I hired Jennifer Nelson, The Pittsburgh Midwife, to be my home birth midwife for the birth of our…read more5th baby. I interviewed a few midwives and felt most comfortable with Jennifer, who assured me she would respect my birthing experience, and I felt a strong connection because she claimed to be Christian. I entrusted her completely, and with pregnancy, labor, and birth being such an intimate experience, I gave her all of my trust, all of my concerns, all of my wishes, all of my thoughts, all of my fears, all of my hopes. How tremendously devastating it was when Jennifer abandoned me nine months later during LABOR, refused to come to my birth, refused to provide any support, refused to check in on me, and refused a partial refund as a final slap in the face.
I have a lifelong history of anemia, multiple sclerosis, and have a history of hemorrhaging with one of my births. Jennifer knew all of this and took me on as a client. We discussed my anemia at every single appointment for nine months. She would frequently comment how tired I looked. I at the point, had four children, a lot of stressful life circumstances, an auto immune disorder, and anemia, so I would respond with, "Yes, I am very tired." This never changed. From when I first hired her I had these issues, to when she abandoned me while in labor, I had these issues. Jennifer claimed that if only I would have taken the Floridex she told me to take, I would have been all better. Due to my MS, I am not able to consume gluten, which Floridex has. Jennifer was aware of my diet, and we would talk about my diet often. I instead took a different iron supplement, in addition to the many other supplements Jennifer had me take. Every appointment, I would discuss my diet, and I would discuss how tired I was, and how I've always, since childhood, been slightly anemic, despite taking iron supplements.
A few weeks before my 37 week appointment, Jennifer sent me an email asking to bill my insurance. I had already set up a cash payment plan with her and signed a contract for a set fee, so I was a bit confused. She explained to me that she would "bill my insurance for the operating room (my house), the operating table (my bed), medical equipment (the towels and pads I purchased), and many other items commonly billed at a hospital birth", and that she would be paid in excess of our arranged fee by my insurance and that she would utilize this money to further her education and more fairly compensate her for her services. I told Jennifer I wasn't comfortable with billing my insurance for my house, my bed, and for items that I had personally purchased, and that I prefered to go on with our agreed fee schedule.
Shortly after was my 37 week appointment, in which my payment was due in full. A few day after Jennifer had cashed my final payment, out of left field Jennifer declared that the baby was feeling small, that the baby wasn't moving enough, that my anemia was a deal breaker and I would have to go to a hospital. I explained to Jennifer that I am a small woman, and all of my babies have been "small". I explained to her that I've had anemia all along. I went to UPMC Magee where I had an ultrasound and fetal evaluation and the baby scored a perfect score.
Jennifer couldn't care less. While in labor I texted her. She refused to come to my birth, and instead attended the birth of another client whom she took on only a few weeks prior, despite me having hired Jennifer 9 months prior and our contract stating that Jennifer would not take on an abundance of clients. Jennifer had told me she was taking on many clients because of COVID, and even advertised her services on facebook just a few weeks before my due date, taking advantage of the Covid pandemic. I couldn't emotionally handle it. I was not mentally prepared for an unassisted birth, and the past trauma from my previous hospital births was too much to bear. While in labor, Jennifer abandoned me. While in labor, Jennifer refused to have any ounce of compassion for my past trauma. While in labor, Jennifer refused to offer any assistance.
I wrote Jennifer an email asking for a partial refund for the services not rendered. She refused. I tried for five months to recuperate the money she took from me, to no avail. I ended up taking her to small claims court. The judge ruled in my favor, agreeing that Jennifer had breached her contract and ordered her to pay me the amount for the services she never provided.
I've had some traumatic previous hospital births, and Jennifer ranks high with those with such little compassion, such little empathy, such greed, and such lack of respect for a birthing woman.
