Now, they are startingto think Midwifes are ok
But then they werent "considered" safe and all.
They were a Fad, etc.
You had to look for one hard and never did they have hospital rights. You had to deliver at home.
Same with P.A's and all. Now they are going that way because its cheaper to hire a midwife and a P.A.
Different trends I guess
sandi

When was this, Sandi? Who are "they"? Certainly not the docs I know. They are the biggest fans of midwives. Also~how can midwives be a fad? Midwives were the original providers of maternity care. It is the docs who have chimed in only in the last 300 years or so.

I also wanted to add, the reasons midwives are good returns on insurance investments are because we use fewer interventions, have fewer c/sections, and get sued less often.

I get reimbursed the same amount for a normal vaginal birth as a doc.

Robsia~I guess you are getting a little flavor of some of the issues facing midwifery in the US today. Probably odd to you, as there are so many midwives in Europe. The US is 17th in childbirth mortality and morbidity...pretty sad considering all of the technology we use. THe countries with the best childbirth mortality and morbidity? The ones who use midwives the most.

I am an RN and the last 5 yrs. of my nursing career were in labor and delivery. I have my Bachelor of Sciences in Nursing and yes we did study a lot on Obstetrics in school. We also were taught some training on the duties and training of Nurse Midwives. Feel free to ask any questions that you might need. In the area where I live, the OB doctors are on call and sometimes don't make it to the hospital in time to deliver a baby. I have delivered about 30 myself.

Originally Posted by midwife:
Robsia~I guess you are getting a little flavor of some of the issues facing midwifery in the US today. Probably odd to you, as there are so many midwives in Europe. The US is 17th in childbirth mortality and morbidity...pretty sad considering all of the technology we use. THe countries with the best childbirth mortality and morbidity? The ones who use midwives the most.

You're right - it does seem very odd to me.

Midwives here are qualified professionals.

To hear them considered as a 'fad' is like it would sound to you to hear doctors described as quacks or unprofessional. I'm bristling for you.

However, if there are such things as unqualified midwives, which is what I assume you mean by 'lay' midwives then I suppose it would be possible for anyone to set themselves up as a 'midwife' although I would imagine such lay persons would not be employed as professional health care givers.

In those circumstances, I can see why the profession would have a questionable reputation. It would be as if just anyone could call themselves a doctor without possessing the qualifications or training.

But I am very surprised than unqualified midwives are even allowed to call themselves midwives - another term would be more appropriate, then everyone would know that a midwife was a trained, qualified professional - nothing iffy or faddy at all.

Yes...who is qualified to use the term "midwife"? That is a good question...The circumstances and education of licensed midwives is very state specific. There are actually states in the US where homebirth is illegal. Since it is illegal, the attenders of homebirths must stay under the radar. There is no mechanism for education or licensure. Nurse midwives practice in all 50 states, plus the US territories...but not all nurse midwives attend homebirths. I don't because the call time would kill me.

I checked out your website and I am impressed with the number of words you write on a regular basis! I need to get into a habit of working on my manuscript every day, no matter what!

I've only been able to write a lot over the last three weeks because I've been off school for the Easter holidays. I teach in a private school (state schools only get two weeks - ha ha!)and I'm back to work on Monday so it'll drop.

It took me a year to write the first 55,000 words and three weeks to write the last 50,000! I set myself a goal you see, to be at 100,000 by the time I went back to school, and I did it!!

I'm going down to the south coast on 31st May to research the local detail and my next target is to have written 140,000 by then which hopefully will mean I will have finished the first draft. I don't know eaxctly how many it will end up being but I don't want to go more than 140,000. It's amazing howe many people I'm having to contact for research.

I had to email the police last night to find out about panic buttons and the person I was corresponding with was very interested in my book and sounded very impressed with the concept.

In the end they couldn't really help me, but I hope they can help me with my next enquiry. When I go down there I want to know if they'll let me sit in a cell at the police station to get the feel of it - in one part of the story two of the characters had arrested and, me being a good girl, I've never been arrested so I don't know what cells are like.

When (not if) I get it published I shall have a lot to put in the acknowledgements bit at the front.

Definitely WHEN it is published! Is it your first book? I am working on my first. It is a thriller and I am just at 50,000 words. My aim is 75,000....much shorter than where you are! I am very impressed. Best of luck with it.

Yes, it's my first. It will defiitely need editing though. When I'm reading through it I think some bits are great and even I'm really gripped but some bits are a bit slow so they need tightening up. Still - get the first draft finished first! Maybe I can shorten it a bit - 140,000 is a lot of words.

Good luck with yours too. It's not easy, is it?

I have started stuff before and got bored and never got past about 10,000. The difference with this one is that I had planned the story out before whereas the others I was winging it.

It's like a journey and I know where I'm going and roughly how to get there - the fun is putting in all the details on the way.

OK - have written the birth scene. Now bearing in mind I never gave birth the 'usual' way - I had a c/s (although I did have 3 hours of contractions) - does this sound remotely realistic?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yana knelt on the bed, gripping the metal bed frame and groaning as the pain peaked almost unbearably before finally subsiding. She exhaled shudderingly as the pain rippled away and then tensed as she felt the next one begin almost immediately, breathing an inarticulate protest. She panted through the contraction, gritting her teeth and squeezing her eyes shut, dropping her head as she concentrated on the pain. She was vaguely aware that Robert was hovering around her but thankful that he made no effort to touch her. Flitting around the fringes of her physical pain, ready to insinuate itself into her conscious mind the moment the pain gave her any respite, was the agonising, terrifying thought that her baby probably would not survive – she knew it was too soon and babies born too soon almost always died – and hers was a full two moons too soon. Tears leaked down her cheeks and she almost welcomed the next contraction, the need to concentrate on the pain driving out all other thoughts and fears.

The woman dressed in blue was there again – speaking softly and gently. She felt fingers inside her and then the woman was at her head, nodding and smiling, speaking encouraging words. An overwhelming need to push gripped her as her muscles conspired to rid her body of the small interloper which had made it its home for the past seven months. A new pain, a hot burning pain, made itself felt and the woman took Yana’s hand and guided it downwards – Yana sobbed as she felt the warm rounded head of her baby under her fingers. She took a deep breath and pushed, screaming as the pain crested and she felt the head slither out. She panted briefly, resting, before the next contraction came. This one was almost easy, the rest of the tiny body slid out into the woman’s waiting hands, and Yana slumped on the bloody bed, her eyes closed, her face turned away from Robert.

She heard talking, a small commotion in the corner of the bland room and shut her ears, curling up on her side and pulling the thin blanket over her. She felt a touch on her shoulder and turned her head to see the woman in blue holding a small bundle in her arms. She shook her head, she didn’t want to see her dead baby – she just wished they’d take it away – but she realised the woman was smiling gently. She glanced at Robert, who was nodding at her proudly, his face almost splitting with his smile. And then – then she heard the barest whimper and sat up suddenly, her heart suddenly racing with an awful hope. The woman pulled back the blue blanket and Yana stared in awe at the tiniest baby boy she had ever seen – his little head turned, his fist came up to his mouth and small noises issued from his mouth.

Yana held out her arms wordlessly and the woman put her son into them. Yana stared at him, his chest rising gently with each incredible breath. He was alive – miraculously, wonderfully, he was alive! His softly rounded cheek begged for a caress and Yana’s finger gently traced the irresistible curve. He was so beautiful, his long thick lashes lay on his smooth skin like the frayed edge of finest black silk. His fine hair framed the perfect contours of his face, calm in blissful repose. Yana’s body was almost ready to burst with the love she suddenly felt flooding her being. She wanted to scream it from the windows, to grab people and forcibly make them come and look at him and say “Look – isn’t he gorgeous!” at them until they agreed, if only to get away from the mad woman.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

First draft - be kind. :)