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I'm just about fed up with trying to get midwifery going here in Northern Louisiana. We have some of the most restrictive practice laws in the nation, and while midwives are licensed, it is darned near impossible to get a license issued and maintain your license in good standing because good standing requires a backup relationship with an OB who will see your clients twice in their pregnancies *and* go on the record agreeing that the client is a good candidate for a homebirth. If I ever do get licensed here, I will be the only midwife in the area, where there is a moderate desire for midwives (the midwife before me did 10+ births in her first year and I would probably have the same, at least). I'm also looking at the possibility of becoming an in-network provider through an insurance connection I have, which would offer more births, though at a lesser price. So many ifs, though...
DH and I are seriously considering a move to Austin, TX, a state where I already have a license (because right now I'm only 20 minutes from the Texas border and because I completed my apprenticeship and training in Texas).
Part of me feels like I'm abandoning women here by even considering this and it feels like I'm just giving up. On the other hand, I've spent the last 5 months in a depression staying up nights thinking about how I'm going to find a backup doctor and practice here, whether my license will be suspended the moment I don't call a doctor because a woman's water has broken and her baby isn't engaged (yes, that's in our laws). I don't know if I can make a career here without going crazy.
DH and I are seriously considering a move to Austin, TX, a state where I already have a license (because right now I'm only 20 minutes from the Texas border and because I completed my apprenticeship and training in Texas).
Part of me feels like I'm abandoning women here by even considering this and it feels like I'm just giving up. On the other hand, I've spent the last 5 months in a depression staying up nights thinking about how I'm going to find a backup doctor and practice here, whether my license will be suspended the moment I don't call a doctor because a woman's water has broken and her baby isn't engaged (yes, that's in our laws). I don't know if I can make a career here without going crazy.