Williamsport

[Ossom]

Some resources in the "Williamsport" area.

[MountainMidwife]

I will Travel here as well if no other homebirth midwife options are found. I travel up to two hours away for births. My office is in Long Pond Pa.

[yakamoz]

Quoting MountainMidwife:

I will Travel here as well if no other homebirth midwife options are found. I travel up to two hours away for births. My office is in Long Pond Pa.

Hi!

I have been putting feelers out for a midwife for a couple weeks now, and I may have even contacted you directly (I can't remember at this point, as I have sent out numerous emails and have started contacting people that have been recommended).  I have definitely been to your website, though, as Long Pond, PA definitely rings a bell!

I'm becoming increasingly frustrated that Pennsylvania is loaded with excellent midwives who attend HBACs, but none of them seems to serve in my area. 

It's not even that I want a homebirth.   It's an undisturbed, out-of-hospital birth that I'm after, and I'm perfectly willing to travel to a hotel that would be a reasonable distance for both me and the midwife, provided emergency services were also nearby in the unlikely event they would be needed.  In fact, that would even be preferable.  I wouldn't feel comfortable giving birth with my parents around (I would be staying at their house).  They would inject too much fear into the environment, and that is the last thing I need.

I was thinking of traveling to Lewisburg (ideal) or Danville, but Williamsport would be another possibility, as would Bloomsburg.  I know there are hospitals in these places in case they are needed.  All are within a 40 minute drive of my parents' house, and I really wouldn't feel comfortable traveling any further than that while in labor.  I'm hoping one of these cities would be an acceptable location for a hands-off midwife who attends HBACs, but I'm becoming discouraged with all of the negative replies I'm receiving.

This was my original message that I sent to the leaders of all PA ICAN chapters:

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Dear ICAN Leaders,

I am hoping you can point me in the direction of midwives and doulas who might be a good match for me. I am originally from central PA, but I teach overseas. I had a horrible birth experience abroad with my first that resulted in a very unnecessary, traumatic cesarean. I have been working through the trauma and depression for the past two and half years and feel like I have come to terms with what happened. However, I wish to do everything within my power to avoid a scenario that even remotely resembles the first birth experience I had. I am very newly pregnant (5 weeks tomorrow!), and barring any issues with the placenta's location, it looks like I will be traveling to the States to have this baby (EDD September 9).

My foreign insurance would not even come close to covering the cost of a vaginal or cesarean birth in an American hospital, so if a hospital transfer is TRULY necessary, I will be paying out of pocket. That's a risk I'm willing to take, but I'm worried about hiring a midwife and then being scared or bullied into a hospital transfer for a reason that does not truly warrant medical attention. I am well aware that many midwives transfer care based on protocol alone and not on genuine need (i.e. merely going 42 weeks + 1 day, baby being in a breech position, however favorable it may be, and other situations that are simply a variation of normal). I don't want my birth to be hindered by a midwife who fears anything that veers beyond a textbook labor and birth yet is still within the scope of normal.

I want to hire a midwife who trusts birth, understands all of the variations of normal, and makes decisions to transfer to a hospital based on true medical necessity, not due to the presence of a single "risk factor" without any actual evidence of danger to the mother or baby. I want to hire a midwife who fully shares my philosophy of hands-off, unhindered birth so that IF she feels a hospital transfer is necessary, I would feel comfortable with her judgment and not second guess her decision.

I am seeking a midwife and a doula who serve in central Pennsylvania, approximately halfway between Williamsport and Harrisburg (Northumberland, Sunbury, Lewisburg, Danville area). I would specifically like to find a midwife who does not perform routine vaginal exams, believes in a woman's ability to have a successful HBAC whether she is 100 or 300 pounds, whether she births at 37 or 43 weeks, whether baby is head-down or breech, and, in the absence of any signs of infection, will not put a time limit on laboring with ruptured membranes. None of these things in and of themselves warrants a hospital transfer, and I need a midwife who agrees. I need a midwife who would be okay with an older sibling being present at the birth. I need a midwife who believes in me and will respect me and my birthing space. I need a midwife I can feel safe with. I need a midwife whose judgment I can trust.

If you can recommend some midwives and doulas who might be a good fit, I would be extremely grateful.

***************

As I'm sure you can imagine, I don't want to travel halfway around the world to end up with a midwife who practices out of fear of litigation instead of sound judgment, which is why, in my original email message, I specified so many variables that in and of themselves do not warrant a hospital transfer.  I'm not all about homebirth-or-die, but I am all about being respected and not being jerked around by the system.  I just want to be supported emotionally, left undisturbed if I so desire, and intervention applied only if absolutely necessary.

If you think we might be a good fit for one another or if you can recommend a midwife who is, I would be very appreciative.