Angee Hock- self proclaimed midwife

Holy cow, what the heck. Now I’m going to have to google this and catch up.

This!

I was coming to say it’s a multi faceted issue in the US. The stranglehold of for profit health care makes it impossible for the qualified to practice, illegal in many states. So women turn to unlicensed midwives. 

this case seems pretty cut and dry the midwife was negligent though.

Yes, but that’s way, way, way less than you’d pay at a hospital.

Call the Midwife drove that home to me so well!


I'm pretty sure that home births have been gaining in popularity to a broader group of people as well. I don't fit those categories but something I considered quite a number of years ago, and I think they've only become more common since then as costs have continued to increase.

A birth in a medical facility would be way, way more expensive. I’d be surprised if it isn’t at least $10,000. I had a routine appointment this week for prescriptions that I can’t get transferred from the military to the civilian system. No other issues discussed, nothing new, and all the same prescriptions. It was accidentally billed as paying without insurance and it was $440. The labs that I had done were another $180. 

We do have birthing centers here which can reduce the cost, but even those are often quite posh and upscale. Some areas of rural USA have “care deserts” where there isn’t an OB available for 1-2 hours from where people live because it just isn’t profitable. This certainly makes home births more common and even necessary in those rural areas. (And much of Nebraska is VERY rural.)

I haven’t followed the trial at all, but it sounds like the mom is at least partially to blame by refusing to be transferred to a hospital. The midwife couldn’t force a birthing mom to be transferred and she couldn’t leave the mom alone to give birth. But I’m very, very surprised that a midwife would agree to delivery a VBAC baby at home. And not to get political, but part of the refusal to be transferred could be the costs.  An ambulance ride would be in the thousands of dollars, plus the cost of the hospital admission. I had an emergency c/s in 1997 and DS was in the NICU for 4 hours. It was $26,000 for less than 48 hours in the hospital and that was 25 years ago.  

I had an excellent lay midwife deliver my three youngest at home. My midwife had apprenticed to an experienced midwife for several years, was very extensively educated about pregnancy and birth. She conducted birthing classes, did prenatal checks, and worked with a local DR, which enabled her to send for lab work, and screen for complications. Ironically, in addition to refusing to attempt home birth for a breech, she would have refused if the home were a substantial distance from the hospital. Clients who lived too far out agreed to deliver at a friend or family’s home close enough. We also had to agree that we would transfer at any point she felt it was wise, and the doctor she worked with was on standby. I could not have been happier with her.

But even back then, I had acquaintances who went with midwives who were quite different. Not as skilled, experienced or willing to work with the medical establishment. No way would I have used one of them.

Yes, every state is different in their laws. The medical community is trying to make home births illegal. Even though studies consistently show them to be safe in healthy women, and to result in far fewer interventions. I’m glad I was able to choose the kind of care that was best for me, and sorry that so many options are being taken away from younger moms today.

I consider that baby girl’s death avoidable and tragic.

I’m confused about the statement regarding the babies rights and I don’t see that mentioned in the articles I’ve read so far. Can anyone share more info on that? The articles I read said that they were charging Hock because she claimed to be an expert and was negligent. There were comments in one article about the mothers choice to have a home birth and her right to do so. But I don’t see anything that counters that with the child’s rights (or lack of). Personally, with what I have read that doesn’t really seem relevant in this case.

I had births from 2002-2015, all vaginal births. I had insurance, so didn't pay the full amount, but I believe the first was around $6500 and the last was around $20,000. And that last one was one where I had the baby an hour after arriving attended by an intern who had never delivered a baby .

This is all so very sad to me. Completely preventable. BUT, I hold the parents responsible for the majority of the blame. First, I didn't know Nebraska's laws were different to all other states in that no doctor or licensed midwife is legally allowed to attend a home birth, forcing people who insist on having a home birth to use someone who is not licensed. It seems the midwife did get the woman to a hospital during her first birth. That alone should have told her that her PTSD should take a backseat to her baby's welfare and very life. And it sounds like the midwife tried to get them to go to the hospital and the parents refused. That, in my uneducated opinion, places the blame in their laps much more than in the midwife's. They knew she wasn't licensed and had used her before. They had confidence in her, probably more than they should have had. This baby died needlessly, and if the parents had just agreed to go to the hospital, she probably would have survived. Such a horrible shame.

I had my son via C-section. I remember asking the doctor if any subsequent births will need to be C-section as well. He said if I kept the same husband, they would be. I guess my son's head was considered too large for my body frame size. And if I had a different father, the head might be able to fit. So obviously in my case, we probably would have both died if I had been at home and refused to leave. Although I would have immediately agreed to go to the hospital if the person attending the birth told me I need to do so. I know enough to know that I know nothing! I would have followed their recommendations. I had been in labor for such a long time and when they told me that there was meconium in the amniotic fluid, meaning the baby was very stressed, and we needed to get him out right away via C-section, I had no problem with that. I was so exhausted that if they had told me they were going to pull him out of my ear, I would have agreed. I just wanted it over.

And in just the cursory reading I just did about the case, it was said that the midwife tried to tell them they needed to go to the hospital and they refused. I think in a case like that, she should not be held criminally liable. At that moment, the responsibility transfers to the parents, in my opinion. They knew they should be in a hospital setting and put the mother's PTSD fears above the life of their child. Especially since the parents knew what what they were doing was potentially very dangerous given the mother's birth history. I do agree with the ruling that the midwife should no longer allowed to work as a freelance midwife. I don't know how the courts would view her situation if she became licensed and worked through a legitimate birthing center or hospital. Personally, I think if she took the necessary testing, and possibly more training if required, she should be allowed to work directly under a doctor's supervision in a licensed birthing center or hospital setting. But it seems as if she is rather anti doctor's involvement and that would probably not be a good fit.

When I was pregnant with my oldest I had a lot of problems with pre-term labor and was at the doctor a lot. I often saw a midwife in the clinic for those check ups. I loved her. But she told me that she couldn’t be the one to deliver the baby, even in a hospital. I don’t know if MN laws have changed since then. I think where the Nebraska laws go wrong is that they open up for unlicensed people to do the work since there seem to be no consequences for acting like a midwife when not certified.

I don’t think this midwife should have told the parents that she was experienced in handling a breech birth. That seems to be what gave them the confidence to stay at home, along with the mothers fear of the hospital. In one article I read it said that the mom went to the bathroom alone for more than 10 min after her water broke. They later found her in the bathtub with the baby half delivered (feet out) and that is when the midwife called the paramedics. But what was her plan before that? Why wait until the baby is coming out? What did she think was going to happen—the baby magically turn on its own? It’s just so sad all around and lots of bad decisions made by the parents and the midwife.