Thursday, March 3, 2011

a friend's website

Sam's story

Little Sam was born on May 17th, 2010. His mother had an abruption and the homebirth midwife (CPM) missed an abruption until it was almost too late for little Sam. He was saved, but suffered major brain damage. His mother barely made it. Sam's case was heard in front of the same board who heard my case- the case is still open, although they gave probated suspension..but the midwife will almost assuredly be arguing the ruling.
Sam's midwife was Cathy Rude ---- surprisingly enough- also an ATM board member (just like Faith Beltz)

7 comments:

Unknown said...

Oh my god. Is there some sort of institution that resides over this board? Clearly there is something fundamentally wrong/incompetent/(corrupt?) with the ATM board. Are they regulated at all by an outside source? Someone needs to step in here and review their ability to license midwifes. Unbelievable.

Unknown said...

This is ridiculous. Did no one tell them a review board is not about comforting people who screw up, but about preventing future screw-ups?

asplendidtime said...

*sigh* I want to cry. :(

Off to read his story.

~Rebecca

asplendidtime said...

Oh wow Liz, this aunt's testimony, sounds just like yours http://christianmidwifescasualty.webs.com/spreadtheword.htm
at the bottom she lists and discusses the obvious signs of abruption, even to say the MW didn't believe her when she said how bad the pain was and didn't decrease btw Cx... :( So they had her get in the hot tub, to try to help her manage extreme pain...

So much for Midwives really listening to a client. Not meaning sarcasm, just so sad.

~Rebecca

Anne said...

I love kkoy's comment. I agree w/ you, too - asplendidtime.
Yes, this "board" is more like a "support group" for the midwives that screwed up.

merda taurorum animas conturbit said...

Not fit for purpose.

If the board cannot, will not perform the task that one would reasonably expect them to do, then then there is no point to their existence other than lip service and papering over cracks.

If they cannot do the job then an independent outside agency needs be put in place to police the "profession" ASAP.

What foul work they do, running around hurling verbal camouflage over the graves of tiny babies for the sake of protecting their income.

Johanna S said...

Just found your blog today via Rixa's blog. First of all, I am so very sorry for your loss. As a mommy, I cannot even begin to imagine your pain. I am so sorry to read that you encountered a midwife who did not do her job correctly/did not receive the necessary education. I do think it is our job as mothers to prepare for labor, but I also think that we hire midwives because they know what to look for. I think laboring is enough of a job and so we should not need to do all the analyzing and noticing one needs to do to know if something is going wrong. That's why we hire professionals! My husband and I are trying to conceive #2. I had what felt like a chaotic hospital birth. As we try to get pregnant, I find myself trying to decide between a home birth and a birth at a birth center that is attached to a hospital. Reading your story showed me the other side of home birth, the side I had not really read much about. Right this second, I cannot tell you what we will choose, but I can tell you that I very much appreciate you sharing your sad story because it has given me a lot to think about and specific questions to ask the midwives I interview in the future. One specific question your story prompted is "what are the signs you keep an eye out for, signs that would mean we should transfer?" If I get an iffy, not thorough answer, she simply is not the midwife for us. To be honest, I am hoping I really like the staff at the local birth center that is connected to a hospital because I think I would feel more comfortable doing that. Gentle hugs to you and your family.