midwife woes

[smokeylo]

Hi folks,
Just want to get this off my chest. I'm feeling discouraged.

I plan to have a homebirth, and luckily know several midwives in the area who can help out (most are DEMs attending "illegally" in this state, I am not at legal risk but they are). Two weeks ago I interviewed the one CPM who has worked to get her CNM licensure, and decided to hire her (without other interviews) because she was comfortable with a baby going slightly postdates, and my cats liked her, and she was really cool.

I found out through some friends that she is in some legal trouble - she is being charged with practicing med w/o a license. Because of this, she will likely lose her nursing license in December, and with the scrutiny on her, will have to retire from midwifery. :

We were supposed to have my first prenatal tonight (at 12w1d, geez) but she didn't show. I have emailed a few other midwives to do interviews, but this feels very awkward. But I don't want to spend 7 months establishing care with a midwife who can't attend my birth. Now I'm back to the drawing board looking for a midwife practically in my 2nd trimester and I just want this to be over and done with! AND I WANT TO HEAR MY BABY'S HEARTBEAT!

/rant

[Mama2-4]

Lauren,
You may want to check out the acnm.org site. I went on and did a quick search for CNM's in your area and this was the list that came back. http://www.acnm.org/find.cfm

If you are dead set on a home birth there may be some difficulty finding someone, but if you would birth in a birthing center with a CNM it looks doable!
Good luck to you. I would love a home birth, and there are a few CNM's in my area that do it, but I also totally love my CNM and she will not do a home birth. So, it looks like I will most likely end up in the birthing center again. Our last birth was great and the birthing center was wonderful, but I would just love to be home with the rest of the family present.

[smokeylo]

There are no birthing centers in my area. There used to be one about an hour away, but it closed. There is a practice of CNMs at the local hospital, but their c/s rate is 25%, just way too high to make any sense to me. I will probably go with one of the DEMs, I just wish I truly had my CHOICE or care providers, and that ridiculous laws weren't messing with my personal decisions for my family. We'll see, I need to meet with my current midwife and see if there's a plan we can hatch.

[steph117]

Oh, GOOD LUCK with that Lauren...how frustrating this must feel for you!! What a bummer about your midwife... I really hope that one of the others that you interview strikes a great chord with you, quickly. We interviewed 3 people and liked them all a lot, though the last one was the "OH! This is her" - but I was relieved to know we had options. So here's hoping the others go over well with you, too!

Long-distance support...

(I hear you on the heartbeat...we just heard it for the first time last night, at 11 W 5 days...waiting feels so frustrating! I hope you get to hear it soon! Have them bring a doppler to the interview... OR, just have your midwife listen, & then start interviewing the others!)

[LoveChild421]

I hope everything works out for you and you get a midwife you love just as much as this one. That's awful she didn't show for your appt! I hope she at least calls and lets you know whats up. The midwife who helped me with my son's birth was also charged with Practicing medicine w/o a license (homebirth midwifery is illegal or "alegal" here too) and she was cleared being that there had never been any complaints against her. Your midwife may not have to retire, but she may choose to.

[smokeylo]

She did call with profuse apologies and we rescheduled for tomorrow afternoon. Hopefully we'll get the whole story and come up with some kind of plan to make it work. I really like her!

[Mama2-4]

Great! I am hoping that everything works out for you and you will finally get to hear the baby's heartbeat!

[ScarletBegonias]

awwww, mama

at least she called you and apologized for not showing. i hope everything works out for you and your family and you get the homebirth you want and deserve!