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Show 4A Lakeside Review North, Wednesday, Nov. 16, 1983 Doctor Views Births Home Review Review Letter Policy The Lakeside should be brief and to the point. As a general policy, letters of 500 words or less have the best chance of being printed. The Review reserves the right to edit letters for length and content. All letters must be signed by the author and accompanied by an address and phone number. Address all letters to Review Editor; Lakeside Review, 2146 N. Main, Layton, Utah 84041, or 145 N. Main, Bountiful, Utah 84010. Review encourages letters to the editor' as a way of allowing citizens to speak out on issues that involve the local commu- Editor: After reading Mrs. Margaret Stiremans letter of Nov. 2, 1983, I felt compelled to answer so that your readers might separate the real issues from the rhet- nity. However, the Review is responsible for what is printed in the newspaper and will not oric. First, women in the state of Utah have a choice of using a physician, nurse practicianer or lay midwife to deliver their babies. Physicians are trained for up to eight years to be able to deliver babies. They are also licensed by the state, have to pass several batteries of exams to prove their competence and are required to keep up their skills by attending 25 hours of continuing education courses every publish letters which are deemed to be libelous or in bad taste. Letters concerning issues of interest to readers within the Reviews circulation area, Roy though North Salt Lake, Thanks Given To Patrons be able to continue to help improve living conditions for mentally retarded people throughout the state and provide them with opportunities to make their lives Review Editor: year. On behalf of the Mental ReNurse practicianers are registardation Association of Utah, tered (four years and especially the mentally reof training) plus years of tarded people we represent, too training. They post graduate to thank those who helped are required to pass exams and make our 35th annual fund raiscontinue to upgrade their knowl- - ' ing Bazaar and Auction a sucedge and skills by attending cess. The charity benefit was courses. held at the National Guard ArLay midwives are not trained, mory in Salt Lake City on Octoare not required to have licenses, ber 29. formal training or continuing edThanks to hundreds of volunucation. In fact, anyone can be a teers who gave freely of their e simply by saying they time and talents to make the baare one! Women have the choice zaar possible as well as merof which type of care they desire chants throughout the state who just as someone with cancer or a donated merchandise for sale brain tumor can chose treatment and auction, and the generosity at a Laetril Clinic or a Universiof the news media and those of ty Hospital. We as physicians you who attended. cant argue with that right. We Because of you, MRAU will are concerned however, with the quality of care being rendered. No licensed vocational practical nurse, no nurse aide, no reg- istered nurse, no and, in fact, no certified nurse midwife may legally give any medications to a patient without an order from a licensed physician. The question before the court deals only with whether a lay Review Editor As someone who has had one midwife gave such a medication (Pitocin) without an order from home birth and is enthusiasticala physician. The drug Pitocin is ly planning for the second, I felt not by any means without risk, compelled to comment on the midwife article. and a totally safe drug. Ms. Hand has long and loudly Information published for been in support of some type of doctors use by Parke-DavProducts, manufacturer of Pito- certification program for lay cin, states: Warnings: Pitocin, midwives. As it now stands, a when given for induction or couple canAot choose to have stimulation of labor, must be ad- birth in their home by a certified ministered only by the intrave- midwife. If they want their child nous route and with adequate delivered at home it must be by medical supervision in a hospi- a lay midwife. tal. I feel I must disagree with Ms. Now lets face the facts. PhysiRoberts and say that the Hand cians are not concerned about case should center around a coulay midwives because of money. ples right to choose how and We are concerned about lives: where to have their child. Give mothers and babies. There are us the chance to have a home only four states whose vital sta- birth, if we so choose, with tistics separate home deliveries someone who has been screened from hospital deliveries. In those and had proper training or certistates the infant death rate is, at fication. least, double for home deliveries Anyone who has had any conas opposed to those of hospital tact with Ms. Hand or Ms. Jell-inbirths. knows of their strictest I have been involved with requirement of a couple for some of the referrals from home birth. Many aspects that midwives and in many of them myself as a patient of a doctor the treatment amounts to gross did not receive. medical malpractice. There has Check these ladies records, also been a conviction for falsi- they more than speak for themfying a death certificate in a selves. home delivery. If a physician Julie Clifford commits malpractice, the law Layton and the state licensing board hold him responsible. Does a CARING IS woman have the same protec- 1 SHARING a with midwife? These tion lay are the concerns of physicians. As far as money goes, the number of home deliveries in Utah is only a small proportion of all deliveries done in Utah and this does not significantly affect doctors incomes. Furthermore, in the last year I have Make a contribution to help seen patients who were fight MD and end this dumped by midwives in their crippling disease. last few weeks of pregnancy for Contact your local chapter no other reason than they hadnt by calling: fees full their delivery by paid their last month. I know of no PAT BAKER patients in the Ogden area who 3331 South 900 East have been turned away from SALT LAKE CITY, UT 84106 hospitals for lack of money. Last S.L.C. year I delivered several of my own patients without any hope A Community Development of being paid. Can they say the Program of The United States same? Jaycees, a leadership Lets call it as it is: lets deal training organization. . with the correct issues. Can we as a society allow untrained people to give dangerous drugs and not take them to task when they break the law? Should trained nurses be denied the same privileges given to lay midwives? These will be decided in the courts. Lets stop muddying up the issues with diatribe about g doctors and the safety of childbirth at home and see the world as it renurse-midwiv- es -. -3 more meaningful. Dr. J. Perry Poison President mid-wif- . para-med- In ic Dnim Mill Support Of Lay Midwives WaiEae nap? . is . gs 0 486-593- 7 but no one 18 you can November whenl Beginning Friday, at the Court him snoozing in his sieigh near Center Santa must wake up before Christmas, Layton Hills Nall. Predict the day, hour and minute he will awaken. The guess closest to the actual wake up time will be awarded a bag full of Christmas prizes. Santa's alarm is sure to ring before Take a guess Christmas! Name Address Phone Hour Day Minute i & money-grubbinso-call-ed ally is. Dr. Lee S. Brilliant Layton L V - 1 ' i HILLS MALL |