Third 2012 homebirth death in North Carolina

North Carolina is on track to meet or exceed the horrifying toll of 5 known deaths last year.

The first occurred in May. The second occurred in Wilmington in late May/early June. It was the result of a shoulder dystocia at an attempted HBAC (homebirth after cearean). Now comes word of a third death.

The baby boy* died on July 23, 2012. His death was reported to me by a grieving family member:

[My daughter's] water broke in the early morning hours of Thursday July 19th...

Her doula was Rowan Bailey- a student and follower of The Matrona and Whapio Diane Bartlett, in Asheville NC

Rowan Bailey claims a holistic, non-interference approach, and she lived up to that reputation. She became annoyed at phone calls and doubts from family and the father.

After 4 days of labor, she finally admitted she did not know how to "get the baby out" at home.

At the hospital they could not find the baby's heartbeat. The stillborn baby was born that afternoon.

Who is Rowan Bailey? According to her website:

MY PHILOSOPHY~ I believe you are inherently and intuitively aware of your requirements for yourself and your baby. You are your own creator of your dreams fulfilled. I also believe that pregnancy and birth are amazingly transformative experiences to be enjoyed with love and enthusiasm. I honor your journey as sacred and fully yours. As your consultant it is my responsibility to remind you of your power and knowledge to make your own informed choices with clarity of intellect and spirit. We will work together to co-create a nurturing environment for the entire family.

My Work: I am doing global work for peace and non-violence through my commitment to education in conscious birth choices. I co-create with families the space for powerful and transformative experiences in the child bearing year.

Her "training"?

I completed the Holistic Doula Training at The Matrona with teacher and mentor Whapio Diane Bartlett in 2003. I continued to study birth with Whapio and many others through workshops and conferences learning numerous methods and healing modalities such as Homeopathy, Herbs, Conflict Resolution, Reiki, Water Birth and Acupressure to mention but a few. I then went on to graduate from the Midwifery Immersion program at The Matrona in April of 2006. I carefully choose conferences and workshops each year to fulfill my commitment to myself and my community for continuing education. I am currently (2011 & 2012) attending Midwifery SkillsLabs and the Trust Birth Conference 2012 with Ancient Art Midwifery Institute.

Training: I was blessed to assist Claudie Cameron, DEM, for four years. During my extensive training with Claudie, I have attended the home birth of twins, breech presentation, VictoriousBAC, women who birthed premature and post-dates babies, as well as many other variations of normal. I also witnessed shoulder dystocia, hemorrhage and families experiencing grief and loss...

No doubt, she's witnessed grief and loss. That happens all too often at homebirth in North Carolina.

And her mentor, Whapio Diane Bartlett? Apparently, she is an advocate of quantum midwifery, undisturbed birth, and placenta medicine. Her philosophy?

We feel that trusting women, nurturing women, and meeting women and their families where they at are the tools that allow us to create soul-level connections with each other. When mother and care-give experience deep soul-level connections it is not necessary to disturb the birthing process.

We believe that the study of biology without mysticism is flat. We understand childbirth to be an altered state of reality and we prepare midwives to engage those realms and to facilitate families in receiving gifts that those worlds have to offer.

Who thinks up this idiocy?

Who believes it?

Why would anyone hire such obviously ignorant clowns to preside over a life and death event like the birth of a baby?

When are we going to fine these women out of existence and jail the ones who preside over preventable neonatal deaths?

*I have removed the baby's name as per the request of the family member who reported the death to me.