The Tragic Case of Carri Chimelewski

I started two different post about this news report and erased them both. This particular story is so sad and tragic that it is difficult to write down my thoughts. http://www.fox59.com/wxin-unassisted-bathtub-births-072309,0,6360522.story

Apparently, there are some members of extreme fundamentalism who are distrustful of the modern medical establishment. So, frightened are they of doctors and hospitals that they opt to give birth at home.

Of course, I realize that there are midwives who are well trained and careful to follow the regulations of the states in which they work. Women decide to give birth at home for a variety of reasons. My intent is not to criticise the different choices that are open to women. But there is a vast difference between a midwife who has attended an accredited institution and is prepared to turn away clients whose health make home birth dangerous, and a midwife who refuses to follow any of her state's restrictions because she feels she has a mandate from God.

Thirty-seven year-old Carri Chimelewski of Richmond, Indiana was so proud of her growing family she started a website posting pictures of her latest pregnancy online.

Most of us know that an older mother has special needs that might make her a bad choice for giving birth at home. She would need to be closely monitored, if she did opt for home birth. That apparently didn't happen in the case of Carri Chimelewski.

Determined to give birth at home under the care of unlicensed midwife, Brandi Wood, the mother ignored very troubling signals that she needed to see a qualified professional. She wrote on her blog: "My body is full my legs can only take so much." Her midwife dismissed her concerns as fatigue and assured her that she must be carrying twins. The Chimelewski's baby died(there was only one) and Carri almost lost her own life.

One statement in the article especially infuriated me. She believed that God would handle any problems she had with her pregnancy. Followers also say Carri dismissed doctors as idolatry. We are blessed to be born into a country with decent medical care. Not using that care is refusing a gift from God. For goodness sakes, the book of Luke was written by a physician. I can't even fathom the reasoning behind her idea that doctors are idolatry.

I have included the link to a site called No Longer Quivering. The owner was a member of an extreme fundamentalists group(I would call it a cult) that encouraged women to give birth at home. Luckily, the blog owner is alive to report on her experiences and warn other women from following her example .http://2spb.blogspot.com/2009/07/vyckies-story-part-20-though-he-slay-me.html

I really wish that I could express how deeply this story bothered me. It is so tragic and unnecessary. It also makes me angry. This newborn should not have died. Poor Vyckie over at No Longer Quivering should never have felt that God's will was that she be miserable and risk her life. There is nothing biblical that states that we should avoid the wonderful advances that have been made in health care.

But what saddens me most is that there are women now, even as you are reading this, who are forgoing medical care because they believe that they are called from God to do so.