Good Midwife(s) in Dayton, Ohio?

[RFrick]

I was wondering if there was anyone (preferably multiple people) from Dayton, Ohio that knew of a really good midwife(s)? I have a 16 month old son that was born at the hospital. To be honest it wasn't a very good experience. I was overdosed on petocin and had half hour long contractions, had terrible back labor that I was told later could have possibly prevented if someone had helped me with positioning a little, and had a pretty long labor that ended as soon as I happened to remember that maybe it would help if I got on my hands and knees. To top it all off I barely got to hold my son after he was born because they said he was breathing to fast. (I still wonder if that would have went away with a little skin to skin time.) Anyway, they whisked him off to the nursery and wouldn't let me have him for hours. Even to feed him - they were afraid he might aspirate. He was in intensive care for two days for a nonexistent problem just because they wanted to be 'safe'. All that said I still feel nervous about a home birth, but would really like to research the options. First - so that maybe I'll have a little more say in what happens and get a little more one on one interaction. Second - to see how much cheaper it might be. Another reason I'm nervous is that a couple of my friends have had midwives and the one always ends up in the hospital anyway and neither of them seem to have had really good experiences. Reading success stories on this site has given me the courage to at least look into the options and maybe give it a try. I would just like to have recommendations for midwives that people have had good experiences with. Where they felt cared for, looked after, listened to, and important to that person. Someone professional yet almost your friend. As a side note - I love my OB and would have a very hard time parting with her! Thank you so much, in advance, for your time, responses and encouragement! 

[khaoskat]

There are homebirth midwifes in this area, but most are currently not openly stating so.  The main reason for the "closed door" is the recent case where a local family was criminally charged after having a home birth.

The best way to meet some of the potential homebirth community is to attend dar a luz meetings and also many of them are members of Le Leche League (not that LLL promotes homebirth, but that many of them also nurse their children and attend meetings for the nursing support). Many of them wont discuss with you, until they know you a bit.

But, IMHO, I have had a horrible hospital experience, 1 wonderful experience in our local birth center (another option you might want to consider as there is at least one CNM group that practices there as well as Dr. Horlocher/Woods and Dr. Guy) - it might be a good compromise on the homebirth as it is a home like setting but close to medical facilities if needed that promotes and supports natural birth and rooming in.

I had a planned homebirth, but ended up transferring at the 11th hour (I was having unusual pain that was not normal contraction pain and being VBAC I wanted to be safer than sorry).  It was a wonderful experience and if we are blessed to have more, I would do it again in a heartbeat.  But hopefully my labor wouldn't be so fast that my midwife wouldn't have time to get their again.

[buckeyedoc]

I wonder if someone at CHOICE in Columbus can refer you to someone local?

http://www.choicemidwives.org/

[llwr]

I don't know much about it since I'm in Columbus, but I do know there's a birth center in Dayton you might want to look into. 

[klemomma]

Given your situation, I would go with either Dr. Horlacher / Wood or Dr. Guy and the CNMs he practices with (Lisa, Margie, and Cat, I believe). 

The local birth center is Family Beginnings, and it is located inside of Miami Valley Hospital. It is a certified birth center. The rooms are much homier and they have Jacuzzi tubs in all three of the rooms. You can have a water birth at FB with either group of practitioners I mentioned. Also, in FB, you stay in the same room for your entire stay - labor, delivery, and recovery. They don't do any pain medication, pitocin (except to control bleeding after the birth if necessary), etc. in FB. Their whole model of care is much more natural-minded. But, you are still in the hospital, and if an emergency occurs, you are right down the hall from the OR. Either group of providers mentioned above will be very supportive of this type of birth.

I think you'd have a very good chance at achieving the kind of birth you want there.

However, you will also need to prepare yourself. You need to be informed about inductions, coping techniques, etc. You need to be able to say no to an induction unless it is really necessary. You need to be prepared to cope with labor without medication, and so on. I'm not saying you aren't or weren't, I'm just saying that if you let the medical people guide your experience by relying on them to make decisions and support you, they will likely guide you down a medical path. If you want a birth that has as few interventions as possible, then you have to be prepared to guide it yourself, with the support of your partner and possibly a doula. I would definitely recommend looking into getting a doula as well, if you at all possibly can.

Was it a hospital in Dayton where you gave birth last time? If so, which one?

Best wishes to you on your journey :-)

[ltopp]

You should check out Lifestages at Good Samaritan Hospital. I personally had a bad experience with Dr.Guy and the midwives, though i know several women who loved them. I am now 13 weeks pregnant and had a consultation with the midwives at Lifestages last week. I LOVED them. They are very supportive, open and honest. They have 4 birthing rooms with jacuzzi tubs and are not a busy baby factory like MVH. You stay in the same room throughout your stay and have the same nurse. Also the doctors are in house 24/7.

[RachaelsMommy]

Originally Posted by khaoskat 

There are homebirth midwifes in this area, but most are currently not openly stating so.  The main reason for the "closed door" is the recent case where a local family was criminally charged after having a home birth.

I think a more accurate way of putting it would be that the "closed door" was caused because an organization that claims to be pushing for midwives pushed the midwife in this case in front of a bus. I can't blame other midwives for wondering if they might be next.

[womenswisdom]

Midwives in this corner of the state have been "under the radar" since 2007 when a CPM was prosecuted after an appropriate transport. She was reported to the OSMA by an MD at the hospital to which they transported (mom and baby were both fine). She was charged with felony practice of medicine without a license and later pled guilty to two misdemeanor charges. That is why it is much more difficult now to find a midwife.

The family who was criminally charged with child endangerment two years ago was an entirely different case and, as far as I'm aware, the mw (who identified herself as a doula to the police) was never charged with anything. The organization mentioned above had nothing to do with any criminal case brought against anyone and furthermore raised and contributed large amounts of money to the family for legal defense and living expenses.

In order to find a midwife, I would check out Dar a Luz and your local LLL groups. You can usually find people who know how to contact the midwives in the area.

[MarleneCPM]

The 1st midwife you spoke  of, plead guilty of practicing NURSE midwifery w/o a license, because of  the manner in which she was practicing. It is not against the law in OH to practice midwifery w/o a license!  the 2nd midwife, wasn't using any items restricted to  licensed professionals, so therefore wasn't doing anything illegal to be charged with. Brenda Hensler is a great Dayton midwife! Neither of us are hiding under a bush, or practicing covertly. And though there are midwives closer, I do come to Dayton occasionally too.

[khaoskat]

Very true about the 2007 incident, but it had started to come back out into the open when the incident happened about 2 years ago, and then it disappeared totally.  It wasn't until about 7 months after the charges were filed against the family that some of the midwifes started talking to people again. Although there were a few that still helped out Mothers in need.

Also, as far as I know the Midwife in the 2009 case was never criminally charged with anything, and there were never charges considered against her.  IMHO, the hospital that the parents probably got transferred to had a problem with the baby being born at home.  Due to where the family lived, I am sure it was 1 of 2 hospitals, both associated with each other, and one has a horrible reputation around here as being non baby friendly and having a high c/s rate and even lack of breastfeeding support.

[womenswisdom]

This has been discussed ad nauseum in various forums, so I'm not going to belabor the point here because I don't think we'll ever agree on this. I just want to get all sides' views available for those who are looking for information.

The difference between the two cases was not that one was using prescription meds and the other was not. It was that the 2007 case involved a midwife who transported with a client in labor, identified herself as a midwife and had the misfortune of encountering a doc who ended up reporting her to the medical board. She was investigated for providing care for a woman during labor, not for using prescription meds. At the time she was reported, investigated and had a search warrant issued, they had no idea she had ever used prescription meds, because she hadn't used them with that client (she was still laboring). The judge was very clear during sentencing that his interpretation of the law was that everything she was doing was illegal (not just using meds). I know you disagree with his interpretation, but I really don't think the outcome for her would have been any different had she not been carrying meds. Furthermore, nurse midwives in Ohio have no prescription privileges, so using rx meds as a mw wouldn't make her guilty of practice of nurse midwifery w/o a license, since even licensed CNMs can't administer rx unless on the order of a physician.

The 2009 incident involved a midwife who told EMS she was a doula. Which begs the questions of why, if she was doing nothing illegal, she felt it was wise to do that. You make it sound like they were both questioned and the one who was practicing the "wrong" way was prosecuted, while the other was not, when that is far from the case.

[ecomomicalme]

Can you tell me a little bit about your bad experience? I am looking into Lifestages as well as Women's Health Specialists and would like some more information if you would not mind sharing. Did you have a midwife or was Dr Guy your practitioner?