The powers-that-be (Dr. Kellett Letson and Teck Penland) at MAHEC Regional OB/Gyn Services in Asheville, NC want to reduce our access to midwives in labor. The new policy will go into effect January 1, 2012, and will not let midwives be "on-call" after regular business hours. This means MAHEC midwives cannot attend any births after hours or on weekends, and may not be able to stay with laboring mamas during their entire labor/birth. If you care about this issue and want access to an on-call midwife 24/7, please sign this petition!!
We the undersigned respectfully request that patients of MAHEC midwives have continued access to midwifery care while in labor even after January 1, 2012. We want our midwives on-call and attending our labors/births anytime - even after normal business hours and on weekends. We want Dolly, Beth, Allison, and Amanda at our
births, not a doctor who we may or may not have ever met.
We feel that that many in the community- VBAC patients, women carrying multiples, and others, will be under-served by no longer having 24/7 access to midwifery care once the changes at MAHEC Regional OB/Gyn Services take effect. We feel that all women in Asheville and the greater WNC community deserve to have access to midwifery care in labor.
We are concerned that MAHEC midwives patients who are currently pregnant and due after the New Year will not know if they will have a midwife attending their birth or a doctor. These women and families have gotten to know the midwives over the course of their pregnancies and now have undue stress because of the changes in policy at MAHEC.
Please reconsider the changes in policy which effectively
reduce patient access to midwives while in labor. We want to keep midwives attending our
entire labors! Thank you for taking the time to read this letter and consider our concerns.
