Harrisburg, Pennsylvania - September 27, 2007 -
HOMEBIRTH MIDWIFE IS ORDERED TO CEASE AND DESIST BY THE STATE BOARD OF MEDICINE

The State Board of Medicine today ordered Diane Goslin, a Pennsylvania midwife who attends the homebirths of the Amish and Plain communities, to "cease and desist from the practice of medicine and midwifery." Additionally, she was fined $11,000.

Goslin, a Certified Professional Midwife, who attended over 5,000 successful homebirths and trained many professional midwives, received her certification from NARM (North American Registry of Midwives) in 1998. Accordingly, she has received appropriate training and education, demonstrated competent midwifery skill levels as affirmed by peer-review and successfully passed nationally standardized examinations. Although 23 States grant midwifery licenses to midwives who achieve NARM certification, Pennsylvania does not.

While homebirth attended by a midwife has been a traditional practice within Pennsylvania Amish and Plain communities, this less costly practice has recently been under attack from the state medical board. The number of families choosing homebirth continues to increase as medical research demonstrates its safety and cost effectiveness.

The CDC recently released a report that shows national maternal mortality rates (Aug, 2007 National Health Statistics) are the highest they have been in decades. One of the factors, they say, is the rising Cesarean birth rate.

In an effort to achieve a safe and satisfying birth, women are beginning to choose homebirth as an option. "The system is broken," said Dr. Marsden Wagner, the former director of Women and Children's Health at the World Health Organization. "The United States has the second worst newborn mortality rate in the developed world, despite the fact that it's one of the most expensive maternity care systems."

In the UK, homebirth was recently adopted as an option for birthing women by the National Health Dept., which stated in 2006, "We are committed to offering all women the choice of how and where they give birth." In April 2007, The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (the UK equivalent to the US ACOG), released a joint statement with the Royal College of Midwives stating their support for home birth.

"A recommendation made by the Georgia Study Commission on Midwifery is applicable to Pennsylvania," said Ida Darragh, Director of NARM. "When a state has an underground network of health care providers, it needs to deal with the situation responsibly through regulation rather than prosecution."

Goslin's lawyers plan to appeal the Medical Board's decision.