ated sorte dno. 89er Inna ysneonbai ; or

Wednesday, April 3, 1996 ~ North Shore News - 74

MED RATER DEH PEK AMO RUNTIME TL RIG PLE LEITCH Te Be LRAT LO MTEL UR IO ANS. ATE al DE COE ROD RANA

dwi

words of
wisdom

Dear Editor:

Could you please tel
me what Mr. Griblin is
trying to say about Doug
Collins?

Since you published
Mr, Griblin’s letter in your
Mailbox I assume you
must have thought it a
good one, as 1 can't
believe you only had one
to choose from, and there-
fore I must be missing
something, as I think Mr.
Griblin is saying you can’t
clearn anything = from
Collins,

Not true. Oris he say-
ing he ‘doesn't like what
someone might leara from
Collins?

- Good old Doug —- he
sure gets them ‘popping
out of the woodwork.

Keep it up — best little

| paper in B.C...
“Dave Zelmer
North Vancouver

SEAVICE LTD,

Dear Editor:

I was shocked to read the
article entitled “Midwife to
appeal conduct decision” in
March 10 Nerth Shore News
in which it was clear that the
journatist had not bothered to
speak to any of the wonien
involved in the cases meti-
tioned except “midwife” Ms.
Cynthia Milner herself.

Since | appear in the article,
both as the pregnant woman in
the picture from 1993 and in
the text itself as the victim of
home re-suturing, | feel strong-
ly that you need to redress the
imbalance and at the very least

- print some of the other side of

the story.

Back in May 1993 Ms.
Milner acted'as my midwife.
At the time she presented her-
self as a “student”. midwife
working with a senior partner,
and as she seemed competent,
professional and trustworthy it
did not occur to me to question
her qualifications.

We agreed on the ideal of a

“natural” birth, preferably at

_ home, but. the reality was a

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lung arduous dabor ending up
with a forceps delivery at
Lions Gat! Hospital some 24
hours later, ;

Four days after my son's
birth 1 was experiencing pain
at the site of my episiotomy.
and Ms. Milner discovered that
one of the stitches had
“popped” undone. She offered
to re-suture the stitch to save
me a visit to the hospital,
though now contends I uctual-
ly “refused” to go to the hospi-
tal. Why on earth would I do
this? The simple truth is that I
was in pain, understood that as
a midwife she had the neces-
sary equipment to perform
suturing, and trusted implicitly
that she would not offer to do
something that was medically
unsound. Three days later the
pain was worse and I suspect-

ed an infection.

Ms. Milner examined me
and convinced me that all was
healing well. The following
day | had a high fever which
Ms. Milner assessed by phone
as “fatigue.” She now clainis
she offered to call my doctor
but this is yet another fiction.
What she actually did was to
recommend I try more healing
“sitz” baths using the herb
Comfrey.

Thankfully by now my
trust in her judgment was fad-
ing and I took myself to a med-
ical clinic. From there { was
sent ‘immediately to Lions
Gate Hospital where 1} spent
the next five days on intra-
venous antibiotics to treat the
serious infection that Ms.
Milner had somehow failed to
notice the previous day.

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We all know that birth is
ideally a “natural” event, but
after 24 hours of excruciating
labor most women are a. little
desperate for something
stronger than homeopathic
remedies.

She still contends she did
nothing wrong when she re-
sutured my four-day-old epi-
siotomy at home, even though
numerous medical profession-

als have indicated to me that’

this was an unsound medical

sterife environment.
In finding Ms.

Registered Nurses Association
of British Columbia would
seem to endorse this opinion,
and her disclaimer that mid-
wives can do things that nurses
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RICHMOND

Milner :
guilly of incompetence, the }

fery needs regulation

and only highlights the fact
that midwifery must be regu-
lated by clear medical guide-
lines. Otherwise there is noth- -
ing to stop Ms, Milner or other
midwives working outside of
the hospital domain fron: mak-
ing serious mistakes on more

women in the future. bee?

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North Vanceuver

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