Yolo Senator offers bill to expand care
SB 1237 will make it easier for those with low-risk pregnancy give birth at home
Midwives will soon be able to prescribe drugs, procure supplies and order lab work without the supervision of a physician under a new law that expands the scope of midwife care. Certified nurse midwives are registered nurses who help pregnant women and newborns, providing care before, during and after birth. Their primary role often involves matching the birthing experience more closely with the ideals and preferences of the mother.
Women who choose this alternative form of care can walk around their house while in labor, have family around them, can shower or bathe as they please and can eat whatever they want.
Deborah Studebaker, a licensed midwife in Sacramento, said more births in these natural settings would result in better health outcomes.
“I think our mortality rates would drop tremendously,” Studebaker said.
SB 1237 was authored by State Sen. Bill Dodd, whose district includes Woodland. Dodd said in an editorial for the San Francisco Chronicle that the goal of his bill was to increase the independence of midwives. However, midwifery organizations were not unanimous in their support.
Among groups that support the bill were the California Mid-Wives Association, the Black Women for Wellness Action Project and the American Association of Birth Centers. According to bill analysis provided by the state, these groups feel that the bill gives women greater access to care that meets their personal needs.
Groups that oppose the new law, primarily say that it is still too restrictive, and include the California College of Midwives, East Bay Midwives of Color, and the Oakland Better Birth Foundation.
Studebaker has 46 years of experience, including 10 in Sacramento. She feels the new legislation will expand options for mothers and mothers-to-be.
“Unfortunately, most women are not given the kind of education that they need to take care of themselves,” Studebaker said. “They just go in thinking that they have to follow the rules and follow what the doctor tells them, but unfortunately the doctor doesn’t have more than five minutes to really tell them anything.”
That’s where midwives come in, says Studebaker. They offer a more personalized and holistic approach. It is not nearly as regimented as standard physician care. Each client works with their midwife to form a customized plan.
“There is a lot of pressure to follow the protocols that hospital or that doctor has,” Studebaker said. “Midwifery offers quite a bit more freedom to have the type of birth that you want to have.”
Kristina Alvarado, a Sacramento resident and stayat-home mom, is in favor of the bill. She sees no problem with any midwife overseeing low-risk pregnancies.
“Midwives are trained. If it is a low-risk pregnancy then I do not see the problem,” said Alvarado.
She says that her two pregnancies were easy. If she had the option to only let the midwives oversee her pregnancies at that time she would be all for it.
“My firstborn came into the world so quick my doctor wasn’t even there to help deliver it,” Alvarado said. “It was all up to the nurses.”
Rachel Fox-Tierney is a licensed midwife in Davis. She sees many advantages to midwife care.
“People want to have access. They also want to have respectful care,” Fox-Tierney said. “They want to participate and share decision making, and that is not something that they typically get in a conventional model of care.”
Fox-Tierney says that customization and personalization are the key to a safer environment.
“If you have someone who can be in a space that feels safe to them, their stress levels are going to be decreased and they will be able to birth more freely,” Fox-Tierney said. “We don’t birth well in a stressed-out scenario.”
Despite her general support of expanded care, FoxTierney is a midwife for Birthstream Midwifery Service, which is listed officially as in opposition to SB 1237.
Fox-Tierney says that the bill is still a barrier of access to too many. She says that it is not fully inclusive of all families, all births, or all midwives. The language in the bill is too narrow.
One concern among the opposition is that the bill only applies to low-risk pregnancies. This leaves a significant number of Californians ineligible for full care from midwives.
“What would be ideal is that every family gets to choose the kind of care that is best for them in their own unique situation and that it is covered by their health insurance,” said Fox-Tierney.
Fox-Tierney may not think the new bill is perfect, but she strongly believes in the intentions of everyone involved. The primary goal of midwives, nurses, doctors, and legislators is the same: Safer outcomes for mothers and their babies.
“Their intention is to do good things,” Fox-Tierney said. “All of us — our goal is to help people and support people in birthing,”