Birth and Links in UT
Links to websites on birth, birth centers, midwives, doulas, and other nifty things in the greater SLC area:
(for my sisters, mostly)
The one birth center that I've found, that's honestly not affiliated with a hospital: http://www.birthandfamilyplace.com
There are other places calling themselves birth centers - such as the one at University Hospital - and while they say that they are separate, if they transfer due to complications, it's automatically going to be a transfer to the UofU hospital. That, to me, is not a separate, unaffiliated birth center.
However, as it would figure, both the Birth and Family Place and the UofU birth center have strict requirements for low-risk births. Factors that would make one 'high-risk' include past c-sections, more than 3 weeks before or 2 weeks after your 'best before' (due) date, 'abnormal positions' (I would guess that any breech, OP [sunnyside up, baby presenting face-up rather than the preferred face down], etc, would qualify as abnormal), and so on, and so forth. While I can try to understand why they have such strict rules about these things, it's not particularly helping to improve a model of birth that's currently defined by those that are trained to look for problems rather than normalcy - aka, western medical doctors.
The good news is that direct-entry midwifery - and thus, in it's own way, midwife-attended homebirths - has been made officially legal in Utah. This year, the 2005 Direct-Entry Midwife Act (HB 25) was passed, enabling more midwives to attend births in the mainstream. Remember, there have been midwife-attended and unassisted homebirths in UT in the past, but before this bill was passed, they were always viewed with skepticism and kept (somewhat, at least) secret.
Utah Friends of Midwives: http://www.utahfriendsofmidwives.org/ An excellent group that had a large role to play in getting the Direct-Entry Midwife Act passed, with great links to the community. It's a good place to start if you want anything other than the standard hospital birth, whether you just want less intervention (a doula helps!), or you want the full-bore homebirth without any distractions.
Links to midwives and doulas in the Salt Lake area:
http://www.betterbirth.com Homebirth services, can also provide doula services in a hospital.
http://www.birthwisemc.com Excellent waterbirth support, with birth pools and resources. Another homebirth midwife who can also provide support in a hospital setting.
http://loveyourbirth.com Doula and Childbirth Education and Support (lots of links here)
Ok, if you're asking: Hey, Lorraine, why aren't you listing the many CNM's in UT, and why aren't these direct-entry midwives available for hospital births?
1) CNM's, in my opinion, and for the large majority (there are exceptions, I'm sure, I just don't know any personally), are just as medically minded as OB's. They seem to look for problems, rahter than reinforcing how normal, natural, and better-unhindered birth and pregnancy are. And when you start by looking for problems, you'll likely find some - whereas if you start by recognizing birth as a natural event, one for which we are biologically engineered to do, and do well (we women have sucessfully given birth since the beginning of man. we have had hundreds of years to tune our bodies to be able to birth our babies), you're far more likely to make it through the experience without unneeded complications.
I'm sure there are good OBs, and good CNMs. I'm sure there's a couple out there in SLC-land that don't believe in messing with a woman in labour just because they're there. But they are few and far between, I promise.
2) The hospital-birth environment is one that doesn't respect natural birth. Oh, except for their definition of natural: Not a c-section or forcepts delivery. Yes, it is still considered a 'natural' birth with an episiotomy, epidural, being coached to PUSH! PUSH!, having at least a dozen people in the room as you give birth, the doc deciding that you've 'worked hard enough' or you 'need a little help' and pulling out the vacuum extraction, extensive (and severely limiting) fetal monitoring, limited movement (being stuck to a bed while in labor is HELL. Being able to move, drink, think, and follow your own instincts should be a god-given right - but in a hospital, it is not. You are in THEIR territory, and you must follow THEIR rules. The moment you walk into a hospital, you have lost most of your rights to make your own decisions, to function as you wish to function.)
Thus, non-CNM midwives are not respected in hospitals. They can only work as like a doula - giving support to the labouring woman, but not able to be the one making 'judgement calls' or decisions - again, when you are in a hospital, you are on their terms. There's no changing that, no matter how optimistic you may be.
Even CNM's are glorified nurses in a hospital environment. The ultimate decisions are made by the DOCTOR - whether or not you, or your midwive, or your husband, or anyone else, agrees.
One more link: The Utah La Leche League: http://www.lllusa.org/UT/Utah.html
Bree, I know you know this one, but I wanted it in this list anyway. Because the three things a woman needs in this day and age to breastfeed are: 1) Determination, 2) Information, and 3) Support.
(for my sisters, mostly)
The one birth center that I've found, that's honestly not affiliated with a hospital: http://www.birthandfamilyplace.com
There are other places calling themselves birth centers - such as the one at University Hospital - and while they say that they are separate, if they transfer due to complications, it's automatically going to be a transfer to the UofU hospital. That, to me, is not a separate, unaffiliated birth center.
However, as it would figure, both the Birth and Family Place and the UofU birth center have strict requirements for low-risk births. Factors that would make one 'high-risk' include past c-sections, more than 3 weeks before or 2 weeks after your 'best before' (due) date, 'abnormal positions' (I would guess that any breech, OP [sunnyside up, baby presenting face-up rather than the preferred face down], etc, would qualify as abnormal), and so on, and so forth. While I can try to understand why they have such strict rules about these things, it's not particularly helping to improve a model of birth that's currently defined by those that are trained to look for problems rather than normalcy - aka, western medical doctors.
The good news is that direct-entry midwifery - and thus, in it's own way, midwife-attended homebirths - has been made officially legal in Utah. This year, the 2005 Direct-Entry Midwife Act (HB 25) was passed, enabling more midwives to attend births in the mainstream. Remember, there have been midwife-attended and unassisted homebirths in UT in the past, but before this bill was passed, they were always viewed with skepticism and kept (somewhat, at least) secret.
Utah Friends of Midwives: http://www.utahfriendsofmidwives.org/ An excellent group that had a large role to play in getting the Direct-Entry Midwife Act passed, with great links to the community. It's a good place to start if you want anything other than the standard hospital birth, whether you just want less intervention (a doula helps!), or you want the full-bore homebirth without any distractions.
Links to midwives and doulas in the Salt Lake area:
http://www.betterbirth.com Homebirth services, can also provide doula services in a hospital.
http://www.birthwisemc.com Excellent waterbirth support, with birth pools and resources. Another homebirth midwife who can also provide support in a hospital setting.
http://loveyourbirth.com Doula and Childbirth Education and Support (lots of links here)
Ok, if you're asking: Hey, Lorraine, why aren't you listing the many CNM's in UT, and why aren't these direct-entry midwives available for hospital births?
1) CNM's, in my opinion, and for the large majority (there are exceptions, I'm sure, I just don't know any personally), are just as medically minded as OB's. They seem to look for problems, rahter than reinforcing how normal, natural, and better-unhindered birth and pregnancy are. And when you start by looking for problems, you'll likely find some - whereas if you start by recognizing birth as a natural event, one for which we are biologically engineered to do, and do well (we women have sucessfully given birth since the beginning of man. we have had hundreds of years to tune our bodies to be able to birth our babies), you're far more likely to make it through the experience without unneeded complications.
I'm sure there are good OBs, and good CNMs. I'm sure there's a couple out there in SLC-land that don't believe in messing with a woman in labour just because they're there. But they are few and far between, I promise.
2) The hospital-birth environment is one that doesn't respect natural birth. Oh, except for their definition of natural: Not a c-section or forcepts delivery. Yes, it is still considered a 'natural' birth with an episiotomy, epidural, being coached to PUSH! PUSH!, having at least a dozen people in the room as you give birth, the doc deciding that you've 'worked hard enough' or you 'need a little help' and pulling out the vacuum extraction, extensive (and severely limiting) fetal monitoring, limited movement (being stuck to a bed while in labor is HELL. Being able to move, drink, think, and follow your own instincts should be a god-given right - but in a hospital, it is not. You are in THEIR territory, and you must follow THEIR rules. The moment you walk into a hospital, you have lost most of your rights to make your own decisions, to function as you wish to function.)
Thus, non-CNM midwives are not respected in hospitals. They can only work as like a doula - giving support to the labouring woman, but not able to be the one making 'judgement calls' or decisions - again, when you are in a hospital, you are on their terms. There's no changing that, no matter how optimistic you may be.
Even CNM's are glorified nurses in a hospital environment. The ultimate decisions are made by the DOCTOR - whether or not you, or your midwive, or your husband, or anyone else, agrees.
One more link: The Utah La Leche League: http://www.lllusa.org/UT/Utah.html
Bree, I know you know this one, but I wanted it in this list anyway. Because the three things a woman needs in this day and age to breastfeed are: 1) Determination, 2) Information, and 3) Support.