Hunting Witches: Midwifery in America.....

[Roosbabe]

I'm currently reading Born in the USA by Marsden Wagner.  Marsden Wagner is an M.D., a perinatologist, and an epidimiologist.  He worked for 20 years for the World Health Organization (WHO) in charge of Women and Children health.  This is just a little portion from his book in the fifth chapter intitled: Hunting Witches:  Midwifery in America

    "After working as a practicing physician for several years, I became a perinatologist and perinatal scientist, as well as a full-time faculty member at the Schools of Medicine and Public Health at the California State Health Department.  In that capacity, I learned that in a rural town of Madera, California, doctors had decided that they no longer wanted to attend births in the Madera County Hospital.  They complained that it took too much of their time and didn't pay enough.  So in 1968, two out-of-state midwives were recruited by the county to fill the gap.  After two years of midwifery practice at the hospital, the rate of babies dying around the time of birth in the Madera County hospital was cut in half.  Alarmed that their style of maternity care was being made to look bad, the doctors in town agreed that they would once again attend births in the hospital if the two midwives were fired.  The hospital fired the midwives, the doctors returned, and soon the rate of babies dying around birth rose to it's earlier higher levels.
     This natural experiment comparing the safey of doctors and midwives left me confused and full of questions, because, in spite of my years of experience as a physician, I had no real knowledge of midwifery.  Who are these midwives?  How are they trained?  Could it be that, as seen in Madera County, they are generally safer birth attendants than doctors?  Through no fault of their own, Americans, including obstetricians, have little understanding of midwifery.  In the early years of the twentieth century, a witch-hunt against midwives in the United States and Canada resulted in the elimination of midwifery as a legitimate health profession.  The profession has gained ground in the last two decades, but most people today have no personal experience with midwives and have been exposed to considerable misinformation about midwifery.
     From California I left for Europe, where I joined the staff of the World Health Organization.  There I was exposed to the essential role midwives play in maternity care in other highly industrialized countries and in developing countries.  I also learned much about the profession, including the fact that in every other highly industrialized county, midwives are highly valued health care professionals."

When we decided to go with a midwife for Cal's pregnancy and birth after a year and a half of research, we got all sorts of responses. Ranging from "Wow! That's great!" to "Ya'll are crazy!". Seems like far too many Americans have spent no time reading about the subject of midwives and homebirth to develope any kind of opinion and yet their opinions are so strong. If only the truth could be told. Like that statistically the mortality rate for midwives attending low risk homebirth is the same as OBs with lowrisk women in hospitals (MANY studies have been done on this subject). But that all the studieis showed that the morbidity rates are much lower for homebirth. Something to look into, in my opinion.

[Gem0614]

Mar. 1, 2009 at 5:46 PM

Do you have any books you can lend me or that you know are at the library to recomend for me?

[kellybelly7570]

Mar. 1, 2009 at 5:52 PM

"Seems like far too many Americans have spent no time reading about the subject of midwives and homebirth to develope any kind of opinion and yet their opinions are so strong."  ---  This is true for many subjects, unfortunately.  People tend to get information on one side of a subject, and form an opinion before getting information on the other side.  Sounds like a great book you're reading!

[Roosbabe]

Mar. 1, 2009 at 5:59 PM

Gretchen, I have many you could borrow!  I suggest "Pushed" (mine is lent out for now), Ina May's Guide to Chidlbirth, and Born in the USA (reading it for the first time right now).  There are many others that I would like to read but haven't yet.  Any book you want, if the local library doesn't have it, you can suggest it and they will bring it in for you!  I did that with Pushed a couple years ago.

Kelly-  I'm sure you have experienced this with homeschooling (which I'm researching currently).  It is so sad.  I find myself just keeping my mouth shut in public because the ignorance make me want to swear and yell!!!

(Original Poster)

[pumpooga]

Mar. 1, 2009 at 10:31 PM

I liked Mr. Wagner's discussion in Orgasmic Birth :) He's got a lot to be be noted on.

[MrsFive]

Mar. 1, 2009 at 11:01 PM

Birth in a birth center for me is outlawed in the state of FL even though I have a proven pelvis after two sections as of February 2009.  I have to have to have a hospital birth or a home birth. A woman I met at the birth center was also a VBAC and she was due in February, just days after that ruling was made.  Instead of having the baby in the birth center, Shari (midwife) delivered her baby in the parking lot in the car.  INSANITY!!  I planned on having a homebirth for baby number 4, but it just really upsets me that I can't go to the birth center if I wanted to.  Also, the FDA confiscated my chart for the placenta pill scandal Shari has been enduring. I made the pills myself - she just gave me the placenta!! Here is a link to the article. 

http://www.miamiherald.com/living/health/costs/story/835369.html

My proven pelvis and I are going to stay home with #4! I <3 midwifery