The answer is no. You should not deliver your child with a midwife or with anyone other than a fully credentialed, certified obstetrician/gynecologist. And you should never, under any circumstances, deliver your child at home or in any environment in which an emergency C-section cannot be performed within a few minutes of a medical emergency.
My law firm specializes in handling complex medical malpractice claims on behalf of injured patients. We sue doctors and hospitals for a living. No one needs to tell me that obstetricians screw up or that labor and delivery nurses sometimes make mistakes. I know this.
But I am a realist. I believe in statistics. If you choose to deliver your baby with a qualified doctor in a reputable hospital, the odds of getting a healthy baby are excellent.
In the last three years, four different heartbroken mothers have come to us with serious negligence cases against midwives who malpracticed their babies. Every single case is tragic. Two babies died. One baby survived with a catastrophic brain injury. Another baby survived with a mild brain injury, but serious burns were caused by a midwife who decided to place the baby on a hot cookie tray to get her warm. (I’m not kidding.)
In every single case, the midwife has a glowing website that talks about the beauty of “nonindustrial” birth at home with a caring midwife. Every website says essentially the same thing—“I am fully qualified to take care of your baby, and you don’t need to do this in a hospital. Mothers have been delivering babies naturally for thousands of years, and you will be fine.”
In every single case, the “caring midwife” was spectacularly incompetent. Unable to recognize signs of fetal distress. Unable to advocate for the safety and well-being of her patient. Unable to see when she was in over her head.
And it was the baby who suffered.
In every case, the midwife turned out not to have any malpractice insurance. (And in three of the four cases, it also turned out that the midwife had lost her license with the State, or had her license taken away. Of course, the midwife never tells the patient that she doesn’t have a license or insurance.)
I’m not saying all midwives are bad. But I am saying this: There are half a dozen obstetrical emergencies which will occasionally happen during childbirth. True medical emergencies. Placental abruption. Ruptured placenta. A compressed umbilical cord simply cannot provide the baby with the blood and oxygen it needs to maintain a healthy brain. Twenty-seven percent of all babies born in the United States are delivered through a cesarean section. If your child is in that 27% category, there is no question that your baby is better off in the hands of a qualified obstetrician/gynecologist. Midwives cannot do C-sections.
That’s the simple reality.
I have nine grandchildren and five children. Yes, my wife has had to deal with some insensitive obstetricians. (The guy who delivered my oldest daughter 39 years ago was a jerk.) One of my five children had to be delivered by C-section. But I would never trust my baby to a medical provider who doesn’t have the training to do a C-section.
Here’s the conversation your baby wants to have with you if you are considering homebirth or having a midwife handle the delivery.
“That’s great, Mom. That’s good for you. You don’t want to give birth in an impersonal, antiseptic hospital with nurses and doctors who are constantly poking and prodding you. But what about me? What if something goes wrong? You know, I would like to drive a car someday. I don’t think you can do that if you have a severe brain injury at birth. Someday, I would like to have a boyfriend or a girlfriend. I would like to get an education. I would like to have my own life. Those are all very hard to do if I have a serious brain injury. I was kind of hoping to have a family of my own when I grew up. I will live with the consequences of your decision to deliver me with a midwife for the rest of my life.”
Imagine a hot summer day. You take your 3-year-old to the community pool to cool off. Do you want the lifeguard 3 feet away from the edge of the pool watching your toddler like a hawk? Or do you want the lifeguard 30 minutes away at a remote location watching your baby through a video monitor?
Your baby wants the best possible chance for a safe delivery.