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S05.E05: No Place Like Home


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14 minutes ago, jalady said:

Um, Carter?  Why the hell would you get a tattoo of the name of your husband of six days on your body???  And it’s not like he was a child; he said he was in his 30s, right?  Or are they just making him look like an idiot so he’ll fit in with the rest of “the gang”? 🙄

I figured he was drunk - drunk with joy and celebration (and possibly inebriated by other means as well). My guess (if this were real life) would be that they both got tattoos after getting married - before they came down from the excitement.

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^^^

I get your point, but I’d have to be married for 66 years before I tattooed someone’s name on my body!  But I’m old and cynical, even though I do have a tattoo (of my zodiac sign) on my hip 😅

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4 hours ago, Suzn said:

OMG!  Sophie was just awful. That was another cringe moment in this episode.  I don't know how they can present her as deeply talented.

Same way they present Maggie as a competent psychologist,  Rome as a schoolteacher, and Theo as a baby 12 year old.  Heh.   Fiction. 

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9 hours ago, circumvent said:

Speaking of cranky professor, while it was ridiculous that she was lashing out at him, would this even happen? Can someone in administration who is not even high ranking, add a slot in a class without consulting the professor who is leading the class? Isn't this a decision that would involve the Dean as well?

 

When I was an admin in the Chemistry Department, I could fit students into lectures and seminars if they met the required pre-requisites or co-requisite. (If they need to retake, say, General Chemistry I lecture but successfully passed the lab, I could grant approval for them to get into the lecture, even if it were full). If there were some issues, I would consult with the counselor or our Department and my supervisor, the Chair of the Department.

I could not add slots to labs. Those were a hard cap as violating it could result in safety concerns.

I could not add anything to classes that were not in the Chemistry Department.

The ones who worked at the Administrative Building and in the Registration could not just add slots to Chemistry classes willy nilly.

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6 hours ago, Suzn said:

OMG!  Sophie was just awful. That was another cringe moment in this episode.  I don't know how they can present her as deeply talented.

I am only speculating, of course,  but it could be that the actor wants to sing, or believes she can sing, and the production team want to use her as a singer, without telling her that she is not good. If that's the case it is unprofessional and not helpful. She cannot sing, not as a profession. 

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4 hours ago, jalady said:

Um, Carter?  Why the hell would you get a tattoo of the name of your husband of six days on your body???  And it’s not like he was a child; he said he was in his 30s, right?  Or are they just making him look like an idiot so he’ll fit in with the rest of “the gang”? 🙄

As someone with an impulse tattoo from my late 20s (not a romantic themed one but still), I’m gonna give Carter a pass lol

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I have so many thoughts about the professor. I mean wtf was that? She singled him out and then told him to drop the class. If I were Eddie I’d be wondering if it was due to my very obvious disability and I’d report her to their ADA compliance officer. Him getting into the class was ridiculous anyway but then she basically asked him if he played the wheelchair card to get into her class. 

The stuff with Rome and his dad made my cry at the end. 

Why can’t Dustin stay at Walter’s house until he can get a job and find a place?  

I love Carter so I enjoyed his scenes with Greta…who is more enjoyable to watch with literally everyone but Katherine. 

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On 3/9/2023 at 11:18 PM, CrystalBlue said:

 

I don't get previews because I watch on Hulu so I'm thinking Baby Jon is coming early.

 

Same here so no previews but they haven't yet done the false labor/Braxton Hicks trope which has to happen before every TV birth so my guess is that's what's coming next week....possibly followed later in the episode or an upcoming one by an early/traumatic birth

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2 hours ago, TOWTooMuchTV said:

Same here so no previews but they haven't yet done the false labor/Braxton Hicks trope which has to happen before every TV birth so my guess is that's what's coming next week....possibly followed later in the episode or an upcoming one by an early/traumatic birth

I think you are right but I am already dreading the two scenarios: Maggie being annoying while probably resting for the rest of the pregnancy because Gary will tell her what to do, or Maggie being annoying with a new baby because she will freak out about not knowing what to do. 

In any case, it will be too much 'annoying Maggie' for the rest of the season. That - Maggie being more annoying than usual -  will prove to me that something terrible can always get worse. Poor baby.

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On 3/8/2023 at 11:44 PM, KaveDweller said:

I had that thought too. Hopefully not until after he finishes the class.

Does Eddie go to college in 1990 or something? I graduated college 20 years ago and everything about registering and dropping classes was done online. And again, that was 20 years ago! Also, we always registered for classes weeks ahead of time. If you couldn't get into a class you needed, you had plenty of time to work it out before the class started.

Also, Eddie took Psych 101 "a decade ago." I am not sure how old he is supposed to be, but I'm thinking it has been a bit longer. Theo is 11 or 12 (at least) and he was born after Eddie dropped out. But regardless, most intro psych classes are not that complex. I'm sure Eddie can refresh his memory if he spends some time with the material. I'm also sure some of those kids wouldn't have been able to answer the professor's question either.  It is day 1. Wait until the second week when everyone has settled in to be hard on people.

I wonder if they are going to have Sophie become Walter's permanent aid and then go to school for it? She was good with him, but it's ridiculous to suggest the 18-year-old with no degree would be betting at helping him than any trained aids.

I thought Regina was going to have Dustin and his daughter stay in Walter's empty house. That would make more sense. And not to be judgmental, but if you can't keep a roof over your kid's head maybe she should be taken away? It can't be safe to have a young girl living in a camp like that. I know the foster system sucks, but so does living on the street.

I thought Greta and Carter had good chemistry. What's with her being better with everyone than Katherine? I also thought something was going to happen and Katherine would start to resent her for being so helpful, but it sounds like she's legit just grateful and there is no conflict?

Didn’t even think about the father and daughter moving into Rome’s dad’s house.  Good call. Why didn’t the writers think of this?So they get a few days in a hotel?  I also thought she could get Rome to find him a job at the school.  Where is this going?  

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14 hours ago, Diana Berry said:

Didn’t even think about the father and daughter moving into Rome’s dad’s house.  Good call. Why didn’t the writers think of this?So they get a few days in a hotel?  I also thought she could get Rome to find him a job at the school.  Where is this going?  

I think he said he had an interview, so hopefully he gets that job and a happy sendoff and we don't see him again.

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On 3/10/2023 at 4:38 PM, circumvent said:

I am only speculating, of course,  but it could be that the actor wants to sing, or believes she can sing, and the production team want to use her as a singer, without telling her that she is not good. If that's the case it is unprofessional and not helpful. She cannot sing, not as a profession. 

I agree, but it hasn’t stopped Rita Wilson.  …..I’ll show myself out now.  Lol. 
 

I suppose the home birth option was explained pretty well, however, the midwife seemed to say that in the event of an emergency they just transport to a hospital.  Well, that’s just it. In an emergency you might have a few minutes and not enough time to transport.  I thought she glossed over that.  And, since she can do anything a doctor can do, according to her,  can she could do an emergency C section on site?   
 

I don’t think Rome and Gina fully appreciate how dementia can progress.  And, getting outside help in the home is a huge deal. Agencies have a severe shortage right now.  And, it’s expensive!  I hope Sophie stays available.  Music usually is great therapy for people who have dementia. 

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On 3/10/2023 at 3:38 PM, circumvent said:

I am only speculating, of course,  but it could be that the actor wants to sing, or believes she can sing, and the production team want to use her as a singer, without telling her that she is not good. If that's the case it is unprofessional and not helpful. She cannot sing, not as a profession. 

I re-watched just to check if she was as bad as my original impression...she hit some notes that should never come from a human.  I don't know how they could all be so delusional.

1 hour ago, SunnyBeBe said:

I suppose the home birth option was explained pretty well, however, the midwife seemed to say that in the event of an emergency they just transport to a hospital.  Well, that’s just it. In an emergency you might have a few minutes and not enough time to transport.  I thought she glossed over that.  And, since she can do anything a doctor can do, according to her,  can she could do an emergency C section on site?   
 

She said she could do everything  a doctor could do, except surgery.

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12 hours ago, SunnyBeBe said:

I don’t think Rome and Gina fully appreciate how dementia can progress.  And, getting outside help in the home is a huge deal. Agencies have a severe shortage right now.  And, it’s expensive!  I hope Sophie stays available.  Music usually is great therapy for people who have dementia. 

It always amazes me when families faced with a loved one with Alzheimer's fails to do simple internet searches to educate themselves a bit. Correcting the patient is a huge no-no. How would you feel if someone told you that your reality was wrong all-the-time? Yet I've seen well-meaning people think they're helping by correcting their loved one. Was so relieved that Rome got informed by the end.

11 hours ago, Suzn said:

I suppose the home birth option was explained pretty well, however, the midwife seemed to say that in the event of an emergency they just transport to a hospital.  Well, that’s just it. In an emergency you might have a few minutes and not enough time to transport.

Yeah, and transporting a woman in the throes of child birth? Please.

And getting that man a job rather than a bed for the night should have been the priority. It's kind of like the give a fish/teach to fish rule. If he has a job, he can get housing. Seems logical, but our characters/writers don't follow logic.

I thought Carter's acting was poor in this episode. Disappointing since I generally enjoy his character.

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1 hour ago, smartymarty said:

Yeah, and transporting a woman in the throes of child birth? Please.

It happens all the time. People in life threatening situations are transported and saved numerous times, why not transport a woman whose labor is not progressing, or who needs extra care? Why do we have ambulances anyway, LOL?  Like I already mentioned, in this country too many women die in child birth in the hospitals, so the specter of a problem maybe happening at home (if there are no obvious or likely issues to appear during labor) shouldn't be a deterrent for women who want a more natural birth because depending on who you are or where you live, the risks of a maybe unfamiliar doctor not being good and putting your life at risk, and the risk of something going wrong with a midwife who knows you, follows your care and has a commitment to your well being are the same. Midwives are likely more committed than a doctor who wants things to happen on their schedule.

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American College of OB/GYN's statement on safety of planned homebirth in the US

13 hours ago, Suzn said:

I re-watched just to check if she was as bad as my original impression...she hit some notes that should never come from a human.  I don't know how they could all be so delusional.

She said she could do everything  a doctor could do, except surgery.

And even most doctors wouldn't perform a cesarean in the home, no matter what they did on New Amsterdam.  The midwife glossed over a bit.  Just because the hospital knows there is someone out there attempting to deliver at home doesn't mean they are prepared for her to arrive on their unit at any moment needing emergent care.  They are not going to keep a birthing room or an OR set aside just in case, nor are they going to assign staff to be available at a moment's notice just for her.  If Maggie goes to the hospital in an emergency, she will be treated like any other patient who arrives at Labor and Delivery with an urgent problem.  They'll do their best, but, having been notified by the midwife that someone is in labor and might or might not show up at some random time in the next day or so is not going to get Maggie any special treatment.  The squad will call when they're on the way with the hemorrhaging patient or the baby who isn't breathing, just as they would with anyone else.

I can guarantee that at any given time in the city of Boston, there are multiple women laboring at home by choice in anticipation of delivering there.  The hospitals know that, the doctors know that, the nursing staff knows that.  They will do their best, but there are limits to what they can do if a situation has deteriorated significantly prior to the patient's arrival.

Another thing that the midwife glossed over is that she probably doesn't have hospital privileges and, if Maggie goes to the hospital, the midwife probably also does not have a specific doctor to whom she refers who is sympathetic to homebirth and will allow Maggie the sort of input and control she probably wants.  The  midwife often doesn't even go to the hospital with her and will simply leave her to the doctor on call.  She is not going to be placed in some special VIP category because she was at home first.  Most hospitals will not hire midwives who do homebirths for liability reasons and many doctors won't take referrals for the same reason (many midwives who do homebirths do not carry malpractice insurance and therefore, if something goes wrong, it will be the doctor and the hospital who will get sued since the midwife doesn't have any coverage).  When I was in private practice, the malpractice carriers would specifically ask if the doc provided care to patients who were planning homebirths.  if I attended a birth at home, my coverage was null and void.  if I routinely accepted referrals for hospital transfer from midwives doing homebirths, my coverage was terminated.  What also happens is that, while many midwives doing homebirths are capable, there are some who are out there at home because they're not very good and make some really bad decisions and they don't want scrutiny of their practice.  If a doctor gets known for taking referrals from a homebirth midwife, there will be an influx of referrals from the not so good ones, too and that leads to major headaches and ulcers as patients arrive for the doctor to handle problems caused by other people's lack of knowledge or ability. So, lots of doctors decline to take antepartum consults and the patient gets potluck when she arrives.

That's the thing I stress the most to people planning homebirths with a midwife.  Just because someone is personable and seems capable and is willing to deliver your baby at home doesn't mean he or she has the appropriate training to do it safely.  Make sure to check out her training, see if she is licensed (many are not) and if she has malpractice insurance (many don't).  Find out what she does if the baby is breech, if there is meconium. if the mom gets a fever or her blood pressure gets dangerously high.  How long does she wait before recommending intervention if things are not progressing as expected?  Where did she train, how many births has she done herself (not observed, but was the practitioner in charge).

Also, consider what waiting for an ambulance and then being transported to the hospital is going to be like if you've been awake for 24 hours or more, if you've been in significant pain all that time, if you're dehydrated or have a fever.  Even if the ambulance gets there within minutes and the hospital is very close, it is going to take close to an hour once the decision is made until interventions will be undertaken, especially if the woman needs an IV for pitocin, or wants an epidural or has a fever and needs antibiotics or preeclampsia and a dangerously high blood pressure that needs treated before proceeding.

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Midwives are likely more committed than a doctor who wants things to happen on their schedule.

That used to be true, but, nowadays, many hospitals operate using hospitalists, physicians and midwives who are specifically assigned to labor and delivery for a certain shift and will be there on site the entire time.  I work for a huge midwestern hospital system that employs both physicians and midwives for prenatal care and birth.  When either one is on call, he or she is physically present on the labor and delivery unit for their shift.  When the shift ends, they sign out to the next person on call, no matter where the patient is in labor, no matter what is happening.  There are those who are pure hospitalists and work Monday through Friday 7 am -5 pm.  Nights and weekends and holidays are covered by docs and midwives who generally also do outpatient care during the regular weekdays.  When the change in shift rolls around, they pass their patients off to the next guy.  So, the entire 'schedule' for both physicians and midwives is based on what is happening with their patients on L&D and they are there for their entire shift.  It's not real personal, but it allows the practitioners to have more stable home lives and off hours and assures that the person managing the labor and doing the delivery has probably had some sleep in the past 24 hours.

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51 minutes ago, Notabug said:

Another thing that the midwife glossed over is that she probably doesn't have hospital privileges and, if Maggie goes to the hospital, the midwife probably also does not have a specific doctor to whom she refers who is sympathetic to homebirth and will allow Maggie the sort of input and control she probably wants. 

Well, Maggie's doctor is sympathetic to home births.

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1 hour ago, Notabug said:

They will do their best, but there are limits to what they can do if a situation has deteriorated significantly prior to the patient's arrival.

Do we know statistics for that possible situation? For a situation to deteriorate significantly there must be a pre-disposition, something that would make home birth not advisable. For what I gather, women in labor are taken to the hospitals if there is an emergency, obviously, but not something that would men that if the patient doesn't arrive in a few minutes the whole thing will turn to tragedy. That's not even how it happens in hospital deliveries. Things get difficult and complicated and doctors take their precious little time, in some cases.

I also don't know how it works here but in the documentary I mentioned before, in Brazil the doctors are (or can beat )informed when the woman goes into labor, so, as in many other cases where labor starts and women rush to the hospital, she receives the care but their doctor arrives to be "in charge". While it can be scary to think about a possible emergency, I don't think that home birth "emergencies" usually become tragic and dangerous, even in a situation where hospitalization is needed. Distressing, for sure. But having a doctor cutting your vagina so they can go on with their day instead of taking the time and letting nature take its course is also distressing. In the end, the decision should be made after careful consideration and understanding of the pregnant person's own body and health, together with their preferences. If a person wants to decide which place is safer, in the US, based on fear of a possible, maybe urgent matter, then they are in trouble. Information and support are key.

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47 minutes ago, circumvent said:

Do we know statistics for that possible situation? For a situation to deteriorate significantly there must be a pre-disposition, something that would make home birth not advisable. For what I gather, women in labor are taken to the hospitals if there is an emergency, obviously, but not something that would men that if the patient doesn't arrive in a few minutes the whole thing will turn to tragedy. That's not even how it happens in hospital deliveries. Things get difficult and complicated and doctors take their precious little time, in some cases.

I also don't know how it works here but in the documentary I mentioned before, in Brazil the doctors are (or can beat )informed when the woman goes into labor, so, as in many other cases where labor starts and women rush to the hospital, she receives the care but their doctor arrives to be "in charge". While it can be scary to think about a possible emergency, I don't think that home birth "emergencies" usually become tragic and dangerous, even in a situation where hospitalization is needed. Distressing, for sure. But having a doctor cutting your vagina so they can go on with their day instead of taking the time and letting nature take its course is also distressing. In the end, the decision should be made after careful consideration and understanding of the pregnant person's own body and health, together with their preferences. If a person wants to decide which place is safer, in the US, based on fear of a possible, maybe urgent matter, then they are in trouble. Information and support are key.

Not sure where you got your information, but episiotomies have gone the way of the dodo bird.  I stopped cutting them routinely more than 35 years ago and ACOG has recommended against them for at least 20 years.  Also, cutting one does NOT save time.  First, it is like cutting a piece of cloth first before tearing it, it tends to make the cut bigger which takes longer to repair.  So no one I know does episiotomies to save time.  BTW, most women get some sort of tear or abrasion with birth whether an episiotomy is cut or not.  If a doc cuts one, it is not to save time, that is for sure.  It can get a baby delivered a little bit quicker especially if the mom is having trouble pushing, but, in the end, there is no time saved for the doctor.

As far as outcomes, here in the US, there are statistics, they are quoted in the ACOG article I linked to in my first post.  In the US, the risk of death in the perinatal period (first 30 days of life) is double for children born at home in a planned birth.  The risk of neonatal seizures or other neurologic problem is about 3 times that of children born in the hospital.  These are not common problems, there risks are very small, but they are definitely higher with a planned home birth vs a planned hospital birth.  If the pregnant woman accepts those increased risks, I have no problem with her staying home.  If her midwife or other practitioner never informed her of those risks, I have a very big problem with that practitioner.  I find that homebirth practitioners tend to ignore the negatives and are often reluctant to refer people who are obviously poor candidates to the hospital.  It almost never happens prior to labor.

The other factor that I see is that I practice in an area where direct entry midwifery (lay midwifery) is illegal and so practitioners who are not nurse midwives (CNM) are not licensed and do not have any specific training or certification.  Most of the homebirth 'midwives' where I work have attended some number of births at home with another lay midwife and consider themselves trained.  They often do not have access to ultrasounds or blood work or medications.  I have seen women transferred to the hospital after having labored for 3-4 days after their water broke, after laboring a breech baby that the midwife didn't pick up until days went by, who had severe high blood pressure but didn't know because no one checked it regularly, whose baby had thick meconium in the fluid and the midwife did not do any monitoring of the baby's condition and didn't have proper equipment for infant suctioning.  Not to mention at least twice when a patient was transferred to the hospital after laboring at home for a day or more and was found to be carrying twins, but no one knew it.  It's tough to monitor the condition of a child that you didn't know was there and second twins already have poorer outcomes than the firstborn.

As far as 'significant deterioration', that's a judgement call and one that many midwives who conduct homebirths are reluctant to make.  Presuming that every single midwife out there has the training, the judgement, the experience to be very selective and strict in her criteria as to which patients are low risk enough to consider a delivery at home is a big presumption.  If they do not do lab work, they don't know who is significantly anemic, who has gestational diabetes, etc.  They may not have easy access to ultrasound and can miss a breech when relying solely on physical exam.  They may not have protocols in place that guarantee that the patient's temperature and blood pressure and other vitals will be monitored appropriately or that the baby's heart rate will be checked frequently enough to detect a problem early.  I have seen women transferred to the hospital after being 6 cm dilated for 16 hours.  Or who labored at home with ruptured membranes for 3 days and no one knew the baby was breech until it was crowning.  Or had a seizure due to eclampsia and the midwife had apparently not checked a blood pressure in more than 8 hours and the previous blood pressure that was recorded was elevated and nothing was done to assess her.  What i've mainly seen was that a potential problem either went unrecognized or was ignored for significantly longer than it  should've been which lead to far more trouble than if it had been addressed sooner.

Having cared for these women, I have found that most had no idea what was happening or what the risks were, mainly because the midwife seemingly didn't realize there was a problem until much later and, in many cases, the midwife minimized the risks, acted as if the problem was no big deal and something that she dealt with at home all the time, even if that was not the case.  I realize my experience with homebirths is the downside, but there is definitely a downside.

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1 hour ago, smartymarty said:

Well, Maggie's doctor is sympathetic to home births.

Did he say he was going to be taking call for her 24/7 and the midwife could call anytime and he'd be happy to help her out and take over if need be?  I missed it if he did.  If he's not going to put his money where his mouth is, all the sympathy in the world means nothing.

We do provide prenatal care for women planning to deliver at home where I work, we just let them know that we don't deliver at home nor can we give advice or opinions over the phone or Facetime if things don't go as planned.  And, if they come to the hospital, the doctor on call will be their doctor.

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2 hours ago, Notabug said:

Not sure where you got your information, but episiotomies have gone the way of the dodo bird.  I stopped cutting them routinely more than 35 years ago and ACOG has recommended against them for at least 20 years.  Also, cutting one does NOT save time.  First, it is like cutting a piece of cloth first before tearing it, it tends to make the cut bigger which takes longer to repair.  So no one I know does episiotomies to save time.  BTW, most women get some sort of tear or abrasion with birth whether an episiotomy is cut or not.  If a doc cuts one, it is not to save time, that is for sure.  It can get a baby delivered a little bit quicker especially if the mom is having trouble pushing, but, in the end, there is no time saved for the doctor.

As far as outcomes, here in the US, there are statistics, they are quoted in the ACOG article I linked to in my first post.  In the US, the risk of death in the perinatal period (first 30 days of life) is double for children born at home in a planned birth.  The risk of neonatal seizures or other neurologic problem is about 3 times that of children born in the hospital.  These are not common problems, there risks are very small, but they are definitely higher with a planned home birth vs a planned hospital birth.  If the pregnant woman accepts those increased risks, I have no problem with her staying home.  If her midwife or other practitioner never informed her of those risks, I have a very big problem with that practitioner.  I find that homebirth practitioners tend to ignore the negatives and are often reluctant to refer people who are obviously poor candidates to the hospital.  It almost never happens prior to labor.

The other factor that I see is that I practice in an area where direct entry midwifery (lay midwifery) is illegal and so practitioners who are not nurse midwives (CNM) are not licensed and do not have any specific training or certification.  Most of the homebirth 'midwives' where I work have attended some number of births at home with another lay midwife and consider themselves trained.  They often do not have access to ultrasounds or blood work or medications.  I have seen women transferred to the hospital after having labored for 3-4 days after their water broke, after laboring a breech baby that the midwife didn't pick up until days went by, who had severe high blood pressure but didn't know because no one checked it regularly, whose baby had thick meconium in the fluid and the midwife did not do any monitoring of the baby's condition and didn't have proper equipment for infant suctioning.  Not to mention at least twice when a patient was transferred to the hospital after laboring at home for a day or more and was found to be carrying twins, but no one knew it.  It's tough to monitor the condition of a child that you didn't know was there and second twins already have poorer outcomes than the firstborn.

As far as 'significant deterioration', that's a judgement call and one that many midwives who conduct homebirths are reluctant to make.  Presuming that every single midwife out there has the training, the judgement, the experience to be very selective and strict in her criteria as to which patients are low risk enough to consider a delivery at home is a big presumption.  If they do not do lab work, they don't know who is significantly anemic, who has gestational diabetes, etc.  They may not have easy access to ultrasound and can miss a breech when relying solely on physical exam.  They may not have protocols in place that guarantee that the patient's temperature and blood pressure and other vitals will be monitored appropriately or that the baby's heart rate will be checked frequently enough to detect a problem early.  I have seen women transferred to the hospital after being 6 cm dilated for 16 hours.  Or who labored at home with ruptured membranes for 3 days and no one knew the baby was breech until it was crowning.  Or had a seizure due to eclampsia and the midwife had apparently not checked a blood pressure in more than 8 hours and the previous blood pressure that was recorded was elevated and nothing was done to assess her.  What i've mainly seen was that a potential problem either went unrecognized or was ignored for significantly longer than it  should've been which lead to far more trouble than if it had been addressed sooner.

Having cared for these women, I have found that most had no idea what was happening or what the risks were, mainly because the midwife seemingly didn't realize there was a problem until much later and, in many cases, the midwife minimized the risks, acted as if the problem was no big deal and something that she dealt with at home all the time, even if that was not the case.  I realize my experience with homebirths is the downside, but there is definitely a downside.

If episiotomies save time or not I cannot tell but it is pretty clear that doctors who perform it do so because they don't want to wait for the baby to come naturally. Hospitals have a schedule, you cannot simply stay in the room waiting. Maybe it won't save time but the doctors are pressured to "get it out" as fast as they can. The whole thing is all about the business, how much money the hospitals will make, or not make, if the room is available or if the birth is taking too long. Most doctors I know are also not the example of dedication to the patient. They will not stay and wait. They want the woman to get it done so they can move on down the assembly line. 

I saw some articles on statistics but they were about "unregulated" midwives". It is not possible to have real statistics when they bundle the "good" ones with the ones that are not really invested in the practice. Many of the studies were conducted by director so and so of the OB-GYN department of hospital so and so. Far from biased. Also, the ones I read, the infant deaths were, in its majority, due to things beyond the control of doctors or midwives (congenital defects, which someone should be aware of and why they were not I cannot say). It is hard to gather real data when the explanations are hidden in the last line of paragraphs.  I also saw articles that say the opposite, they were from organizations that support home births. Also far from biased. What is a fact is that women (and babies) are dying in hospitals despite all the technology, and this should not be happening.

I think it has been pretty clear, at least from what I wrote, that home birth is not for everyone and that it is a process, not an event that comes and goes in a day. It is not a decision one makes like Maggie did. It is also part of a person's personality. I, for example, would not feel like I could have a home birth. I am way too anxious for that. On the other hand, having women dying in large numbers in hospitals, in the US, with all the technology is unacceptable, so I can understand people who feel attracted to home births because the alternative can also be scary.

What should be happening is more education and investment in midwifery, instead of feeding the illusion that healhtcare in the US is safe

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On 3/10/2023 at 11:23 AM, jalady said:

^^^

I get your point, but I’d have to be married for 66 years before I tattooed someone’s name on my body!  But I’m old and cynical, even though I do have a tattoo (of my zodiac sign) on my hip 😅

Even though I've been married for nearly 40 years, I would never tattoo someone's name on my body either - mostly because of all the stories about breakups after making that semi-permanent choice. As well as the fact that I can't even commit to colors on the wall, much less designs on my body.

On 3/11/2023 at 8:01 PM, Diana Berry said:

Didn’t even think about the father and daughter moving into Rome’s dad’s house.  Good call. Why didn’t the writers think of this?So they get a few days in a hotel?  I also thought she could get Rome to find him a job at the school.  Where is this going?  

Maybe the Dad can become Rome's Dad's live in caretaker. That would wrap it all up nicely. But that's not a strength on this show.

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