Hi Carmel,
Great that you found a homebirth midwife in Costa Rica. Is she a nurse-midwife, Certified Professional Midwife, or native indiginous midwife? 30 minutes is the accepted upper time limit for distance to hospital. It could be important if there is a hemorrhage after birth, or the baby has respiratory problems or there is fetal distress (rare in homebirth).I would ask the midwife if she carries Pitocin (oxytocin) injection in case of bleeding and if she brings oxygen and can insert an IV. Most midwives will have these skills. If not, you might want to look for a more qualified midwife. BEst of luck, Ilana Shemesh)

אם תסכימי לספר לנו על המיילדת שפגשת ולשתף אותנו בחוויות שלך בלידה נשמח
נעמי
0544-795241
www.metaplim.co.il/zir-lehorut

תודה רבה על המענה, המיילדת שמה אובה מיינר, היא מיילדת הוליסטית שהוכשרה בארה"ב, היא אינה אחות, יש לה פיטוצין למקרה חרום, אינה נושאת חמצן ולא IV, אך עובדת שנים עם רופא ידוע ומוכר כאן בקוסטה ריקה, במקרה חירום היא קוראת לו להגיע לבית או לבית החולים בהתאם למקרה. הגעתי לאובה אחרי שדיברתי עם 3 מיילדות שכולן לא יכלו לקבל את הלידה מטעמים שונים, היא היחידה שהייתה פנוייה, אך היא מוכרת לא פחות גם ע"י הרופא אצלו אני במעקב הריון.www.midwiferytoday.com/international/CostaRica.asp

אשמח לשמוע את דעתכן

I think you need to find out just how far away her back-up doctor is from you. Can he get there in 10 minutes? It bothers me that in an emergency situation if you are losing a lot of blood that she cannot put in an IV and must wait until the doctor gets there, and also has no oxygen to use if the baby needs it, which of course is rare, but possibly critical. What are the other emergency facilities like? Is there a good ambulance service with paramedics? How far from the hospital are you? Did your midwife study in some accredited midwifery program and pass Mana or NARM exams, which are the American lay midwifery exams for non-nurse midwives. Or did she learn midwifery with long distance learning and apprenticing with a midwife? Did she do on her own at least 100 births? I guess your options are limited, and the hospitals are probably worse options, as I know that the Cesarian rate is very high there. Considering all the factors, I would say that homebirth with a woman with some experience and a close back-up doctor is preferable than a hospital, but maybe there is a good birthing center nearby that has more qualified midwives. Keep looking. Ilana

תודה אילנה על התשובה המפורטת. אני מתגוררת כ-6 שעות נסיעה מהעיר סן חוזה. לכן אפגוש את המיילדת רק בעוד 3 שבועות (אהיה בשבוע 37) כשנעבור זמנית לגור בעיר כדי ללדת בקרבת בית חולים .
אשמח לשתף ולהתייעץ לאחר שאכיר את המיילדת כדי לשקול את אפשרויותיי.

Hello!!

Its so good here that there is another Israeli woman that did homebirh in costa Rica!!!!

this is my second pregnant and with my first baby I did homebirth, too in Israel.

now we are in costa rica living here for 6 month already!
I guess you are already after the birth...
I realy would like to talk to you when ever you can!!!!

please send me a mail!!!

Shira_chan@hotmail.com

shira

This should be enough time. However, you need to ask the midwife if she carries pitocin and methergin with her in case of a hemorrhage and if she can put in an IV and has the IV solutions and equipment. This is the major life saving stuff you need that time is of the essence, because you can lose a lot of blood in half an hour. The shot can stop the bleeding., and the IV can prevent shock. Also make sure she brings oxygen to the birth and a resusitation bag (ambu) for the baby and that she is trained in neonatal resusitation. Also ask her where she is trained and how many births she has done and how long she is a practicing midwife.