Fewer OC Hospitals Are Allowing Midwife-Assisted Births, And Moms-to-Be Aren't Taking It Lying Down

Parker says being under the care of Snell and Sherwood has taught her to trust her instincts. "In the end, it's about the whole picture," she says. "It's like you're trying to push a giant egg out of you; your body knows what to do. You get in your position, and you do it.

"I didn't know my options when I was first pregnant," Parker says. "I wish someone would have just said, 'Girl, you need to go get a midwife.'"

Keith May

In order to keep her midwife, Robin Parker will deliver her third son 50 miles from home

Keith May

Baby moms: Lisa Sherwood (seated, with flower-print dress) and B.J. Snell (with glasses), with some of the moms whose kids they’ve delivered and who are now working for midwifery rights in the county

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• Robin Parker
• Lisa Sherwood
• Ken James
• Women's Health
• Prenatal Health, Labor and Delivery

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In a few weeks, she'll be pushing her third giant egg out, miles away from her home but with Snell by her side. "What we're asking for is to allow women to have their choices incorporated into the health-care system," Snell says. "It shouldn't be an either/or.

"The Robin Parkers shouldn't have to go to Whittier . . . to get the kind of care she was able to get in her own back yard. That's the issue. It's a women's-rights issue."

daltan@ocweekly.com