Mothering › Forums › Pregnancy and Birth › Birth and Beyond › Homebirth › Homebirth in upstate NY
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Homebirth in upstate NY  

post #1 of 30
6/14/06 at 4:10pm
Thread Starter 
Does anyone know how possible it is too find a homebirth midwife in upstate NY?? I tried looking with my last pregnancy but was not impressed with what I found. I only found on and she charged way more than I could afford and wouldn't allow anyone else in the house except for dh and I because she was afraid she would get turned in...(attending a homebirth in NY is illegal for all medical personnel. Including midwives...)

I would like to consider a homebirth. Although I know it would take a lot of persuasion for dh. Any info you can give me would be great!!!
post #2 of 30
6/14/06 at 6:05pm
Attending a home birth is not illegal in NY. There are licensing issues with DEM's though, so you would most likely need to find a CNM. I'm not sure what the birth climate is like upstate, but there are several CNM's downstate, NYC and Long Island that legally attend home births.

Try looking here:

http://www.cfmidwifery.org/states/states.asp?ST=45

http://www.acnm.org/find.cfm

http://midwifeinfo.com/mi_search.php...at=findmidwife

Good luck with your search!
post #3 of 30
6/14/06 at 8:59pm
It is damn near impossible to find a homebirth midwife in upstate New York. I started (actively!) looking for one 2 years before I started TTC, and I didn't find one until I was 5 months pregnant!

Yes, the reason it is so difficult to find one is that it is illegal for a Certified Professional Midwife to attend a homebirth in New York State.

It isn't illegal for all medical personnel to attend a homebirth in NYS. A doctor could do it if he wanted to. A nurse-midwife could do it if she had the permission of the doctor she works under.

The reason it is illegal for a CPM is that she is NOT considered medical personnel. NYS does not even recognize CPMs.
post #4 of 30
6/14/06 at 9:19pm
Thread Starter 
So if that is the case then why are they so hard to find??
post #5 of 30
6/14/06 at 9:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by pbreffe
So if that is the case then why are they so hard to find??
Well to put it the way a friend of mine looking for a mw in her hbmw's-are-illegal state "it's like trying to infiltrate the mafia". It's like calling someone who knows someone who knows the mw...you have to stay a little paraniod.
post #6 of 30
6/14/06 at 9:36pm
Thread Starter 
That is funny!

But since I don't know anyone who has had a homebirth it is hard to find anyone!
post #7 of 30
6/14/06 at 9:49pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by pbreffe
That is funny!

But since I don't know anyone who has had a homebirth it is hard to find anyone!
I know the feeling of not knowing anyone who'd had a hb before. When I was preg with my second baby, I first got an inkling of how scarce they were, and by the time I was preg with my third baby, a friend of the family told me they'd had a hb transfer years ago, and that was about it at that point. (my second was a hosp induction , my third a planned UC)

Have you cross posted in the FYT forum, maybe mamas there can help?
post #8 of 30
6/14/06 at 10:17pm
Where upstate are you? I grew up in Brooklyn, so everything North of the Bronx is upstate to me.

I'm in the Hudson Valley and there are tons of homebirth midwives in the area (both CNMs and DEMs). If you'd like any info about them, let me know.

If you're waaay up yonder, I suggest going to ICAN, LLL, and API meetings in your area. Crunchy people tend to congregate there and you're likely to find other homebirthers. (ICAN people tend to have good dirt on the local birth community. All women, especially pregnant mamas, are welcome at their meetings.)
post #9 of 30
6/15/06 at 11:36am
Where upstate are you? There are several CNMs who attend homebirths in Westchester: Valerie Pasqua-Masback, Martha Roth, Judy Joffee and others. Then there's the Danbury, CT birthing center if you don't want a homebirth or can't find a CNM you like...but there are a fair number of CNMs and also some DEMs.

My advice is to be very upfront about what you want and if the CNM you are interviewing (by phone maybe) can't give it, ask for other referrals. From what I learned, CNMs can't attend known breeches and have other limitations and they must have hospital backup.

Also the midwives downstate may have ideas for midwives further upstate so call and ask if they know.

I hope this helps somewhat and good luck with your homebirth! (I had two homebirths in upstate NY in the last 2.5 years)
post #10 of 30
6/15/06 at 4:14pm

Here in the fingerlakes...

A few years ago the New Years Baby on the front of the paper was a homebirth, and there are some homebirth midwives that advertise in the crunchy information sources.
post #11 of 30
6/15/06 at 4:18pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sustainer
A nurse-midwife could do it if she had the permission of the doctor she works under.
Does this really ever happen, though? :
post #12 of 30
6/15/06 at 4:23pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by skellbelle
Does this really ever happen, though? :
Not in my experience.
post #13 of 30
6/15/06 at 4:48pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sustainer
It is damn near impossible to find a homebirth midwife in upstate New York. I started (actively!) looking for one 2 years before I started TTC, and I didn't find one until I was 5 months pregnant!

Yes, the reason it is so difficult to find one is that it is illegal for a Certified Professional Midwife to attend a homebirth in New York State.

It isn't illegal for all medical personnel to attend a homebirth in NYS. A doctor could do it if he wanted to. A nurse-midwife could do it if she had the permission of the doctor she works under.

The reason it is illegal for a CPM is that she is NOT considered medical personnel. NYS does not even recognize CPMs.
I just had a homebirth in NY with a Certified Professional Midwife (not a CNM)
They are not illegal.
eta: Yay--a link!! NYS Education Department--Midwifery

in fact if you have enough energy, NYS even says your insurnace should pay for a homebirth.
I just didn't have the energy to duke it out with them.

I'm just outside of Binghamton, in Broome County.
There are homebirth midwives in Ithaca too...
not sure where else as you move upstate more.

Try asking around your Health Food Store--they tend to know stuff like that...
or look and see if there is a naturopath in the area--they might know too
post #14 of 30
6/15/06 at 5:21pm
The page you linked to is about LMs, not CPMs. There's a big difference between LMs and CPMs/DEMs.

The page you linked to states:
Quote:
Under New York State law, licensed midwives are required to establish and maintain a collaborative relationship with physicians, and to practice in accordance with a written agreement with a licensed physician or a hospital.
Here's a link to a page about CPMs:

http://www.cfmidwifery.org/states/states.asp?ST=45

Nothing would please me more than to find out that CPMs may now legally attend homebirths!
post #15 of 30
6/15/06 at 5:31pm
okay...we are quibbling over definitions here...but:
from the link I posted above:
Quote:
Licensed midwives who are also nurses may use the title "nurse-midwives" or "certified nurse-midwife" (CNM). Others use the title "certified midwives" (CM's).
DEM midwives who have not gone through the licensing are not legal in the state. I agree with you on that.

To be licensed, a NON-CNM must complete these requirements
but then at that point they can practice OUTSIDE of the hospital scene--including homebirths.

So the state requires that midwives complete accredited training and stuff...but not that they be CNMs.
post #16 of 30
6/15/06 at 5:42pm
Quote:
Licensed midwives who are also nurses may use the title "nurse-midwives" or "certified nurse-midwife" (CNM). Others use the title "certified midwives" (CM's).
Exactly. There's a big difference between a CPM/DEM and a CM.

It is legal for a CM to attend a homebirth if the written agreement that she is legally required to have with a physician or hospital allows for it. I'll grant you that.
post #17 of 30
6/15/06 at 5:45pm
:
post #18 of 30
6/15/06 at 6:13pm
I agree with Unreal. This is basically what I understand about NYS midwifery laws:

DEMs without any certification may not legally attend homebirths.
CPMs (DEMs who have gone through the certification process) may legally attend homebirths. (I know two midwives who are currently in the process of becoming certified.)
CNMs may legally attend homebirths.
post #19 of 30
6/15/06 at 6:21pm
You guys are confusing CPMs with CMs. My midwife is a CPM but she can not legally attend home births. New York State does not recognize the CPM credential.
post #20 of 30
6/15/06 at 6:33pm
http://www.op.nysed.gov/midwifeqa.htm

Quote:
Does New York State law require that licensed midwives be supervised by a physician?

No. New York State law does not require supervision by a physician. Rather, the law provides that licensed midwives must establish a collaborative practice and maintain a written practice agreement with a physician or hospital and practice in accordance with that agreement. (see also questions 12-15 below)


Does the New York State Education law allow home birth?


New York State law neither prohibits home birth nor requires licensed midwives to participate in them. Patients should discuss the issue of home birth with their LM.


What is the relationship between licensed midwives and physicians?


Licensed midwives are independent practitioners with expertise in the care of essentially healthy women. Under New York State law, licensed midwives are required to establish and maintain a collaborative relationship with physicians, and to practice in accordance with a written agreement with a licensed physician or a hospital. Such agreements provide for physician consultation, collaboration, referral and emergency obstetrical coverage and include written guidelines and protocols. Agreements also include guidelines for identification of pregnancies which are not considered normal and the procedures that are to be followed in such cases. They provide that the judgment of the collaborating physician will prevail as to whether the pregnancy, childbirth or post-partum care is normal and whether the woman is essentially healthy, unless otherwise provided in the practice protocol. Licensed midwives consult with, co-manage or refer patients to collaborating physicians when a woman's and/or a newborn's condition indicates the need.
Those underlined bits seem a bit contradictory to me.
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Homebirth
This thread is locked  
Mothering › Forums › Pregnancy and Birth › Birth and Beyond › Homebirth › Homebirth in upstate NY