01/07/2026
It is with a heavy heart, and with deep respect for a family grieving the loss of their baby, that I write this statement. This has not been written lightly or impulsively. It reflects two years of careful reflection, personal experience, and reports from clients, providers, and hospitals. Throughout this time, I have wrestled with difficult questions: When is it appropriate to speak up? Have I waited too long? What is my motivation?
Raising concerns about another midwife’s care carries the risk of being misunderstood—as vindictive, competitive, or rooted in personal bias. I want to state clearly that this is not the case. The midwifery community is one built on mutual support, shared responsibility, and accountability. Supporting one another does not mean overlooking unsafe or unethical practices. On the contrary, our trust in one another is founded on the expectation that we will hold ourselves and each other to professional standards. I would expect nothing less than to be challenged or corrected by my fellow midwives if warranted.
Unfortunately, there are times when correction is not accepted. There are times when standards of midwifery care are disregarded, and when a midwife acts outside of their scope of practice. There are also instances where serious ethical concerns arise—such as misrepresenting oneself as another licensed provider or facility in order to access laboratory services, providing false information to laboratories, failing to pay for those services, offering $500 financial incentives for client reviews, or drafting reviews for clients to post. There have been concerns about lying about midwives you have worked with, what services you have done for them and who backs you up. Over time, these concerns and others led to fractured professional relationships among midwives in the area, each based on their own direct experiences. Later, similar concerns were raised by other birth workers. While the concerns initially centered on ethics rather than clinical care, they could not be ignored.
Many midwives in our region have also experienced harm through local social media forums that engage in cancel culture. These spaces often disregard principles of due process and reconciliation, including those outlined in Matthew 18. Half-truths, decontextualized information, and selectively omitted details are shared, while the individuals discussed are blocked from seeing or responding to the claims. In some cases, this behavior extends beyond professional criticism to personal attacks on a midwife’s family. This environment—while not representative of all clients, many of whom are exceptional—has become part of the broader culture within the East Texas birth community and inevitably influences how and when concerns are raised. No midwife wants to expose another to this level of harm without substantial and genuine concern. As a result, we often extend the benefit of the doubt and remain silent longer than we should.
There is a deeply held belief within this community that each midwife serves the clients they are meant to serve. There is no competition among us. We need more midwives, and we would gladly welcome more safe, experienced practitioners. Many of us, myself included, routinely decline new clients in order to maintain healthy professional boundaries. This post is not motivated by a desire for increased business.
My hope is that this message reaches those who may need a safe space to process their experiences. My desire is to help you find your voice and healing. I am here, and I know other midwives are as well. If you have an experience you need to talk through, we are willing to listen—without judgment. You are not alone. Are there clients that are happy with their experience…. Absolutely. Most births are not an emergency. This doesn't minimize those who are hurting.
I will follow-up with more posts.
I can no longer stay silent. To not speak is to speak – Bonhoeffer.
