Category Archives: Hospitals

A case in point…

By The Midwife | Published: May 4, 2010

…just to illustrate the bind that the homebirth midwives find themselves in at the moment after the closing of St. Vincents hospital and the subsequent loss of their back-up hospital/ written practice agreements (see yesterday’s post): Last night I was working (at the HHC public hospital in Brooklyn where I spend a good deal of [...]

Also posted in Complications, Homebirth, Issues, Labor and Birth, Litigation, Midwifery, Politics | Leave a comment

Homebirth in NYC needs your help!

By The Midwife | Published: May 3, 2010

St. Vincents hospital was the most homebirth-midwife friendly hospital in Manhattan, and quite possibly in New York City, period.  It was certainly the only hospital in Manhattan which accommodated homebirth and homebirth midwives.  My own midwife delivered her patients there, and she would often comment to me about what a lovely set-up they had at [...]

Also posted in Homebirth, Issues, Labor and Birth, Midwifery, News, Politics | Leave a comment

Just a hemorrhage kind of night

By The Midwife | Published: October 28, 2008

Last night was a very strange night. It wasn’t that busy, and yet, somehow, neither the other midwife nor myself were able to take a break. The pace was very steady. We kept expecting it to settle down, but it never did. Just as we were thinking “oh, as soon as this woman is discharged, [...]

Also posted in Birth Stories, Complications, Labor and Birth, Midwifery, Vaginal Birth | 4 Comments

“Choosy Mothers Choose Cesareans”

By The Midwife | Published: April 24, 2008

Sometimes, briefly, you feel like you’re making progress, that midwifery outreach is making a difference, that people are becoming more educated and informed, and then you read an article like this one, over at Time Magazine, and you realize that you exist in a small bubble where your philosophy on birth is far different than [...]

Also posted in Cesarean Birth, Complications, Research | 5 Comments

ACOG’s Statement on Homebirths

By The Midwife | Published: February 11, 2008

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recently issued a Statement on Homebirth which condemns homebirth and all those who are willing to attend homebirth (aka midwives), concluding that only “…the safest setting for labor, delivery, and the immediate postpartum period is in the hospital, or a birthing center within a hospital complex, that [...]

Also posted in Birth Centers, Choice, Homebirth, Labor and Birth, Politics | 2 Comments

Grassroots Birth Survey

By The Midwife | Published: December 5, 2007

The other day I discovered a postcard at my local yoga center urging women to participate in a birth survey, which instantly piqued my interest; apparently this survey has already been going on for some time, although I have only now heard about it. A little research has revealed that the Coalition for Improving Maternity [...]

Also posted in Birth Centers, Choice, Homebirth, Midwifery, Politics, Pregnancy, Research | 1 Comment

Normal birth against all odds

By The Midwife | Published: November 25, 2007

Sometimes birth is not normal. Sometimes there really are complications and problems which need to be dealt with in a hospital setting. Sometimes a medical approach to birth is exactly what’s needed. Sometimes interventions during birth ARE lifesaving. Yesterday was a perfect example of that. I was helping to take care of a woman who [...]

Also posted in Birth Stories, Complications, Inductions, Labor and Birth | 9 Comments

50th Birth

By The Midwife | Published: November 9, 2007

Today I caught my 50th baby! She was born at 4:18 pm to a young woman from Puerto Rico who was absolutely thrilled and excited about her first pregnancy. She was an induction for postdates (per hospital policy, all women are induced if they’re still pregnant at 41 weeks); she’d actually had an incidence of [...]

Also posted in Birth Stories, Inductions, Labor and Birth, Labor Support, Midwifery, Vaginal Birth | 2 Comments

Hospital Midwifery

By The Midwife | Published: November 6, 2007

Rachel commented, in response to my Worry-wart = New Midwife post: “I was interested to see in your description how “medical” the treatment of the L&D patients seems to be, despite having a midwife on hand. Any thoughts on that?” Of course I have thoughts on that! First of all, this is hospital midwifery and [...]

Also posted in Birth Stories, Labor and Birth, Midwifery | 4 Comments

Worry-wart = new midwife

By The Midwife | Published: October 31, 2007

So, you’re probably wondering how it’s going. I’m in the middle of my third week as a new midwife, and it’s going…okay…so far, I guess. I wish I could sound more confident and enthusiastic about it at the moment, but I’m having a hard time feeling very confident or enthusiastic these days. Which is not [...]

Also posted in Labor and Birth, Midwifery, Pregnancy, Vaginal Birth | 3 Comments