There was an interesting article that was just published in New York Magazine about Cara Mulhaln, the midwife to end all midwives. In a nutshell, she does homebirths and home birth only, and judging from this article, seems a little on the fanatic side. To the point of being dangerous.

Again, I know nothing about this woman, other than the article, but several readers posted personal experiences with this woman–some good and some bad–very bad. And even in the article, the author describes a case where the woman was in labor for 72 hours, was not progressing, but Mulhaln thought that was okay.  She told the couple that the body knows what its doing, or some nonsense like that. But this woman was not dilating, and her water broke, making her vulnerable to an infection. The couple intelligently decided to go to the hospital, where Mom soon spiked a high fever (indicating an infection). She ultimately had a section and baby ended up in the NICU. And Mulhaln still didn’t think she did anything wrong.

“How do you feel about having a C-section?” Muhlhahn asked the couple at a follow-up appointment to discuss what had happened. It was the first they’d spoken to her since she’d dropped them off at the hospital. Garcia felt the question was barbed with the implication that if she’d only had more patience—tried harder—she could have had a vaginal birth. “I had a plan the whole time,” Muhlhahn told them, “and you just didn’t trust me.”

Is this woman playing with a full deck or what? Didn’t trust her? And she had a “plan” the whole time? What, to wait until Mom and baby had overwhelming sepsis?

The scary thing about Mulhaln is that she doesn’t seem to have a back-up. Midwives delivering at home will generally have a physician as back up in case something goes wrong, or have an agreement with a hospital. Something, anything. But Mulhaln has nothing. She doesn’t have a signed practice agreement with a physician, which she is required by NY State law to have (where she practices). She also doesn’t carry malpractice insurance.  And judging from these stories, she also delivers high risk pregnancies at home, and doesn’t seem to have good judgment when to quit and get help. I wonder what kind of equipment she has with her–does she have sufficient tools to resusciate a baby? Does she know what she’s doing?

I have nothing against home births, but the midwife delivering should have a back-up, should always err on the side of caution, and should be adept at handling an emergency.

What do you all think of home births?