The Christian Heritage Academy of Midwifery

[Columbia]

For your SOTDRT graduate who would like to study medicine, but doesn't want to have her testimony defiled at a heathen, secular, medical school.

http://christianheritagemidwifery.org/

Apparently there's a Christian "midwifery" school in Colorado Springs. I've seen it touted on a few blogs and websites as a great way for girls to start a family based business. Whether or not it's a great way for them to provide adequate prenatal care to mothers, I have no idea, but it doesn't look like it. The program is heavy on nutrition, essential oils, and herbs for treatment, which makes sense, I suppose, since only a CNM can prescribe, and this school is certainly not churning out nurses. They're also big on "REAMS testing" which from what I can find online is some evidence-lacking means of diagnosis through saliva and urine pH testing. (https://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/Tests/reams.html)

There is no mention made of ultrasonography, though I don't know if a lay midwife can do that. They do, however, offer a seminar on how the HPV vaccine can wreck your fertility, a workshop about "Scientific Research vs. Testimonies of the Lord," and another one about "Theraputic [sic] Modalities (Learning How to Discern)." I'm assuming these both mean waiting for the Holy Spirit to tell you when to take your patient to the hospital, instead of actually having a checklist or protocol to follow. I'm reminded of that girl who runs Radical Femininity, whose mother delivered twins two weeks early on a woman who'd had no ultrasound or decent prenatal care, and didn't know she was carrying twins. She wound up in the ER a few times due to complications.

The school is run by two nurses, one RN and one LPN with nary a CNM or OB/GYN in sight. The website is in desperate need of editing, especially the spelling and punctuation.

[EowynW]

I'm going to ask my midwife friends if this is legit. Where I'm at we have a huge community of excellent midwives and birthing centers that work closely with the OB & CNM midwives. 

I don't know how Colorado works but in TX CPMs can also prescribe certain things with standing orders from a dr. My mom has a good working relationship with the OB community and one dr writes her standing orders regularly. 

For ultrasounds, my mom uses an ultrasound tech and sends her patients to their clinic. Results are faxed over to her clinic. The larger birthing centers in the area hire a tech to be in house a few days a week.

[Briefly]

4 hours ago, Columbia said:

For your SOTDRT graduate who would like to study medicine, but doesn't want to have her testimony defiled at a heathen, secular, medical school.

http://christianheritagemidwifery.org/

Apparently there's a Christian "midwifery" school in Colorado Springs. I've seen it touted on a few blogs and websites as a great way for girls to start a family based business. Whether or not it's a great way for them to provide adequate prenatal care to mothers, I have no idea, but it doesn't look like it. The program is heavy on nutrition, essential oils, and herbs for treatment, which makes sense, I suppose, since only a CNM can prescribe, and this school is certainly not churning out nurses. They're also big on "REAMS testing" which from what I can find online is some evidence-lacking means of diagnosis through saliva and urine pH testing. (https://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/Tests/reams.html)

There is no mention made of ultrasonography, though I don't know if a lay midwife can do that. They do, however, offer a seminar on how the HPV vaccine can wreck your fertility, a workshop about "Scientific Research vs. Testimonies of the Lord," and another one about "Theraputic [sic] Modalities (Learning How to Discern)." I'm assuming these both mean waiting for the Holy Spirit to tell you when to take your patient to the hospital, instead of actually having a checklist or protocol to follow. I'm reminded of that girl who runs Radical Femininity, whose mother delivered twins two weeks early on a woman who'd had no ultrasound or decent prenatal care, and didn't know she was carrying twins. She wound up in the ER a few times due to complications.

The school is run by two nurses, one RN and one LPN with nary a CNM or OB/GYN in sight. The website is in desperate need of editing, especially the spelling and punctuation.

That is kind of terrifying.

[Christwriter]

I'm a big fan of Dr. Amy and the Skeptical OB blog, and I am CRINGING at this. 

Are they going to learn how to read fetal heartbeat tracings, so they can tell when a baby is entering distress? Or are they going to do intermittent checks with a doppler or worse, intermittent checks with a stethoscope so they only catch fetal distress when the baby's heart tones have gutterballed and he needs to get out twenty minutes ago? Are they going to learn how in a homebirth or birthing center "ten minutes from the hospital" means thirty, plus admission time? How to fudge paperwork so your client can have their footling breech twin waterbirth VBA3C? How to manually fix placenta previa? (Aka "let's punch a hole in the placenta. What could go wrong!") Why Positive Tests For Group B Strep Aren't A Big Deal And Neither Is Your Four Hour Old Baby's Pnumonia?

Unless this program is EXTRAORDINARILY good, its graduates are going to kill babies and mommies with their gross incompetence. I'm horrified.

[EowynW]

Re reading over the site and this sends up alarm bells for me. It's the kind of language used in fundie circles and in heavy handed fundie churches and groups. Gothard loved these things too. 

 

"

Would be willing to be a team player (In school and in her personal practice)

Shows respect to authority, leaders, and peers.

Is willing to submit to accountability in her life

Tries to embrace hard things cheerfully.

Is willing to try to work out conflicts based on the principles found in Matthew 18: 15-19."

[Lurky]

What shits me about things like this is that some decent girls with good ambitions will fall for this bullshit, fork out a ton of cash and end up not realising they're actively dangerous.  Girls who've been SOTDRTed, with parents who maybe have been SOTDRT themselves, or are so blinkered that they think mentioning God trumps medical knowledge.

It's such a scam, and while I might roll my eyes at Fundies conning each out of money, this enrages me.

ETA And then I think about the poor parents who hire the "graduates" of this "programme" thinking they're getting a trained midwife, and because of their own SOTDRT, don't realise that this is someone dangerous.

[EowynW]

My midwife circle says they've never heard of them and that they look very off. 

[gustava]

Wonder if they'll be singing "Jesus Saves" on the way to the emergency room?

[NotQuiteMotY]

22 hours ago, Columbia said:

I'm reminded of that girl who runs Radical Femininity, whose mother delivered twins two weeks early on a woman who'd had no ultrasound or decent prenatal care, and didn't know she was carrying twins. She wound up in the ER a few times due to complications.

Link? Not that I need a new rabbit hole...

Seriously, that "school" seems horrifying just from what you've quoted. How women and babies will die before it gets shut down?

[EowynW]

If any of these students pass the NARM and if there is a death or mistake on their watch, then complaints should be brought against them. In TX. atleast. They have regular disciplinary hearings. The panel includes experienced midwives and OBGYNs. You will have your license revoked/suspended if you have an accident to injury due to lack of knowledge or neglect. They are tough here. 

[Columbia]

2 hours ago, NotQuiteMotY said:

Link? Not that I need a new rabbit hole...

Seriously, that "school" seems horrifying just from what you've quoted. How women and babies will die before it gets shut down?

radicalfemininity.com/2016/10/10/twins-sukkot-coconut-oil/

This is the post from Radical Feminity (the Washburns.)

virtuousdaughters.com/2016/12/06/a-long-awaited-update-where-have-i-been/

This is a post from her sister about their birth. On both pages there is a link to their begging for money to cover hospital bills from the mother’s complications. I wonder how well those complications could have been prevented with actual trained help. 

[Christwriter]

10 hours ago, EowynW said:

If any of these students pass the NARM and if there is a death or mistake on their watch, then complaints should be brought against them. In TX. atleast. They have regular disciplinary hearings. The panel includes experienced midwives and OBGYNs. You will have your license revoked/suspended if you have an accident to injury due to lack of knowledge or neglect. They are tough here. 

Not tough enough IMHO. Some CPMs and even CNMs have racked up complications and deaths in both homebirths and birthing centers and just move to another state, or step up their woo or religious pitch and go for a demographic less likely to value the piece of paper. 

...and while I was looking this up I discovered that my hometown has a birthing center run by one CPM, no CNM listed on staff, and while it's five minutes away from a hospital, it's thirty minutes away from BOTH OBGYN facilities and the one it's near has no, zero, nada, accommdations in place for pregnancy emergancies. I know this because I lived near that facility and went there early in my pregnancy and got to wait all goddamn night while they got their ducks in a row. It took twenty minutes to get to the OBGYN facility when my water broke, and another 40 to get admitted. Again, not a complete emergancy, but if you're delivering a footling breach baby or a placental abruption, the people who can save your baby are very, very, very far away.

And I will admit, I am NOT the target demographic. I think homebirths are dangerous Russian Roulette, water births are a lovely way to introduce fecal bacteria to your baby before they've taken their first breath, and things like placenta pills and lotus birth need to just go the hell away. I would rather have an episiotomy than a 4th degree tear. My birth plan was "get to hospital, strap on monitor, ask for epidural, and follow doctor's instructions". We're breastfeeding, but did formula until my milk came in (Fed is Best!) And are 100% up to date on shots as scheduled by the CDC.

I am pretty religious but have an extremely low tolerance for medical woo. This shit will kill babies.

[EowynW]

True. But to be fair, there are crappy OBGYN's with negligent related complaints and several deaths that are still practicing. There are several in my area that have gotten a bare slap on the wrist and then sent back to work. I have a lot of extended family & friends in the medical field and a lot of crappy shit still happens. 

[Ozlsn]

On 09/11/2017 at 7:25 AM, Columbia said:

There is no mention made of ultrasonography, though I don't know if a lay midwife can do that. They do, however, offer a seminar on how the HPV vaccine can wreck your fertility, a workshop about "Scientific Research vs. Testimonies of the Lord," and another one about "Theraputic [sic] Modalities (Learning How to Discern)." I'm assuming these both mean waiting for the Holy Spirit to tell you when to take your patient to the hospital, instead of actually having a checklist or protocol to follow. 

I honestly don't know whether to laugh or cry. Scientific evidence vs testimonies of the Lord - this is scarily close to The Activist Mommy's husband's "God will fix ectopic pregnancies". 

I sincerely hope no one dies from being 'cared for' by graduates from here, but the odds are they will. Mostly babies, but probably some women too. And a 'nice feminine pastime to bring in some extra cash' is less so if you end up in jail for incompetence. 

[elsiedindin]

Reassuring to know that the esteemed graduates of this fine institution will have studied two semesters of "Botony". As far as what plants have to do with labor and delivery... I'd imagine that you could probably get advice of the same caliber for free from the dreadlocked hippie at your local vegan co-op. 

So you've got an LPN (1 year of community college) and an RN who obviously bounced around quite a bit in her professional life and has been "retired" for years "to stay home with her children". 

A correspondence midwifery school taught by two people with no idea what they are doing -- what could possibly go wrong?

[elsiedindin]

Also, according to the Colorado Board of Nursing, Diane Marshall's LPN license expired in 2006. Awesome. Where's a "dumpster fire" emoji when you need it?

[Cleopatra7]

5 hours ago, elsiedindin said:

A correspondence midwifery school taught by two people with no idea what they are doing -- what could possibly go wrong?

This hot mess of a “school” is a 20/20 investigation waiting to happen. 

[refugee]

9 hours ago, elsiedindin said:

Reassuring to know that the esteemed graduates of this fine institution will have studied two semesters of "Botony". As far as what plants have to do with labor and delivery... I'd imagine that you could probably get advice of the same caliber for free from the dreadlocked hippie at your local vegan co-op. 

I imagine it might be related to the properties of various herbs. Perhaps even essential oils.

wow. Wonder if the study materials are also badly spelled. Of course, it doesn’t matter because testimonies trump science.

[NotQuiteMotY]

On 11/9/2017 at 4:26 PM, Columbia said:

radicalfemininity.com/2016/10/10/twins-sukkot-coconut-oil/

This is the post from Radical Feminity (the Washburns.)

virtuousdaughters.com/2016/12/06/a-long-awaited-update-where-have-i-been/

This is a post from her sister about their birth. On both pages there is a link to their begging for money to cover hospital bills from the mother’s complications. I wonder how well those complications could have been prevented with actual trained help. 

Many thanks. I have time till I have to pull pies out of the oven, so now I have something to do in the interim!

[chaotic life]

They are using Apologia high school science courses. And with that....forget it!

And yeah....I am snooty about midwifery training. I trained at the birthplace and #1 nurse midwifery school in the US. I am not a CNM but I am VERY familiar with the training required for them and this program is a JOKE compared to what I watched my classmates go through for the privilege of being midwives.

[EowynW]

16 hours ago, chaotic life said:

They are using Apologia high school science courses. And with that....forget it!

And yeah....I am snooty about midwifery training. I trained at the birthplace and #1 nurse midwifery school in the US. I am not a CNM but I am VERY familiar with the training required for them and this program is a JOKE compared to what I watched my classmates go through for the privilege of being midwives.

Amen. 

[Columbia]

On 11/12/2017 at 7:09 AM, Cleopatra7 said:

This hot mess of a “school” is a 20/20 investigation waiting to happen. 

As much as I hate to think of a woman or baby dying at the hands of these graduates, I’m also very interested in seeing if the subsequent investigation will dig up any dirt on the people who run this “school.”

[Tatar-tot]

The Christian Heritage Academy of Midwifery.....right up there with Hopkins and Mass General.  

[elsiedindin]

Omg, Apologia. The absolute worst, and FYI this is a voice of experience talking! The midwife site says Apologia's "advanced biology" book is "consider to be equivalent with a college course of A&P".

You have got to be kidding me...

[Imrlgoddess]

I'm all for home births and firmly believe what is natural will work out, but this is scary. There's a lot that goes into bringing a baby safely into the world.  Sure, women did it on their own decades ago but survival was frighteningly low back then.  I have no idea what my own states rules to midwifery are, years ago they weren't even a thing.  You had to look far and wide to find a midwife here 20 years ago.  I know they are more common and prevalent now but as far as I'm aware they work in tandem with the local hospitals or birthing centers, home births still aren't very popular.

 

Random catty moment:  Charmaine's picture is giving me a serious "baby shower in a bar" vibe.