2012 conventions 2012 election 2013 session arts arts and culture author ballot measures basketball bomb books boy scouts budget bullying business charlie hales children clackamas climate change coal college courts crime culture culture club democrats drugs economy education environment family film fluoride food gay rights guns handguns health health care health insurance high school history housing immigration internet kitzhaber language law legislature lgbt literary arts living marijuana marriage media medicine mental health military minor parties mohamed mohamud movies music native americans news newspaper obama olympics oregon our town parenting pers photography police politcs politics port portland portland business journal president prevention public safety religion republicans rnc romney rural salem sam adams sandy hook schools science shooting sports suicide supreme court taxes technology television terrorism theater third parties transportation union university of oregon washington wildfire women

Going crazy not being able to call in.  I hope the public reads posts and not just listens on the radio.

The mechanism of reporting practices under question is proper.  If a midwife or doctor in the hospital delivers a baby that needs resuscitation or if a mother has an infection, hemorrhage or some other unexpected outcome that case goes to review.  The purpose of the review is not expressly punitive.  It is meant to look at the practice of those involved to see if the outcome could have been avoided.

Every licensed provider is duty bound by their license to report cases or practices that are of concern to the licensing body.  OHSU was simply doing this.  It is the role of the midwifery board and Oregon Health Licensing Agency (OHLA) to review the case.  If their standard has been met and the practice was not outside of the midwife's scope then the board is not obligated to do more. 

Of concern is that the scope out of hospital midwives is so broad that even when outcomes are repeatedly poor there has been no breach of practice.  OHLA has decided to investigate not just Andaluz but all cases.  Andaluz has not been targeted.  They just happen to be the practice with the most reports filed. Hmmm.

posted 2 years, 9 months ago
view in context

I emplore these people posting to step back from blaming and listen.  Listen to women, listen to evidence. 

Home birth is safe.  In the UK and Netherlands where home birth is much more common than the US midwives deliver babies at home every day.  They follow specific standards that don't include delivery of VBAC, breech or multiples at home.  those women deliver with midwives at the hospital.  Netherlands has a neonatal loss rate of .3 per 1000.  The majority of these are losses that would be unavoidable, congenital defects or still birth.

In Oregon the intrapartum loss rate for out of hospital birth is 5 in 600 homebirths thus far in 2010.  These are babies alive going into labor that do not survive labor.  This should be a very very rare event. In my 10 years of being a midwife, I have not experienced it and in the almost 30 years of practice of my group we have not experienced it.

Compare .3 per 1000 to 5 in 600.  Something has to change!  Informed choice must be documented and transparent.  Informing and providing risk assessment must be ongoing through labor.  I believe that every woman does need and deserve a midwife, but some really do need a doctor in addition to their midwife.  A professional midwife should be eithically bound to present that care which is safest for mother and baby without bias or propaganda.  An informed midwife and mother can find good care within a hospital system should they seek it early enough.

There are many things that need to change about in hospital birth.  It exists within a broken medical system.  There are many committed and exquisit providers in the hospital too.  They are bringing vaginal breech back, providing VBAC with  >85% success.  There are midwives in every Portland hospital providing VBAC. 

Out of hospital birth exists in Oregon like no other developed region in the world.  The scope of practice for out of hospital midwives has been stretched to the point that women are not protected should they choose a midwife who may be confident and loving but not prudent.  There is no professional accountability.  The result has been an intrapartum loss rate that is unacceptable.  This is why something must change.  A diologue is underway.  Unfortunately a lawsuit will bring this diologue to a halting stop. 

posted 2 years, 9 months ago
view in context

The speaker from the law enforcement union really served the public an injustice. I imagine public employees especially law enforcement professioanls are angry, but his comments really were proposed to incite rather than clarify the situation.

I reject the addition of the comment about "grooming" behavior and the reference to teachers' conduct in this discussion. Flirtation or conversation unless deemed to be harassment is not prosecuted. Professionals observe a code of conduct with specific legal desriptors, harassment, coersion, inapproriate physical or sexual contact, etc. In my understanding grooming is a psychological term. All kinds of behaviors could be interpreted as grooming but are not illegal. In this discussion it only serves to confuse the public in a situation where no crime has been proven.

The speaker was very simplistic in their view that Sam could not lead or judge city employees who are being disciplined for lying. A city employee who lies about a professional matter should face consequences in that regard. Lies about their personal lives within the law are outside of the juridstiction of the mayor and the rest of us who are not involved.

A lie about a politician's personal life is unfortunate but does not always reflect their reliability in their professional life. It is unfortunate that they are subject to such inapproriate questions from the press. An appropriate question would have been regarding the age of his sexual partner, nothing else. Sam's inaccurate answer to an innappropriate question has jeopardized his career and the opportunity for sound leadership for our city. Is there accountability for the journalists who ask inappropriate questions? Are their careers or reputations jeopardized? Sex sells, so is any question fair game? What is the code of conduct for jounalists?

I hope Sam weathers this scandal. Our city will benefit from his leadership.

posted 4 years, 3 months ago
view in context