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Midwife charged in DC? Karen Carr, CPM...
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Anonymous
| I'm sorry but I find that many people who are adamant about homebirths to be selfish, without any regard to the baby involved. If something does go wrong as in this case who is called to fix it? The hospital and emergency professionals. The BirthCare Center strongly recommended that the mother not go with a midwife because it was complicated, yet she ignored this advice and went with a midwife anyway. The equipment needed to save a life is in a hospital setting. I do not think it is appropriate for a mother to disregard medical advice just so that she may have the birthing experience she thought would make her happy. I find that to be negligient and I find any midwife who takes these types of cases negligient as well. You heal from a caesarean, but I don't think you ever heal from the loss of a baby. |
Anonymous
Holy sweet jesus! Mom was 43 years old and a primip. I can only imagine how long it took her to conceive (and perhaps carry a healthy pregnancy). This was likely her last shot at becoming a mother with her own egg. Another sad piece of the puzzle. That being said, she was pretty brave to risk that pregnancy for a homebirth. With breeches, it's always a gamble and a bigger baby often means risk of head entrapment (with or without a skilled provider present). I'm sorry but this article - while very homebirth/midwife-friendly- also hurts Karen's case. What provider would take on a breech delivery of a seriously old primip who had been risked out of anywhere else? Not that all women over age 40 should be risked out of the home, but a primip is a different story. An aunt of mine delivered her 6th at age 42...but that was after 5 healthy vaginally births. So sad for this mom's whose dreams of motherhood are also shattered. |
Anonymous
Her lawyer is also misquoted or unfamiliar with licensing in Maryland. It is impossible for a CPM to be licensed in Maryland. They are illegal in Maryland. |
Anonymous
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If this Post article is correct, Carr deserves to be prosecuted for gross negligence. I support a woman's right to choose a birth setting of her preference so long as it does not endanger the life of a child, but choosing to conduct a vaginal breech delivery at home is gross negligence. The risks to the child - and mother - are simply too great.
A lot of women claim that the natural birth movement is about rejecting the fear associated with child birth. I just don't think that's true anymore. Instead, I think it's become a movement that relies on fear of cesarians and hospitals and, as a result, drives women to make decisions that are not in our own best interest or that of our children. It's sad that this mother was so afraid of cesarian delivery that she sought a desperate alternative and now has a dead child. Perhaps the parents didn't understand the gravity of the situation, I don't know. But Carr did. She deserves to be prosecuted for making a negligent decision to participate in this birth. Just because she's provided loving care to so many Washington families doesn't make this lapse of judgment any less wrong. |
Anonymous
| And the mother and father, PP? Should they be charged with gross negligence, as well? They had a hand in the decision making and sounds like they were given facts by Birth Care. |
Anonymous
Yes they should. But that having been said, I think you charge everyone or no one. Unless there are other law re practice of midwives in Va that were broken. |
Anonymous
| What we can't forget is the Karen Carr facilitated this whole thing -- she held herself out as an expert, and once you have an expert who tells you what you want to hear... |
Anonymous
This. Upstream someone commented that they found Ms. Carr to be brave for attempting this birth at home. I am concerned that it was more of a false bravado. I won't say more because I am not the judge or jury, but I am glad the case is going to trial. |
Anonymous
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For all we know, the mom was dead set on a home birth regardless of outcome, and Karen Carr stepped in to try to make sure it went as well as it could.
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Anonymous
| I'm the PP who was risked out by Dr. Tchabo - a breech delivery for a first time birth is really risky. Given the age of the mom, who may not be able to have another baby, this should never have been attempted at home. Head entrapment is a very real risk particularly in someone who has not given birth before. This fear mongering about hospitals is crazy. I did have a VBAC with midwives in a hospital for my second. I really think that there was a high degree of negligence. Had Tchabo been available the delivery would have been in a hospital with an OR nearby if needed. He went through the whole protocol with us. She traded a birth experience for motherhood, it's horrifying. It is very easy to get caught up in the anti hospital birth hysteria though and I do think that doulas and birth assistants play a huge role in essentially creating attitueds that lead to poor decisions. So tragic. If these parents do testify for Carr it is partly out of denial IMHO. |
Anonymous
I doubt that they would have gone with an unassisted home birth if that is what you are suggesting. I also doubt that many other midwives would have taken this mom on at her age and with a breech baby for a first time delivery. It was't brave, it was stupid, quite likely criminally so. |
Anonymous
| Anyone know who the doula was? |
Anonymous
What are you basing this information on? Did you speak with the parents?? |
Anonymous
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One of the few arguments I find reasonable against a scheduled c-section with a high risk delivery is the concerns around placenta accreta and similar issues.
However, given that the mother was 43 and not planning a large family, I'm even more confused as to why this route was taken. |
Anonymous
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"What are you basing this information on? Did you speak with the parents??"
Sometimes you cannot stop people from doing foolish things. You can only emphasize your disapproval of their choices and refuse to endorse their foolishness by your presence in the hopes that this will cause them to deviate from their course of action... |