I am offering doula services, but I am not officially certified as a nurse-midwife (In China, the “nurses” that work in the L&D units are called “midwives” but they do not have the same training or certification as what I think of as a midwife (I’m American).
Although I probably have enough experience to be considered a lay-midwife, I wouldn’t feel comfortable marketing myself as such. I think home births are fabulous option for those that are comfortable with it and 99% of the time everything is fine.
My only concern living in China is the access to care – and I literally mean – if there is a problem, do you know what hospital to go to and more importantly, how are you going to get there – do you have a driver available 24-7, taxi… – I wouldn’t count on the ambulances here and they are probably not going to take you to Shanghai United or Parkway.
How long will that take?
I have heard wonderful things about MK Chin at Shanghai United and right now I’m in the final stages of accepting a position with Parkway to help Alice with the OB services there.
I hope to create more options for women to be able to have a positive labor and delivery experience in Shanghai.
