Midwife charged in DC? Karen Carr, CPM...

[Anonymous]

I wonder what is taking the media so long to get wind of this story.

[Anonymous]

Don't know specifics about this case, but I do know specifics about lay midwives who operate under the radar. A CPM gets her certificate from a mobile home on a Tennessee commune. I couldn't make this stuff up if I wanted to:

http://www.kentuckymidwives.com/NARM.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't know specifics about this case, but I do know specifics about lay midwives who operate under the radar. A CPM gets her certificate from a mobile home on a Tennessee commune. I couldn't make this stuff up if I wanted to:

http://www.kentuckymidwives.com/NARM.html

Do a little more reading before you act like such a judgmental bitch. The midwives at the Farm have a lot more experience than many of the OBs in this area, and their c section rates, rates of hospital transfer and rates of complications are REALLY low.

Also, "a CPM gets her certificate" - as if there is only one place to do it, ever?

Normally I don't get in a snit about some ignorant person on an anonymous message board, but have a little respect. These ladies know more about birthing babies than you ever will.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

...

I do however get annoyed when people lack compassion and make speculations without having all the facts. You have no idea what happened, and the fact that the baby was born breech could be entirely irrelevant. Maybe there was some other health issue and the baby wouldn't have survived anyway, maybe it was something that we have no idea about. So to imply that "this wouldn't have happened if..." is not only ignorant, it shows a lack of compassion.

I am sure the parents will "what if, what if" until the day they die. So even if it was the midwifes fault, they really don't need your "this could have been prevented!!!" commentary. It's not helpful.

And as for why would Karen be charged? Wake up and learn a thing or two about this country. Parents have been charged in this country for having a homebirth and then calling an ambulance when the baby was fine. Midwives have been charged for the same reason. Ask the licensed midwife in Cali who is going through this. So really, I need more details before I make a judgment call about anything.

Really, you have no idea who is reading this board. I hope that one day if you find yourself in a tough situation, you will be shown more compassion than what you are showing. That goes for every other know-it-all Nancy on here.

I think you need to step back and appreciate what this forum is for. It is to discuss hard issues. It doesn't mean I lack compassion for the family OR for Karen. Or that I don't have any idea about what goes on in this country. Not sure why you felt the need to attack me personally about this. Having an open and honest discussion about these types of scenarios is a GOOD thing. Women should be informed of the good AND bad about all their child birth options. I have no doubt that the baby could also have died in the hospital, but you also need to acknowledge the possibility that the baby - had it been born via c-section (in a hospital) - it may very well have survived.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wonder what is taking the media so long to get wind of this story.

I feel like this is something they'd be all over. All very dramatic.

I did find her case in the Alexandria court records. Looks like she was indicted on the 14th of March.

Interestingly, it looks like the state has subpoenaed Dr. Tchabo, the one doctor known for considering breech deliveries.

Trial is set for June.

[Anonymous]

This whole thing is just heartbreaking, on so many different levels.

As tragic as it is, I hope there is not a backlash against certified nurse midwives, doulas, and others who support non-medical births whether in hospitals or at home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wonder what is taking the media so long to get wind of this story.

I feel like this is something they'd be all over. All very dramatic.

I did find her case in the Alexandria court records. Looks like she was indicted on the 14th of March.

Interestingly, it looks like the state has subpoenaed Dr. Tchabo, the one doctor known for considering breech deliveries.

Trial is set for June.

I think a few things are at play in the media taking awhile to get ahold of the story. Mainly, the fringe in the natural birth community that Karen caters to is VERY protective of her. They have kept this EXTREMELY hush-hush for awhile now.

As someone who had a natural birth herself, I'm very interested to see how this will play out.

I found the court records on the Alexandria court record website, but cannot access it, as I am not a paid subscriber. Is there anyone who is a paid subscriber who could summarize exactly what is said to have happened? I am intersted to see what Tchabo thinks of this woman when the case goes to trial in June. Interestingly, the owner of Birthcare got a subpoena to appear too. Birthcare does not deliver breech births at home or at their birth center, and transferes women with breech babies to the hospital, so I would imagine that she is not in favor of doing this sort of thing at home.

[Anonymous]

NP. The mom was risked out by Birth Care and called the local midwives and Dr. Tchabo to see who could serve her in doing a breech vaginal birth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP. The mom was risked out by Birth Care and called the local midwives and Dr. Tchabo to see who could serve her in doing a breech vaginal birth.

Thank you so much - did Dr. Tchabo say he didn't want to do it? (I know he only does like 2 out of the 3 possible kinds of breech, for safety concerns).

[Anonymous]

Most Drs., Tchabo included, won't do footling breech deliveries. He probably only does frank breech.

I hadn't realized one of the names I was looking at on the list was the BirthCare owner. Definitely several fetal medicine doctors being called as witnesses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't know specifics about this case, but I do know specifics about lay midwives who operate under the radar. A CPM gets her certificate from a mobile home on a Tennessee commune. I couldn't make this stuff up if I wanted to:

http://www.kentuckymidwives.com/NARM.html

Wow.

Scary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This whole thing is just heartbreaking, on so many different levels.

As tragic as it is, I hope there is not a backlash against certified nurse midwives, doulas, and others who support non-medical births whether in hospitals or at home.

As long as there are morons out there defending non-certified women with no formal medical training, there is going to be a lot of confusion and a backlash against certified professionals.

[Anonymous]

The licensure issue is complicated. There is a formidable group of old-school midwives who don't support licensure because it puts limits on their practice, something like the Republicans sticking their noses in DC goverance whenever they want.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The licensure issue is complicated. There is a formidable group of old-school midwives who don't support licensure because it puts limits on their practice, something like the Republicans sticking their noses in DC goverance whenever they want.

As I said, as long as morons are defending unlicensed midwives (who don't have medical training), there is going to be confusion and a backlash.

[Anonymous]

Karen Carr is one of the best midwives on the East Coast. She is not lacking medical training.