Midwife or Not?

[Anne Clarke]

Dear All,   I am amazed that we as a profession have to 'protect' women from those who they wish to attend them at their birth.   I have worked as a homebirth midwife (5yrs) and at every interview with each mother and their supporters (and believe me their could be many) to ask the myriad of questions, 'is it safe'? etc etc that a woman would choose another to be present at the birth of her child someone she could not trust.    These women and their supporters would ask, do you smoke, are you insured, have you ever been in court, was I a Registered Midwife, where did I train, how long have I been a Midwife, do you drink alcohol, what would you do in an emergency (they would go through some senarios here) what is your transfer to hospital rate, etc etc.  I wish that mothers would ask their obstetrician these questions.  Most of these questions were standard, so mothers are not fools, they are very astute, practical and sensible on who they wanted as their carer for the birth of their baby.  Mother's who choose to have a homebirth are very well read on the subject of pregnancy, birth and parenting and certainly more 'up to date' than some of the so called 'Registered Midwives' I know.   If a mother wishes to have someone who is not a Registered Midwife and interviews this person, that would surely put them into the category of making an informed choice, wouldn't it?   It is not for us to decide with whom, where, when and how a woman is to give birth, surely this is the right of the mother.  If she wants to give birth with every machine that goes 'ping' or wants to be solo in the Amazon rainforest so be it, she is responsible for her decisions, we do not need to 'rescue' her in any way.   Yes, if someone calls herself a Registered Midwife and is not, then I suppose we have a right to say something, but remember the word Midwife simply means 'with woman'.    There are I believe Traditional Aboriginal Birth Attendents in WA and NT, that describe themselves to be 'with the woman' I am sure we don't need to prosecute or persecute these women too?   I believe women have been and will always be, quite capable to decide who and what is right for them at the birth of their child regardless of whether we agree with it or not, and if I am not mistaken the State Government supports this view too -- along the lines of 'women have the right to give birth and choose who attends them' (this is not verbatum - but it goes something like that).   We should NEVER take it upon ourselves as Registered Midwives to decide for the mother.  Consumers of ANY service must take responsiblity (and the consequences) for their choices.    Pregnancy is one of the few times in a persons life that you generally have time to 'shop around', to ask questions, to do research into what you want from the experience. Unfortunately, many parents give far more time into looking into buying a new car or a home and less time of forethought about their pregnancy care and where they want to give birth.   Merry Christmas everyone, Anne Clarke Brisbane