

I’m willing to bet that the laboring woman was flat on her back hooked up to machines, instead of standing or crouching or getting on all fours or taking whatever position her natural instincts tell her will help get that big baby out of her. And she was probably drugged to make her natural instincts get out of the doctors’ way.

And as for picking up an infection, that’s because she was in the hospital.

I had my first baby in the hospital, and my next two at home. There was no comparison in quality. I hate looking at my firstborn’s hospital portrait, him lying there in his tiny bed with all his limbs tensed up , with a look on his face like he was miserable and hated the world. My mother said the nurses put him under the cold water faucet to clean him up. After a labor spent uncomfortably flat on my back with a pitocin drip to make contractions extra-hard and a heart monitor, for no good reasons whatsoever.

My second child was born after a short labor I spent naked at home, hanging onto a towel bar. That was EXACTLY how I needed to be and I enjoyed the birth mightily. My third child was born exactly at midnight at home after a short labor; I spent a lot of time in the shower, or finding a comfortable way to be on, my own bed in my own home.

I try to avoid doctors generally, in order to stay healthy, and when it comes to inflicting on the birth process male-dominated greed-driven institutions filled with poorly-educated-doctors, I say no thanks; I’ll stay home, like a smart animal in its den, instead of checking into a profit-driven institution full of sick and dying people. Ina May Gaskin is completely right. Have your babies at home.

For many years doctors insured each other through their medical defence organisations. Midwives could insure themselves through the same mechanism but they don’t have the same belief in their product (or in each other) to be willing to risk their houses, and are trying to insist that the public step in to protect them.

The Today Show segment was extraordinarily poor journalism, pure and simple. It’s the worst kind of shoddy, sensationalistic “news.” I say we ignore it — and Dr. Amy’s familiar and faulty ranting — and focus on working towards licensing all midwives to practice and integrating them into our healthcare system.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infant_mortality

Awesome.

As I have looked back at posts on here by Dr. Amy Teuter, MD and then some of her posts on the internet last night (feel free to surf around yourself). The one she penned on circumcision I found is priceless.
I have lost interest in what she has to say because I honestly feel very little of it is constructive dialogue about anything that champions the cause of better maternal and infant health.
I was just made aware that she was posting here on this blog recently and a friend of mine had noted the irony of it. It is such an insult that anyone who so opposes supporting women’s choices in childbirth would be here posting on the Our Bodies Ourselves blog. If Dr. Teuter wanted to really be a part of women’s health and women’s health care reform she would try to peddle a soft sell on her rehtoric. She never does. She doesn’t even stop for a second to think about how her words are taken by people who may have chosen home birth for all the RIGHT reasons and had successful home births– that is evidence- anecdotal but evidence nonetheless. (all successful home birth Moms can’t be wrong right?) She is hoping that her parade of horror stories and accusations will someday win us over. I had to personally draw the line somewhere- and meet her at her own level especially after the Ina May Gaskin remark. (Remember: she railed against Ina May Gaskin as a bereaved mother about her stillbirth- that was a low blow- I hope you and I can agree on that)
The Gaskin Manuever is accepted second to the McRoberts Maneuver in helping to stop shoulder dystocia by doctors. Whether or not a doctor condones or dislikes home birth they are going to try what works to save their patients- that’s why I included the article.
I am interested in listening to people who are currently in the practice of obstetrics who are doing positive things. I will no longer go after docs and their profession in terms of well- this is what docs do– here is all the needless interventions etc. etc. because it is a training of a whole different sort. Being trained to be a midwife of any kind and being trained to be an OBGYN are completely different- at the end you receive an entirely different skill set. Additionally, I think many birth professionals who have not witnessed first hand through a client the “near death” of a baby who was saved by a real intervention or sadly helped a client through the death of a baby after a routine, trouble free pregnancy usually like to criticize docs all day long. I have met so many women who have lost babies and have the most profound respect for doctors, and the work they do. Since I have met these mothers I no longer even feel remotely inclined to trash them I see both sides of docs and the work they do. Every profession imaginable has its charlatans and imposters. I don’t defend the shennanigans that are part of modern obstetrics. I now have a new appreciation and profound respect for the times when docs or midwives intervene and it saves a life, or when they do all they can for a family when a baby is lost. It is a huge catch 22 for me- I see their glaring deficiencies, but I also see their gifts. I also think maybe the malpractice insurance and HMO industry is more to blame.
You could certainly find out about doctors by going to the office of vital statistics in Dorchester- and seeing how many IUFD happens at a given hospital, or contact CIMS to see if they can help you. I know too Jill the unnecesaerean has stats. we’re not doing so good here in MA.
I know of many many stories where docs were compassionate, did everything they could, provided very little “intervention” so I’m not buying that anymore about the doc bashing. I also have seen docs stand up to patient’s wishes and patient’s stand up right back because they knew it was an unneceassry intervention during birth.
Additionally, I am thinking you could contact the Board of Registration of Medicine if you wanted to know about certain docs. Anyone who has had a bad experience with a doc can file a complaint there- and if there is just cause then docs can be investigated and disciplined. Midwives cause birth trauma all the time- I know mine certainly did- and there is no board to go to with valid complaints as they are not licensed through the state of Massachusetts currently. As I like to say, currently in this state of non regulation of midiwves in Massachusetts there is no formal complaint process for OOH midwives if you have a bad experience with an OOH midwife in Massachusetts then you can exercise the- better luck next time clause. even if a midwife is sanctioned through NARM its sanctions are meaningless unless the state is involved. Has anyone else noticed that the ACNM is opposed to including the CPMs in state by state legislation but now wants to be part of the dialogue about what happened when one of their midwives was portrayed as a risky baby harmer on the today show- see the acnm webiste for details.
So Amy, I just wanted to clarify after you posted some things. I hope that you have continued success in the work you do with mothers.