I am increasingly concerned for the health and safety of the people who choose to work with Paula. Within 6 months, she has had three very questionable cases involving transfer to the hospital where the life or recovery of either mom or baby has been compromised. I don't feel comfortable disclosing any details because it might hinder the process of the medical board in determining the true facts of the case. I believe that she needs to stop practicing midwifery until she can successfully prove that she has the skills necessary to be a primary provider. I would not recommend her as a midwife to anyone that I knew or cared about and pray that there are not a lot more families out there who have not come forward about their complaints.
I realize that there may never be any comments on this blog because some women do not choose to come forward. That is okay~ I only want for anyone looking for info on the web to see the truth of what is going on right now so they can make an informed decision on who to choose for their midwife. I wouldn't expect Paula to "inform" potential clients of her most recent cases and issues.
I can only hope that Paula's actions have not detrimentally effected midwifery as a whole in this community. I desire to see women's view of midwifery stand strong in the midst of one potentially harmful personality.
5 comments:
As a former client of Paula's, I wholeheartedly disagree with the validity of this information. Having worked closely with her and gotten to know her quite well, I've experienced first hand Paul's integrity, love for her clients, and genuine motive to give mom's a natural, comfortable home birth experience. Paula has nothing but the best interest of her clients in mind and treats them as if they were part of her own family.
Before you take this blog seriously, make sure you get a second opinion. After interviewing 2 other midwives, I was so pleased when I met Paula. She let me have the birth experience that I wanted and went above and beyond the call of duty to make me feel comfortable and taken care of. I would recommend her without hesitation to any mom wishing for the same experience.
While I agree that she may have the nicest intent when dealing with expectant families, and that she is a 'nice' person, giving them her full attention and taking good care of them. BUT if complication arise, would I trust that she would acurately know what to do in a timely manner to save my life or the life of MY baby? NO. i believe her intent lies only with protecting herself and her name instead of laying down her pride when necessary to transfer when she needs help from the medical establishment. It is she who is making a bad name in the midwifery community, putting a shadow between the hospitals and the midwives who work in the area. It is because of her that ties have been severed and it may take years for a trust to be reestablished.
I am glad you had a good experience with Paula. I'm glad there are those out there who have. But unfortunately, there are those who have not had such a good experience and may live with the consequences for the rest of their lives.
My sister HAD a complication and was transferred by Paula...at the FIRST sign of it. Her recovery was compromised not by Paula, but by the doctors who treated her upon arrival. Because of an overly hasty and harsh removal of her placenta, she ended up with uterine prolapse, a puncture in her upper uterus and basically another cesarean to tack it back in place(she was a VBAC). She will never be able to have another vaginal birth, or even another contraction. She almost lost her uterus at age 24. Paula and her assistants reacted quickly and professionally the entire time.
I also had a complication after the birth of my daughter. Paula and her assistant were both professional and competent. They acted quickly, but quietly (no one in the room even knew what was going on).
I find it coincidental that this post was written just 6-7 days after the birth of my nephew. I certainly hope that if his birth was one of the 3 you are talking about that you remove it and put 2. His birth and what happened to MY sister were NOT caused by home birth, VBAC or Paula.
I have a couple of questions.
1- How long was your sister in labor?
2- How long did she push (if at all)?
3- What was the complication you faced after your birth? what did Paula do to handle it?
And for the record, if you are talking about the "3" in reference to how many complaints are being investigated by the medical board...I have no control over what they investigate. In order to move forward on an investigation, they have to receive a formal complaint on behalf of the birthing family or the medical establishment that they were transfered to. so if the doctors/nurses who cared for your sister were concerned enough over what was put into their laps when she transfered in, then they were the ones to file a complaint.
I would guess that if we sat down and looked at the records from the labor/birth that we would probably find some inconsistencies that may make us question the validity of the record. In a few cases, what happened at the birth and what got recorded in the patient record are not the same. So I would ask you to do your research and make sure that when you take what she says at face value, that you know its right and not something she says to make you feel better.
1- How long was your sister in labor? 24 hours, vbac
2- How long did she push (if at all)? she had just started pushing. She probably got one or two real pushes in before they decided they weren't comfortable with his heart rate and she had just passed a clot. They were up and in the car within 60 seconds. She had him 5 minutes after getting to the hospital. All was well until the OB pulled "hard, 3 times" on the cord and when the placenta came out, so did her uterus. But no one is investigating that, are they? Where's the blog that addresses all the things OB's do that threaten the life of the moms and babies?
3- What was the complication you faced after your birth? what did Paula do to handle it?
I was a step away from a full on hemorrhage. I quickly received two shots of pitocin in the thigh and they continued to monitor me for a few hours. I was encouraged to breastfeed early and often to help my uterus to clamp down effectively. Also, I was told to stay in bed for at least 2-3 days and she left behind Methergine and told me to call immediately if there was any other bleeding.
I apologize for my comment about "3". I did not see the formal investigation part. However, if the hospital did file an formal complaint against her for my nephews birth, it should not be aimed at Paula, but at themselves. It was not Paula who almost cost my sister her uterus and her ability to carry another baby.
As for inconsistencies in the records: there are inconsistencies in all records! Does that make it right? No. I *watched* her assistant keep track of everything happening. I would have no issue asking for her records. The only real inconsistency is when they were in the car. We asked how the baby did on the drive over and she said fine. But he wasn't. She later said she didn't want us to be freaking out when we needed to remain calm for my sister's sake. Is that worthy of judgment?
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