WI midwife controversy

[RedOakMomma]

This has been all over the news (last night, and this morning on NPR)....my heart just hurts for everyone involved....

Apparently a "midwife" in a suburb of Milwaukee was attending a homebirth there, and the baby got stuck in the birth canal. The baby was in distress, so the midwife tried performing an episiotomy (six times!) with a pair of household scissors. Paramedics were called, but by then the baby was gone. No charges have been filed, and the parents seem to be defending the midwife, but it's a sketchy situation. The midwife had no certification AT ALL, even though there's a recognized midwifery guild here in WI, and midwives across the state are speaking out about the dangers of hiring an uncertified midwife. Apparently here in Wisconsin, you can call yourself a midwife, even with no training and no experience! The authorities did a search of the "midwife's" home, and she had all sorts of medical equipment and birthing drugs she wasn't supposed to have....

It's a horrible situation.

I was glad to see, though, that after telling the awful story on the evening news, that they had a representative of the WI Midwifery Guild (not sure if that's the name exactly)...the Guild is trying to get legislation passed in the state so that only registered, trained midwives can legally call themselves a midwife. Makes sense to me.

Is this news anywhere else in the country?

[corhorvath]

I haven't heard about it. What a horrifying and sad story.

[Tine]

I heard about it here on MDC. There are a few threads going on right now. The one I read was in homebirthing, I think.

As one might expect, there's more than one side to this story. A doula who works w/ this midwife is an MDC member and offers a very different perspective. Also, it seems as though many news stories about this event are not getting the facts straight.

At any rate, I feel just awful for everyone involved: the baby, the family, the midwife, and...well, everyone in WI. Hard to predict how this will affect normal birth in WI.

[nubianamy]

This may be the story:
http://www.jsonline.com/news/wauk/dec05/376793.asp

Sounds like she had already been risked out of a home birth by other midwives. :( How sad.

I think it would be helpful if only certified midwives could call themselves midwives... but the certification process does include some things that take time, like getting a certain amount of experience with well-women care (something lay midwives seldom do).

[etoilech]

There are two sides of this story and the article written above is ignorant to say the least. (Seriously, it's not even possible to give someone 6 episiotomies.) While stories like this are upsetting, you have to remember it is likely to be sensationalized in a big way. Personally, I feel sorry for a lot of midwives practicing in the USA. They are often unjustifiably targeted for modern day witch hunts. If only OB/GYNS were looked at so closely. :irked:

[misseks]

I think it is really sad to have to deal with such a tragedy and then have your story spat al over the papers. The poor family.

{{{hugs and prayers}}}

[New Mama]

The midwife in question was the midwife at my son's birth last August. The press has been seriously WRONG and BIASED in their reporting. The midwife has been doing this for 22 years, from what I understand used to have the certification but let it lapse (she disagrees with the politics involved), and used to be a nurse working in a hospital. She trains other midwives in the area.

The reason another midwife turned the mother down was because it was a VBAC -- not something every midwife may be comfortable with, of course, but not something so awful it would be foolish to take her on. The midwife told someone to call 911 IMMEDIATELY, did NOT perform six episiotomies, did NOT ignore the mom's request to go to the hospital, etc. And the pitocin she administered at the end was to keep the mom from hemorrhaging.

Here's a follow-up article that clarifies a few things: http://www.jsonline.com/news/wauk/dec05/377259.asp

In my case there was a complication right at the end in which my son's arms were tangled up together and the midwife could not pull him out. She deftly turned me over, reached in and rearranged his arms, and delivered him safely. It was done so quickly and calmly that I didn't really even realize there was a problem.

This woman lives to help moms and babies. It's sad not only that she lost one (which could happen ANYWHERE, and the investigation is just beginning), and not only that she won't be able to practice midwifery anymore, but that her name is being unjustly dragged through the mud.

[RedOakMomma]

I don't know the midwife's background training, but the recent reporting on the story makes it seem like it was just an accident... it is too bad the immediate blame went to the midwife, and that the initial reporting was so focused on scandal (the six episiotomies thing).

Still, I read that the mother of the baby that died IS in support of the new state legislation that would require midwives to get certified before being able to use the term "midwife." The mom is very supportive of the midwife in question, and says that in the end there isn't anyone to blame. It was just a tragedy.