HOME BIRTH LOCAL & WORLDWIDE
homebirth worldwide
SQUATTING in an inflatable pool in the open kitchen of her apartment in Astoria, Queens, a very pregnant Alecia White Scharback, nude except for a bathing suit top, groaned in pain. It was 7:30 a.m. on Nov. 1, and Mrs. Scharback, 29, an actress, had been in labor for more than 36 hours. The contractions had been only mildly painful at first, but had grown increasingly fierce as a second night gave way to morning.
At the height of one contraction, Mrs. Scharback closed her eyes, bent forward and rocked her hips back and forth. “It hurts, it hurts, it hurts,” she moaned. Using a stainless steel refrigerator to steady herself, she vomited. Joshua Scharback, her husband, rushed to her side and gently stroked her head…
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homebirth in las vegas
Nevada’s Legal Status of Midwifery
There are not any procedures outlined in the law for registration, certification, or licensure of midwives. Therefore, midwives are not licensed or regulated by the State of Nevada. The Clark County Health District has in the past taken on the informal task of keeping track of homebirths and midwives attending them. You are encouraged to answer any of the Health District’s questions truthfully, as the results will help keep home birth an option in Nevada.
the Stork Makes House Calls
by Tasha Pittser for Living Las Vegas
“I’ve always been a hippie, but I was never considered an oddball until it came time to deliver my second child. Like every mother marking off the days until her due date, I had a lot of choices to make. When I chose a home birth, it raised some eyebrows – even from my husband. But it was a good choice for me, and I want other Las Vegas mothers to know it’s an option for them too.
For me it came down to quality of care. At the beginning of my pregnancy, I was getting my prenatal care from an obstetrician whose office was seriously overcrowded and understaffed. My average wait time was over an hour. Sitting in the waiting room, pregnant and uncomfortable, with my 2-year-old son running around tearing up the magazines was torture. When I was finally called in to see the doctor, my appointment would last 10 minutes max – because there were still 20 more pregnant women to be seen! I would leave the OB’s office after every visit feeling hurried, thirsty and stressed out…”
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Fear & Loafing: Delivery Boy (Midwife)
by Corey Levitan for Las Vegas Review Journal
“The bone-crushing agony. The spine-chilling terror. The blood-curdling screams.
Valerie Melotti can’t believe how much I’m overreacting as she delivers her baby in front of me. (Every now and then, I check my pants for deliveries of my own.)”It’s about me over here,” Melotti says in the 150-gallon birthing pool erected in her Henderson living room.
Tonight, I’m stepping in for Corinne Flatt, 42. A midwife for 10 years, she delivered Melotti’s first child, Isabella, the same way two years ago. Flatt is seated behind me — along with her assistant, Ranni Gonzalez — should anything go wrong.”
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