Australian midwife Martina Görner boasted on Facebook:
What a homebirth full of unexpected surprises , literally one after the other!! ♀️ Mum gave birth to her sweet little baby boy in water and then we thought the placenta was about to come… But as it turned out, there was another baby boy about to make his entrance into the world!! What a super hero mum Brooke is. What an amazing birth!! ✨ The twins are identical twins and were born this morning ☀️ @ 08.03 & 08.07 weighing 2350 and 2200gr. Mum ♀️ and babies are doing really well. Big congratulations to everyone!! #homebirth #waterbirth #midwife #melbourne #naturalbirth #twins #tenmoons #twinhomebirth @ Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Amended post:
An Ambulance was called following the birth of the twins to transfer to hospital. The twins arrived premature (at 35 weeks). One of the twins experience respiratory difficulties. Both twins were transferred by Ambulance to hospital.
A competent practitioner would never have boasted about such a massive screw-up but it’s par for the course in the world of homebirth. The midwife violated standards of her profession and no one died. She thinks that makes her amazing.
[pullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]If you wish to hold a license from a professional board, you must follow the rules.[/pullquote]
Her professional board [Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency] suspects — not surprisingly — it makes her incompetent and has suspended her practice pending investigation.
According to the Melbourne Homebirth Association:
Recently, Martina Görner from Ten Moons Midwifery in Melbourne attended an accidental twin homebirth, the story of which has been circulated on social media in the last couple of weeks. The mother and the babies were happy and well, however after the mother took the babies in to the hospital for a check up, Martina was reported to AHPRA by the hospital staff.
On 29/10 Martina’s offices were visited by “AHPRA investigations and security personnel, who wanted to immediately collect medical files, clinic computer and clinic mobiles” in relation to the birth.
Martina’s experience is not uncommon. Almost half of Australia’s privately practicing midwives have been reported to AHPRA, and the vast majority of notifications come from hospital staff, not from their clients. AHPRA, NMBA and most hospitals continue to struggle to understand that birthing women retain the rights to make choices in relation to their own care, even where those choices fall outside the guidelines.
Martina has a hearing before AHPRA / NMBA at 1pm on Wednesday 7th November, to determine whether she will have her registration suspended, and she has been required to give an undertaking that she will not practice as a midwife ahead of this hearing.A petition organised by Bridget Muhrer of the Ten Moons Mothers Group has received over 10k signatures in less than 24 hours. The group is organising a flash mob protest outside AHPRA …
In other words, despite the fact that Görner violated multiple practice standards, homebirth advocates are supporting her.
Görner‘s registration has indeed been suspended and her supporters are furious. They seem to think this is an issue of reproductive freedom. It’s not; it’s an issue of professional competence. If you wish to hold a license from a professional board, you must follow the rules.
In and of itself, failure to diagnose twins is not malpractice. Prior to the advent of ultrasound, unexpected twins occurred in almost 30% of twin births. It is, however, malpractice to deliver a premature baby at home and that’s what Görner did. It’s not her only violation of professional standards.
Görner‘s boasts about her own practice indicate additional failures.
91% of patients declined the glucose tolerance test.
99% declined group B strep testing.
87.5% declined Rhogam during pregnancy
85% declined neonatal Vitamin K
Even though these are foolish, potentially deadly choices, women have the right to make these choices … but ONLY if they are properly informed since these are violations of professional standards. The fact that Görner is boasting about these statistics suggests that she doesn’t see these choices as risky and potentially deadly, but it is NOT up to a provider to decide whether or not she likes practice standards.
Moreover, if the provider doesn’t know the scientific facts about these choices, she can’t possibly be providing informed consent. It doesn’t matter whether or not she and her patients share the same mistaken beliefs about these interventions. Counseling a patient in a healthcare setting mandates providing them with accurate information and making sure they understand it. That requires counseling by someone who is conversant with the scientific rationale behind each recommendation. Failure to provide such counseling is malpractice.
Professional standards are guard rails on professional practice. They are not discretionary. Patients can refuse them but providers can’t tell patients they aren’t necessary if that’s not what the science shows. If you want to carry a license, you must follow the rules for licensure whether you like them or not. There’s a reason for that: public safety. A midwife who routinely violates the standards of her profession puts the public at risk.
