Victoria Luskin never was one to run to the doctor for every little thing. It's the way she was raised, said the 35-year-old insurance agent.
As a child, when she got the measles or came down with a cold, her mother kept her home until she was well. Luskin didn't even see a doctor when she was born. Her mother gave birth to her at home.
So now that Luskin is pregnant, she doesn't plan to deliver her baby in a hospital. Instead, she and her husband, Greg, are preparing to have their baby in their Sunland home. With them will be a certified nurse-midwife from Home Birth Service, a Studio City nurse-midwifery practice, which also provides Luskin with prenatal care.
"I didn't want to be in a hospital," Luskin said. "Midwives consider birth a natural event. Their job is to deliver a child, not to give me drugs or hook me up to an IV."
The acceptance of nurse-midwives has increased dramatically over the past two decades, according to the American College of Nurse-Midwives, the professional organization that accredits nurse-midwives and their educational programs. In 1963, only about 275 certified nurse-midwives were in practice. Today, almost 4,000 nurse-midwives practice throughout the United States, with more than 400 in California. Nurse-midwives attended almost 100,000 hospital deliveries in 1987--a 500% increase over 1975.
Only about 4% of births attended by nurse-midwives take place in the home. Home Birth Service is one of a tiny handful of midwifery services in Southern California and is the only state licensed nurse-midwifery practice in the San Fernando Valley offering women the opportunity to deliver at home. The service is licensed by the state Board of Registered Nursing.
"I have a strong conviction that women should have this option," said Home Birth's owner, certified nurse-midwife Deborah Frank.
In its 12 years of business, Frank's practice has delivered more than 1,000 babies and averages about 10 births a month. "We have had the pleasure of attending as many as five births for one family," she said.
The other certified nurse-midwives on the staff at Home Birth Service are Leslie Stewart and Barbara Pigeon. "Our practice is distinctly different from the traditional OB-GYN medical practice," Frank said.
"When clients first come to us, we spend an hour and a half or more with them, and at least a half-hour on return visits. Most of that time is spent answering questions, providing information and getting to know them."
