Utah midwife sentenced to 180 days in jail after death of premature twin

[Bethella]

An unlicensed midwife from Utah has been sentenced to 180 days in jail plus probation after she was found guilty of one count manslaughter, a second-degree felony, in addition to one misdemeanor count of reckless endangerment after she attempted to deliver premature twins and one of the babies died. She had been a lay midwife for 37 years but according to the testimony she refused to transport the mother to the hospital, didn't have the proper resuscitation equipment and was using a CPR technique that had been out of use for more than a decade.

Quote

Edwards (the county attorney) alleged that prison time was vital as this was not the first time Sorensen’s reckless conduct had led to the death of a newborn under her care. Sorensen continued to practice high risk delivers even after she was charged with manslaughter in 2014, which resulted in the death of another twin, Edwards said.

“Take note that she has a history of hurting people,” Edwards said. “I’m not saying she intended for anyone to die, but she has a history of hurting with her reckless conduct . . . This has to stop."

I'm a little pissed that she didn't get more time, she was facing 1-10 years in prison but the judge opted not to give her the recommended sentence. 180 days for the life of a child? At least she can never practice midwifery again.

http://www.thespectrum.com/story/news/local/cedar-city/2016/10/27/jury-deliberating-midwife-manslaughter-trial/92827566/

http://www.thespectrum.com/story/news/local/cedar-city/2017/01/31/sorensen-sentenced-probation-jail-midwife-manslaughter-case/97284030/

[Carm_88]

Only 180 days? That poor mother! She was carrying those babies for longer than that midwife will get in jail!  

[Toothfairy]

This should be illegal. Lay midwives aren't real professionals 

[Howl]

I find this shocking, especially since this baby was the second one she had lost.  Why she could keep practicing after the first death is beyond me.

[JMO]

The saddest and most frustrating part is that she most likely kept practicing because she felt it was "God's will" or some crap that the first baby died. I wonder if this mother knew about the previous death. Lay midwives are an archaic blight that need to be made illegal. 

[Lurky]

I guess she serves her sentence and will get right back out there.  Horrific.

[Howl]

Eeeek:  In Utah no certification or licensure is required to call yourself a midwife.  A Direct Entry Midwife can carry oxygen, but cannot carry or administer any other medications.

Here's a link to another article that has a bit more information: Safer Midwifery in Utah

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Although Vickie Sorensen and her daughter Camille Wilcox were not adequately trained to deal with respiratory distress in newborns, someone at the birth WAS properly trained and willing to help: the grandmother of the deceased was a former NICU nurse. She was there and wanted to assist with CPR but the correct equipment was not usable so she could not help her grandchild. Sorensen didn’t have the correct size of equipment to use on newborns.

”Thornton was in the waiting room of the birthing center when she heard a loud crash coming from the birthing suite, she recounted for the jury. When she went to investigate, Thornton found Sorensen putting drops into the mouth of the baby who was not breathing. She said she switched into nurse mode and asked Sorensen for a suction to remove excess fluids from the lungs to help the baby breathe, but the midwife handed her a device much too large for the preemie. She then asked for a bag valve mask to force oxygen into the baby’s lungs, but Thornton said Sorensen was allegedly unable to provide working equipment.

“I’ve always been able to save babies, but I couldn’t save my grandbaby,” Thornton said as she recounted feeling shocked as the paramedics took the child.”

Just a quick google search turns up a bit of info: Birthing suites run by direct entry midwives are totally unregulated.  Home birth deaths are typically not investigated. 

And this is truly WTF: August 2015  Sorenson's daughter,  

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Camille Sorensen Wilcox, a Utah home birth midwife, is burying one of her sons. She was pregnant with twin boys and one of them did not make it because of complications from the birth. Camille is the daughter of Vickie Sorensen,

who is currently facing was convicted of manslaughter charges for presiding over a DIFFERENT twin birth that also resulted in a death. Camille Sorenson Wilcox was present at the death of that twin. 

[Jasmar]

Since this happened in Utah, presumably the judge is Mormon, or at the very least fairly conservative.

Given the pro-life beliefs held by the (wide?) majority in Utah - assuming that it's a safe bet the judge is included here - HOW is that sentence possibly pro-life?? Hell, it's not even pro-birth. 

I don't get it.

[Black Aliss]

17 hours ago, Toothfairy said:

This should be illegal. Lay midwives aren't real professionals 

But they are very popular in Utah in part because Certified Nurse Midwives are not permitted to attend home births. People do choose home births for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is lack of health insurance to cover a hospital birth, but in polygamist communities there are added incentives, e.g., patriarchy-on-steroids, a deep suspicion of all institutions.

They are still anti-choice pro-life, but when a baby dies that's just God's will, y'know.

ETA: I'm not sure why, if you were willing to go to a birthing center, you'd go to one staffed by a lay midwife. When I lived in Utah there was a wonderful birthing center, staffed by CNMs, with all of the resuscitation equipment needed to stabilize a newborn in distress, and a heli-pad for transporting infants to the University of Utah NICU.

[imokit]

Our birth centre has full equipped resuscitaires in every room and is under labour ward. You get the holistic natural care of midwives with back up from both obstetricians and paediatricians if needed. Plus the midwives there are brilliant at risk assessment and don't view transferring up to labour ward as a failure. If it's needed is needed.

[freedom_for_all]

Our birth centre has full equipped resuscitaires in every room and is under labour ward. You get the holistic natural care of midwives with back up from both obstetricians and paediatricians if needed. Plus the midwives there are brilliant at risk assessment and don't view transferring up to labour ward as a failure. If it's needed is needed.

That's my dream situation. Well equipped birth center a floor or two from the labour ward. I can start with natural care and quickly switch to the miracle of modern medicine if things go south. Healthy mom healthy baby. And no at home clean up!

[December]

On 2/5/2017 at 0:07 AM, imokit said:

Our birth centre has full equipped resuscitaires in every room and is under labour ward. You get the holistic natural care of midwives with back up from both obstetricians and paediatricians if needed. Plus the midwives there are brilliant at risk assessment and don't view transferring up to labour ward as a failure. If it's needed is needed.

That sounds like a wonderful balance. Unfortunately, it seems like part of the appeal of these type of home births is to prove they're not "failures" who required medical intervention, so I wonder whether people who choose to go with these sort of lay midwives would even opt for a properly outfitted birthing center if there was one nearby. 

[KnittingOwl]

11 hours ago, freedom_for_all said:

That's my dream situation. Well equipped birth center a floor or two from the labour ward. I can start with natural care and quickly switch to the miracle of modern medicine if things go south. Healthy mom healthy baby. And no at home clean up!

My midwife team was fully integrated into the regular L&D ward. The attending physician is also briefed on CNM's patients when they arrive in the event of an emergency. I had pitocin and when I asked for an epidural, it wasn't a big deal. The anesthesiologist came to my room just like an MD patient. Granted, I never got the epidural, so I don't know what happens after. I was 9-10 by the time the anesthesiologist got there. 

It was a great experience and I'd do it again. My midwife was amazing and helped me get through a lot of stress during my pregnancy. I was finishing up my PhD at the same time and ended up in maternity triage because I was having bad cramps and anxiety attack. She just held me and talked me through it. The OBs were very dismissive.