When Emma Smith of Leytonstone, UK, went into labor, her husband Leroy realized that they wouldn't be able to get to the hospital in time. He then used his BlackBerry to find instructions online on how to deliver a child:
Link via Gizmodo | Photo: US Department of Health and Human Services
So the 29-year-old grabbed hold of his BlackBerry, accessed the internet and sought help from search engine Google for step-by-step instructions.
And after following the detailed guide on the internet's wikiHow Emma safely gave birth to daughter 6lb 11oz Mahalia Merita Angela Smith.
Five minutes after the delivery the midwife arrived to cut the umbilical cord of their fourth child.
Link via Gizmodo | Photo: US Department of Health and Human Services
http://www.neatorama.com/2009/05/03/youtube-helps-man-deliver-baby/
It won't happen. Delivering a birth is not a medical practice, it's just that if anything is wrong with the birth, they are able to tend to the issue immediately. It's not uncommon for women to have birth outside of the hospital either, and sometimes it's a choice women make.
And yes, planning to birth at home is a perfectly valid choice, and much more common for low risk pregnancies (which this one apparently was!) in other countries than it is in the US.
Unlicensed midwifes attending to a birth can be charged with a felony in some states and countries. If the state were, for some reason, to believe that the homebirth was planned, it's possible they might state that the father was acting as an unlicensed midwife.
Would it really surprise you to see such a story? I never thought it was likely to happen, just that I could see such a story in the future. What if the baby died because the father screwed up? You don't think someone might get a hair up their butt?
It happens, especially with later pregnancies (my mother's third child was born within two hours of the onset of labour). I would be surprised to hear about this story again.
I take it this is all speculation? Unexpected birth time happens, but if you want to go crazy and set up an inspection of these people's lives for planning a home birth, all the power to ya. Good luck with that in court.
Midwifery practices have varying levels of regulation and non-regulation from state to state.
As noted, this couple are in London where planned home birth is much more commonplace, and midwives are respected as the valuable birth professionals they truly are.
In any case, a father following emergency instructions for assisting at the birth of his own child would not be charged, regardless of outcome, unless it were clear intentional harm was done to the child (as sickening as it is to contemplate).
Something fishy, like they're trying to get attention - "I looked it up on my Blackberry".
yes, I was just giving a specualtive satirical take on the situation. I don't believe these people should be in trouble. I was saying that it wouldn't surprise me if, for example, the baby was injured during the birth and some investigator found online postings or something about the intention of the couple to plan a home birth. Then, having this information, attempting to charge the husband with practicing as an unlicensed midwife, which is illegal in some areas.
And absolutely it would be ridiculous, but my entire point was "wouldn't it be funny if..."
and please, by all means, forgive me for engaging in speculation on the internet.
No apology needed, I was just wondering what exactly your angle was and if there actually was some twisted lawyer that managed to find another loophole in the law to sue people for profit, and if you were basing it on current information. It's true, if a lawyer can sue a store which caters to disabled people for not having a disabled parking spot, a lot is possible.
Mid-Wives are also used at a hospital. I will give birth in the next 4 weeks at a local hospital but have the choice to use a mid-wife.