What would you do, if you were on the cusp of winning a 30 year battle to make home birth midwives (CPMs) legal, and in the 11th hour an unanticipated fork in the road was presented to you? One path leads to legalization that's desperately needed, but the twist is many moms could be left to the cold, steel rooms of the surgical suite. The other fork means almost certainly giving up licensure for many years to come.
It's not an easy place to be in. Illinois advocates find themselves wedged tightly between a giant boulder, and one of the hardest places of all. And a lot of moms are hopping mad about it. So mad, that some individuals have threatened to withdraw support of the bill that would licensed CPMs.
The issue is regarding whether or not an Illinois CPMs would be allowed to attend moms who have had a cesarean birth, in their first attempt at vaginal birth (primary VBAC, or first time vaginal birth after cesarean). The twist is that it's extremely difficult, at best, to achieve a safe VBAC attempt in most Illinois hospitals, and in many parts of the state, officially disallowed by hospital protocols.
So we have a group of moms who expect other women (most of them moms themselves) to risk jail or losing ALL their personal assets, to preserve the ability to access vbacs. And another group of women who desperately want to serve vbac moms but don't necessarily want to risk jail and all of their personal assets in order to do so. (And yes, a lot of midwives have served time.)
Where's the balance?
Please post a comment if you have an answer to this quandary. Or just to spout off. (Please note: I understand that this is an emotionally charged issue, but personal attacks will be removed.)
1 comment:
I hesitate to offer an opinion as I'm not living in Illinois; although I did attend a birth ( in hospital, CNM primary but they really did let me "do" the birth with the parents'; dear friends of mine ) in Chicago this last fall. It seems to me that it might make sense to opt for the licensure minus the VBAC addendum and advocate for that later. Sometimes, we have to take what we can get and, as people become used to the idea; build on it! We are not yet, here in Michigan, up against that particular wall but, I think that would be my position here as well so, I think it's valid. Having legal, protected homebirth is a great move forward for Illinois! If you guys remain illegal, you will eventually have no practicing midwives left in the State....not good. Go for the licensure; get the VBAC down the road.
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