There is a VERY serious midwife policy problem in the US...

Trigger warning: discussion of infant loss.

Let me be very clear: I am in favor of midwifery-led care for all low-risk pregnancies with proper regulations and standards. That’s how most of the rest of the world outside of the United States does it, including where I currently work in New Zealand. The midwives here are highly skilled, highly trained, able to attend home births and hospital births, have better outcomes overall than in the US, and more - the benefits of midwifery-led care cannot be overstated.

But the way the laws work in the United States right now - which is to say, hardly working at all - is so incredibly dangerous. A patchwork of laws that change from state to state allow dangerous midwives like Karen Carr - the subject of today’s video - to continue to practice even after being convicted of serious, deadly errors. They just have to move one state over. There are so many reasons for why the system in the US is the way it is, and the medical system carries a lot of the blame. But we have to talk about this problem so that families who may want to seek midwifery care for one reason or another can at least know everything about the midwives they hire.

Watch next:

00:00 Intro
1:00 Types of Midwives
3:23 Karen Carr's Career, Legal Troubles
6:27 Homebirth in the US
8:09 More Legal Troubles
14:38 Loss of Baby Sophie DiVincenzo
20:54 Trial
26:02 Dangerous Laws

References:

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** The information in this video is intended to serve as educational information and is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. All content, including text, graphics, images, and information, contained in this video is for general information purposes only and does not replace a consultation with your own doctor/advanced practice provider. **

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[yuvra]

Dumping the mother in labor at hospitals door is a sentence that should not exist in this world.

[dietotaku]

maryland: "you can't practice medicine without a license"
this lady: "well midwifery isn't medicine!"
maryland: "yes it is, here's a fine"
this lady: well then give me a license!"
maryland: "OK!"

i am speechless.

[JustNora]

My dad has said more than once in my life, "Bad doctors don't quit medicine; they just change states." It happens!

[karynstouffer]

Wait... Hold on for a second. When I applied for a cosmetology license in Colorado, I had to provide a notarized affidavit that I had never been sued for malpractice, or any other reason, in any other state, and that I had never been charged (not convicted, just charged) with a crime related to the profession. Are you telling me that you can just present proof of education and get a license in a life or death care profession? 😳

[sashamercier]

As an Australian, it's my belief that a midwife should always be a nurse first with a midwifery qualification second. Giving out midwifery certifications without at very least a bachelor's degree in nursing is unethical at best and negligent at worst.

[akossarfo-kantanka]

When training to be an EMT, it was beat into our heads “if it’s not documented, it didn’t happen”… records are there to prove you did all actions needed… lack of documentation is a failure of care in my book.

[hidingfromsomeone]

The fact that these parents are choosing home birth with a midwife because they believe they'll receive a better standard of care, or that they'll be more listened to during the birthing process, and actually end up in a worse position is just gut-wrenching and heartbreaking.

[janesmith]

I live in the UK and have had three sons, two of whom survived. At all times the care I received through our wonderful NHS was of the very highest standards, and at no point did I have to even wonder if the medical staff who looked after me were appropriately qualified. They worked for the NHS and therefore they were not only fully qualified, but very well supervised and mentored. I am horrified that midwives in the USA (which is meant to be a civilised, world-leading country) aren't held to a similar standard. It's astonishing.

[shroomyk]

It's really sad to me that everything surrounding birth in the US is so stressful and barely functional. It should be a happy time for people, and be made as smooth a process as possible. It's such a basic human thing that we should have figured out by now.

[recovertreedragon]

I took a course on the history of midwifery as a Women's and Gender Studies major and I totally got on board with having a midwife birth when I had kids. Looking at how men took over and the medicalization of birth made a home midwife birth seem safer. However, much of the horrors related to the different types of midwives here in the US and how policies and practice vary from state to state was not covered when we got to present day (late 2000s at the time). I am glad I had a hospital birth, though, because I ended up needing to have a D&C to remove my retained placenta. We need better education all around.

[maddiebudner]

MDJ at 13:30: “Thank you Wisconsin. You’re doing the Lord’s work over there.”

Me, watching this while eating a snack from my couch in Wisconsin: “you’re welcome”

[mrkennedy]

As someone from NZ that ended up needing an emergency csection. I was surprised and happy to know that my midwife was in the room still doing the things she needed to be doing. And she visited me in the hospital all that week and was still the one to see me every week until the plunket nurse took over. All free of charge obviously! I love living in first world country.

[Rjmaaske]

If you haven’t yet, I would love to see your reaction to a recent viral video of a woman giving birth and her provider telling her if she doesn’t do what he says, he’ll walk out and she can deliver on her own. All because she said she didn’t want to deliver on her back and referenced ACOG. It was heartbreaking.

[joannepepe]

I'm a retired CNM. I so agree with your criticisms. Sad but true.

[merandareast]

Here in Germany I saw my OB/GYN regularly during my pregnancy but knew he would not be the one to deliver. I also had a midwife because I had planned on a home birth. We have special books that mothers keep with them during pregnancy and are filled in by the doctors and midwives. My midwife would see me between doctor appointments and they would both record test results, blood pressure, heart rate, fundal height, everything. When my blood pressure was elevated it was my midwife who saw it first and sent me straight to the doctor. She even called him to talk him through all the information. When it was decided I needed the hospital she accompanied me and did a personal handover to the doctor and midwife at the hospital. Baby was born seven and a half weeks early but labour and delivery went quickly and smoothly so a midwife delivered Baby and supported me, in the hospital, with the doctor in the room in case she was needed. I had excellent care and was empowered during the process and made to feel that not only did I have a voice, but my voice was listend to and respected. I am very grateful for the care I received. And Baby is now six years old and perfectly healthy and happy!

[OnsceneDC]

Midwifery has a strong racial basis in the US. I'm white, and was going to a midwife until I developed pre-eclampsia. But the center I went to comprised of all black mid-wives. They were attentive and very comprehensive. I even asked them about some of the historical aspects and racial issues, and they confirmed that it has and continues to be a segregated profession. This is a good topic for another video.

[MiracleFound]

Midwives need to have a consistent education and experience in order to practice.

[weendey]

In Norway you first need a bachelor as a nurse, then 1 year work experience, after that you can take a 2 year masterdegree in midwifery. So 5 years education and 1 year work experience. Nobody else is allowed to call themself a midwife, it is a protected title

[JHabc]

I moved from the US to Canada. I have been absolutely appalled to find there is no national system to track physicians and other licensed professionals from one province to another. I saw an optometrist in Nova Scotia while I was still traveling back to the US. I was appalled by the exam and his ignorance of a very common issue I was dealing with, and I was sent out of his office with expired contacts from a brand I couldn’t even find online. I looked him up and found he lost his license in 2 other provinces and had been practicing without a license in Ontario for years. He was in litigation with another province over his license for decades. No one in the small rural town I lived in would say a word because they were so desperate for optometrists. It was truly appalling.

[carolinathatcher]

But our legislators are focused on abortion and contraception....