I saw my midwife in chains

Seeing a loved one shackled is probably the worst nightmare of many and something I had hoped never to see.  Isn't it enough to shoulder the burden of awareness that women, men and children are unjustly hauled off to jail on a regular basis in the U.S. and worldwide?

And then it happened.  I stood in the courtroom and watched my beloved midwife enter in a pink jumpsuit.  I don't know why I expected them to make an exception for her...  I suppose that is what every parent/friend thinks as they watch a loved one enter in shackles, not my baby/friend/lover...  But there she was, handcuffs around her wrists, ankles, and a rope of chain around her waist...  Hands that had helped so many babies safely enter this world, hands that reassuringly stroked and held women in the throws of doubt during a long labor, a waist often seen from behind as Karen kneeled next to an emerging baby, feet that slipped quietly out of bed in the middle of the night, on their way in service to women...

My midwife is being prosecuted for manslaughter. A disheartening investigation ensued after the tragic death of a client’s baby. Karen is being charged with involuntary manslaughter and other felonies for her role as a homebirth midwife.  She will be on trial for these charges beginning June 7^th and is facing up to 30 years in jail.

Did you know that charges are regularly brought against midwives in the United States?  Charges are often brought because it is illegal for them to practice the profession they are thoroughly trained to practice (see The Big Push, an organization working to change this).  I have noticed that charges are also brought when, instead of following the medical model, the midwife honors the informed choice of a family (even when the informed choice is evidence based). If you have ever been urged to be induced or scared into a c-section for a "big baby" or heard of court-ordered cesarean-section (see National Advocates for Pregnant Women, for example), you know that the medical community is not always a strong supporter of informed choice in practice, even when it is evidence-based.  

In 2005, I was pregnant with my second and hungering for a vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC).  I was told that if I gave birth in a hospital, I would need to be hooked up to a continuous fetal monitor.  As someone who believes firmly that hospitals are only for the sick and is a do it myself/on my own terms kind of girl when it comes to birth, I knew that being tethered to a monitor in an unfamiliar, rather then intimate, environment, would mostly likely lead to a second cesarean.  I was told I was not a birth center candidate since I had had a cesarean with my first baby and a recent insurance change prohibited birth centers from attending VBAC clients.  

I had done the research and understood the evidence concluded that a vaginal birth after cesarean was safer then a repeat cesarean, especially if more children were planned (see, for example, Childbirth Connection).  As an informed consumer, I chose my best chance for a vaginal birth, a home birth with Karen Carr.  Karen put her neck out there for me and as a result, I found my full power as a woman and as a mother. As a result of that VBAC, I had a much higher chance of a healthy pregnancy and safe birth when I found out that I was pregnant with my third and now, with my fourth.

Karen needs your help.  Please visit In Service to Women and donate what you can, even if it is only $5. Please, join your local midwifery organization, if your state has one, or join Citizen's for Midwifery or the MAMA Campaign or...  Midwifery needs you.

 

Comments

[Jaimee]

The first part of your post had me in tears. I am devastated by these charges against Karen. I had no idea this was happening until a few days ago. Can you give us more details? Where is the trial?

[Tammi]

Makes me sick to my stomach picturing her like that. Thank you for being there for her.

[sortacrunchymom]

This is devastating news. Karen attended my third son's birth and it was the most powerful experience of my life. Do you know if she will be released before the trial, or will she be jailed until June? This is terrible!

[Kat]

Jaimee and Soracrunchymom, I will put you on my email list so that you are sent details for where/how/when you can support Karen. Thankfully she is not in jail now but out on bail. Tammi, thanks for your comment.

[Elena]

Please add me to your email list! Thanks!

[Erin Ellis]

Kat, thanks for writing about this. Reading your experience created a very strong visual (and emotional) picture for me. My heart goes out to everyone involved. I hope the family finds healing in their own way, and I hope everyone can find it in their hearts to be compassionate with one another.

[Kat]

Elena, done!

Erin, my prayers are that in the end, somehow, some good will come of this situation for moms, babies AND midwives.

[Diana Howes]

I wish there was a "religious group" for all natural alternatives like midwifery or [w]holistic alternative healthcare - like nutrition to treat illness & would cover the huge liabilities like these so that people wouldn't loose their lives from tragedies like this. Up to this point it appears compiled is one unethical act upon a tragic outcome.

[Mamanourish]

Karen was my midwife for my twins' home waterbirth. She was the only midwife who would do a home twin birth at the time and traveled to Central PA, so that I could peacefully birth my babies at home. If it weren't for midwives like Karen, we wouldn't have the option to have such "high risk" births as twins & breech babies @ home. Such a ridiculous thing to prosecute such a caring & kind soul!

[Dr. Kim Osborne]

You know the whole fractured system just makes me SICK. How Is it companies like Merck can knowingly market and sell a drug for nearly four years, like Vioxx, account for nearly 40,000 sudden cardiac DEATHS and no one is ever held accountable for anything and they still kept the financial benefit of marketing this in 80 countries to multiple millions of people. The best place they can focus their time is this poor woman. REALLY!!

[Bonnie B Matheson]

This is a good place to begin fighting to make birth the property of mothers. Not midwives, mothers. Women have the right and it should be a law if it is not already to birth their babies in any way that suits them.

For many that means the hospital. But for others it means home. I believe that home birth is safer for the mother and the baby.

Doctors who have NEVER EVER SEEN a home birth do not know what they are talking about when they condemn the custom. Women need to feel safe when giving birth. If they feel safe birth generally proceeds smoothly. But if they become threatened or afraid labor often stalls. In hospitals this is a great opportunity for interventions. And eventually more than a third of women who go to the hospital will suffer a C-section. (and I DO mean suffer)

Midwives are not doctors (thank God) and they do not practice the medical model of care (which is so flawed and full of "holes" that it really should be revamped. Doctors use the term evidence based for things that absolutely aren't. The Midwives model of care is a non-medical waiting procedure where nurturing and calm acceptance of the vaguaries of birth give women the flexibility to find their perfect birth.

Midwives help with this, but women can actually do it alone. Birthing a baby is a natural act.

[Kat]

Bonnie, Absolutely! I am hoping that the good that comes out of this whole deal is that women stand up for their right to informed choice AND (I hope!!!) organize to get a good law to support this choice in Maryland.

[Desiree M.]

I have been praying for you midwife. This breaks my heart.

[Andrea]

Gah! What is WRONG with our country? Why do we strip people's choices from them and prosecute those who give an alternative path? I don't know who is prosecuting this poor woman, but it isn't fair. THIS is why a universal health care system scares me to pieces; the legal and health care system in this country is too backward to allow people choices! I will pray for this lovely midwife's freedom, especially for her, but also for those of us who are "shackled" as well when our midwives' rights are taken away.

[7wekenzwanger]

wow.. I'm speachless..

[Topamax Lawsuit]

Preparing the nursery for a baby's arrival is one of the things that mothers delight in as I've experienced with most of my friends. Its amazing how a mother finds time to do things like this, on top of ensuring a healthy pregnancy and continuing with her daily routines whether she is working or a housewife. These are just a few things that prove that bringing up a family is not just an out of the blue decision for most people. So you could just imagine the frustration when your pregnancy and your baby is jeopardized because some pharmaceuticals failed to issue an early warning that their drug could pose risk to infants while taken during pregnancy. One such medicine is the anticonvulsant Topamax, which has been marketed since 1996 and yet only came out with the report that one of the Topamax side effects are birth defects.

[ultrasound supplies]

Sonography is used routinely in obstetric appointments during pregnancy, but the FDA discourages its use for non-medical purposes such as fetal keepsake videos and photos, even though it is the same technology used in hospitals.

[Natural Health]

Very interesting article. I Just though that you really know your topic very well to write this. Many of the benefits we derive from this topic. Thank you for sharing.