SOUTHFIELD, MI (WXYZ) — The feeling of anxiety is replacing excitement for expecting mother Leah Hettinga because she just learned, two months before her due date, that her detailed birthing plan is down the drain.
"I was really shocked. It caused some contractions for me which made my husband really nervous," she said.
On February, 2, Leah received a call from Ascension Providence Hospital in Southfield saying that it would be ending its midwifery services effective March 1. Leah tells 7 Action News she feels betrayed because she switched OBGYN services just to deliver with a midwife at Ascension.
There is now a change.org petition collecting nearly 5000 signatures demanding Ascension re-instate the program.
"Midwives save lives. That is a fact," Doula Celeste Kraft said.
A doula is a service that compliments midwifery. Celeste says many women choose to use a midwife because it’s a more natural option with less intervention and she says it could be safer, especially for black women whose mortality rate is 3 to 4 times higher than their peers.
"Over 50 percent of the citizens in Southfield are Black. To be eliminating something that has been proven to improve maternal and infant outcomes makes no sense," Celeste said.
In a statement, Ascension Providence said they will "continue to offer obstetric services to ensure a high-quality, safe experience for expectant parents throughout their pregnancy and the birth of their child."
But Leah, a mother of four says, this will be the first child she delivers, a day she has been waiting for, but now a moment she is uncertain about.
“So it takes a lot of the joy away from that and transitions it to anxiety," she said.
