Midwives

Normally, I don't find myself watching the politics of the hospital industry, but this one caught my eye – and it bugs me. While looking through the New York Times, I saw an article that looks to be attacking the profession of the midwife.

I actually see a lot of benefit to the use of a midwife, and the home birthing process. I think the choice of a woman and her family (see emphasis 2 paragraphs down) to have the newborn child(ren) in the comfort of their home is great. A little awkward maybe, but a more personal experience – a little less of the cold hospital mentality. Yes, there could be more risk if something went wrong – but you're at risk in the hospital too – more on that in a little bit. Besides, just think of the money you will save! Whether or not you have insurance, getting that growth removed from the abdomen can put a nice dent in your bank account.

Back to the story… Apparently, there is trouble brewing in Bloomington, Indiana. The article says:

According to Indiana law, though, the midwife who assisted Ms. Hendrix-Petry, Mary Helen Ayres, committed a felony punishable by up to eight years in prison. Ms. Ayres was, according to the state, practicing medicine and midwifery without a license.

OK, I can see where it can be illegal to practice medicine without a license. Needing a license to be a midwife is news to me (until I read the Wikipedia article linked above), but I can see the reasoning behind it – I don't totally agree with it, but I can see why the medial profession is so uptight about it. I've seen kids born, both naturally and via C-section, and I agree there's a lot of things that can go wrong – but usally don't. Personally, I'd say that needing a master's degree and an RN (with it's own set of pre-reqs) could be a bit much. Apparently my feelings mirror those of some midwives. From the same NYT article:

Midwives see it differently. They say the ability of women to choose to give birth at home is under assault from a medical establishment dominated by men who, for reasons of money and status, resent a centuries-old tradition that long ago anticipated the concerns of modern feminism.

It seems they think there is a conspiracy of some sort by the established medical profession. There may or may not be, but I see it as completely possible. Since the beginning of the 19th century, the practice of midwivery has fallen out of practice, with most of the birthing process happening at hospitals, overseen by doctors, surgeons, and nurses. They have an established money maker, and a reason "to be" and feel needed – making the use of midwives cuts into this. If they can make it as hard as possible for midwives to practice, and keep the entry costs high (in more ways than just cash), then they can keep more of the business. Up until they brought "feminism" into the picture, they had my agreement. Feminism doesn't have anything to do with it. I don't have the numbers for the ratio of men to women in the medical procession, but from what I've seen, they numbers are about the same. The people doing the act of popping out a baby are always women, and the major majority of the midwives are female – maybe they are just seeing themselves as the "girls club" and are throwing feminism into the mix just to get more emotions and press out of it. Are they trying to use the Political Correctness angle to score points? This type of decision does not just belong to the woman – it involves the whole family, husband, other children, etc. I think the problems are entirely based on money and business, not feminism. Please try to reserve this type of accusation where it's actually deserved.

On the other hand, I'm actually quite surprised to see that the insurance industry isn't jumping in on the side of the midwives! The more time women stay in the hospital, the more money insurance has to pay out. In the past few years, they've been quite insistent on reducing the amount of time the new mommy and baby are allowed to stay – it looks like they're trying to turn the maternity ward into a drive-through!

Some hospitals are trying to emulate the 'at-home' experience. They give the woman a private room suite, room for the husband to stay over – it's basically a hotel suite with an on-call nurse down the hall. With the advent of the drive-through maternity wards, you're out in no time unless you can afford the suite. Why not stay home and skip all that silliness? Stay home and be comfortable! Let the birthing professional come to you! Pregnant women at/near full term don't enjoy stuff like sitting in traffic, having to wait for daily appointments, etc. Next, the doctors like to harp on "what if something goes wrong" like it's impossible to get prompt medical attention. Ummm, if the midwife is experienced, she IS the medical attention. Most of the time, if there's a problem that can't be handled there, the telephone is always handy, and within 10 minutes the mom and baby can be dropped off at the ER by an ambulance. But, don't think that just being at the hospital is the answer to any problems. Although it's kept VERY quiet, there are also many problems that begin in the hospital. Why? Simple – it's full of sick people! Yes, there are strict cleanliness guidelines for keeping germs away, but it doesn't always help. Are you in better hands? Guess what – in either the delivery room on in your bedroom, the person doing the delivery is just that – a person. No person is perfect, and everyone makes mistakes. There can be a mistake at either location. Crap happens. Hospitals are known for people leaving sicker than they came in – if they leave while they still breathe.

More interesting reading here, here, here, here, here, and here.

Bottom line? Yes, I agree that the hospital business is trying to get rid of anyone who's not making them money. It is about money – that's what they're in the business for. To use as ONLY a comparison, I see the battle between hospitals and midwives as similar to other industries. The repair shops in new car dealerships are always at odds with independant mechanics. Generic medicines are a thorn in the side of the big pharmacutical companies. Big companies can't stand the competition of the smaller players, and they will do their best to get rid of them – by any (legal?) means possible. Unfortunately, a lot of times this involves getting the legal system to work with the big guys to keep the price of admission so high that their competition can't afford to take any of their business.

What to do? Contact your local government offices? I dunno if there's something useful that can be done at this point. Maybe you can use this info to think about and make for interesting conversation around the watercooler. Maybe it will do something to think about the next time you find friends, yourself, or your S.O. in the family way. Make it more of a family experience and do this at home! If nothing else, you'll be helping out the smaller local businesses too – those big hospitals already pull in enough cash as it is. Whether or not you have new babies in your immediate future, find out if your insurance company covers midwives. If they don't, please complain to them about it – ask for it.