Newspaper Page Text
who has assisted in over a dozen home-
births in Athens. “The Athens medical com
munity is hostile territory." Pulley says she
finds better acceptance in Atlanta, where
doctors are willing to work with her should a
client require medical attention Because she
does not have her RN. Pulley is practicing
midwifery without a license, a misdemeanor
crime by Georgia state law. “I’ve repeatedly
applied for a certificate, but the law says
none are issued, (though] I have national
certification.” she says.
“Mindy" (not her real name] is a midwife
who has been practicing underground in the
Athens area for more than 15 years. She says
she trained under a physician in rural North
Carolina, assisting him in over 3(H) home-
births. When she moved to Athens 15 years
ago. she worker! with a group of nurse mid
wives in assisting with homebirths When
the CNM’s practice disbanded. Mindy
became the only midwife in the Athens area
who delivered babies at home.
“We are a community of educated, intelli
gent people who come here from all over.”
Mindy says. “Women know how their bodies
work, and they know what they want. Many
come from overseas I deliver a lot of babies
to foreign students for whom the idea of
going to the hospital to give birth isn't even
part of their thinking process — Muslim
women require a female practitioner by
faith... It is absurd that in an enlightened
town like this, a
hoinebirth is so hard
to get "
Mindy attributes
the lack of legal
childbirth options in
our area to the “sys
tem of big-business
medicine" in Athens
“No one will back
you up to do home-
births. and I may
need a back up [doctor) to meet me at the
emergency room should complications
arise.’ she says Mindy claims that of the
births she has helped, only 8 percent have
been turned over to the hospital She says
the clients all understand that because of
the established medical community’s refusal
to cooperate with independent inidwives. if
they are transported to the hospital, the
midwife must leave the patient at the door,
unable to assist further in the birth process
Mid wives like Debbie Pulley and Mindy,
who are breaking state laws by helping to
bring life into the world, have much to lose
in continuing their practice "I don't hide
because I feel what I'm doing is right.” says
Debbie, a midwifery activist who says her
name and face are well known to Health
Department and legislative officials. On the
other hand. Mindy, who holds a regular job
in the established medical community, will
not even apply for her Certified Professional
Midwife licensure trecause it would amount
to a public declaration of a desire to practice
homebirths. * It would threaten my job.” she
says. “The established medical community
here has such disrespect for homebirths
that if they found out it was me. they would
hurt me and my family "
HOMEBIRTHS: WHY NOT?
Opinions from the local medical estab
lishment regarding homebirths are hard to
come by. Athens Regional Hospital’s public
relations spokes people referred inquiries to
doctors at Athens Women’s Clinic, who were
unavailable for comment St. Mary s hospital
referred calls to Athens Obstetrics and
Gynecology officer- where an office manager
stated "They're fust against it Our official
|M>licy is that ever\body needs medical care
I ve never seen u refer a pregnancy to a
midwife "
Official policfe' Oi the American Medical
Association state “Obstetrical deliveries
should be performed in projierly licensed,
accredited, equipped and staffed obstetrical
units.... We support those actions that
improve the experience of the family while
continuing to provide the mother and her
infant with accepted standards of safety
available only in hospitals."
Babies have been brought into the world
by midwives in their own homes since time
began. It has only been in the last century or
so that the medical establishment took over,
particularly in America.
According to Debbie Pulley. "In the 19th
century, doctors were encouraged to begin
practice by catching babies because you
were then guaranteed the business of the
entire family.”
Doctor-attended births became the norm
as the specialty of obstetrics in the mid-2()th
century and Medicaid and other public
health care programs began to cover those
who previously would have used a midwife
Why is the medical establishment so
opposed to midwife-attended homebirths 7
Susan Hodges suggests a numl>er of reasons
"Obstetricians sincerely believe childbirth is
dangerous and must be dealt with in a med
ical setting Our culture has become so
accustomed to the medical model that it’s
hard for people at large to recognize options
and it’s hard for doctors to accept and
believe that what they've been taught is not
necessarily the best It’s also impossible not
to look at the economics involved — child
birth is an enormous market "
Mindy charges
approximately S 1,500
for prenatal, birth,
and post|Hirturn ser
vices and often
accepts barter as a
form of payment
Athens Regional,
according to hospital
spokesperson Klaine
Cook. charges
between S3.500 and
Sfi.fXH) for an uncomplicated \agmal birth, in
addition to the doctor’s charges of around
$2,500 Still, Mindy insists. “I would not
accept a client who wanted a homebirth for
purely economic reasons Homebirth is not
for everyone."
HOMEBIRTH CLIENTS
l ori Hitchcock and her husband Barrv
had always planned on having their babies
at home “I know I was made to have a baby
without it being a medical fiasco Most
women can — if you need medical interven
tion. fine, but if it’s not necessary. 1 don’t
want it.” says Lori Her most recent birth, to
now 8-month-old Ivy. was her easiest of all “I
w.ts in labor for only two hours and pushed
four times and she was out " Ivy weighed in
at a hefty and healthy 12.2 pounds
According to Mindy, if that birth had taken
place in a hospital, a doctor would not have
allowed the mother to even try to deliver
naturally
Hillary Ruston deliverer! her second baby
at home, an experience she calls "so incredi
bly perfect — so supported." Hillary also
experienced a short and fairly painless labor
of only 3 1/2 hours She credits the ease of
her delivery to her trust in her midwife “her
insttnets. her experience, as well as her gift"
It is just these feelings of comfort and
trust that Debbie Pulley believes are a prima
ry force in the success rate of midwife-
attended homebirths Mindy cites the "fight
or flight" hormones that the body releases
when confronted with a fearful situation
These hormones are contradictory to the
hormones that promote labor. Such physio
logical factors assert the importance of a
safe familiar and friendly environment dur
ing the birth process As Susan Hodges puts
!t “Hos|»itals are lor sick people and birth is
a healths process
(itizens for Muhi iferv has been <hi>sen as
lhe beneficiary for the 2Uth Annual Athens
Human Hitfhls festival
Debbie Pulley, an Atlanta-area
non-nurse midwife who delivers
babies at home. says. 'The Athens
medical community is hostile ter
ritory' for her line of work
CITY BAR
Monday Night Jazz with NOWHERE FAST
$2 Draft
“The only place in town where you can have a $1.50 beer in one hanil
and a $14.00 glass of scotch in the other!"
220 COLLEGE AVENUE • DOWNTOWN
Joiil Us oil mi Dick fob
GREAT fcRMK SPECIALS
Ffi0Nl1~6pM MOfeAY-fliBAY
Mexican Restaurant
Margarita Pitchers $7.95
60 oz. Drafts $2.99
Lime Reg. $1.99
Lime Jumbo $2.99
Draft Beer by the Glass 99c"
Authentic Mexican Food
1395 College Station Road • 549-5933
DtSK.MRS
AND MAM RS Of
MM IfUim
SlNt l I‘*71
vr? • . , . '.<■ T.'N#
(
PLATINUM AND DIAMONDS
125 EAST CLAYTON STREET • DOWNTOWN • 546-8826
{h r (h o (h 4^ (h £ (h o (h £ (b c- (h (h
o 4) 3 ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
You!
We have New Clients...
New Programs...
and need...
Part-Time Customer
Service/Sales
Representatives to
accept INCOMING
calls from clients.
Great Pay • Thorough Training • Flexible Schedule • Opportunities
for Advancement • Casual yet Professional Atmosphere
Give Us A Call At 552-2000 for more information!
DIALAMERICAMARKETINGJNC
279 Williams Street • Athens. GA
MAY 13. 1998 FLAGPOLE D
'JT: rj* r Jj C/3 <x>