Transfer happens. Let's talk about it.
We know that approximately 10-20% of planned community births (homebirth and birth center births) transfer to the hospital when pain medication or labor augmentation is needed, or when complications arise.
Yet midwives, emergency services personnel, nurses, and receiving hospital providers don't receive training on how to work together as a care team. We often find ourselves trying to provide care in stressful emergency situations without the information or skills we need to do so effectively.
All home birth midwives, birth center personnel, EMS personnel, and hospital providers who receive community birth transfers are invited to our live Zoom discussion, with panelists...
Silke Akerson, CPM, LDM, MPH
Instructor of Transfer Tools on HiveCE
Silke Akerson, CPM, LDM, MPH is a midwife and herbalist in Portland, Oregon. She has been in home birth practice since 2000, has worked in midwifery leadership and policy since 2010, and is currently the executive director of the Oregon Midwifery Council. She has been working collaboratively with emergency services personnel and receiving hospital providers on transfer improvement for the past 9 years. She is passionate about continuing education for midwives and allied providers as ways of ensuring quality care for all families and encouraging continued growth for ourselves as practitioners.
Wendy Smith, MD
and
Dr. Wendy Smith is an obstetrician-gynecologist in Portland, Oregon and is affiliated with multiple hospitals in the area, including Legacy Salmon Creek Medical Center and Legacy Emanuel Medical Center. She received her medical degree from Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and has been in practice for more than 30 years. She previously served on the licensing board for Direct-Entry Midwifery, and cares deeply about making hospital transfers as smooth and safe as possible for all parties involved.
