A Virginia Beach midwife has agreed to give up her state license rather than go before the Virginia Board of Medicine on allegations she failed to adequately treat two pregnant women whose babies were born dead.
Michael Goodman, an attorney for Kristina Zittle, said in an e-mail that Zittle "vehemently disagreed" with many of the claims in the Board of Medicine complaint that led to the suspension of her license in September.
He said Zittle was able to relinquish her license without admitting or denying any of the allegations, and she decided that was the best course at this time.
"She did not feel that she was financially equipped to battle this although she felt that most of the statements were either untrue or jumped to unfair conclusions," Goodman wrote in an e-mail sent to The Virginian-Pilot on Monday.
Zittle was scheduled to go before the Board of Medicine for a formal hearing on Friday.
Zittle was accused by the Board of Medicine of taking on the care of two high-risk pregnant women who wanted Zittle to deliver their babies in their homes.
In one case, a woman hired Zittle after seeing an obstetrician-gynecologist who had given her a test that suggested she had gestational diabetes, records say.
The Board of Medicine report said Zittle failed to get a comprehensive medical history of the 25-year-old woman, who was obese, and waited too long after the woman's water broke to do a vaginal exam.
When she did perform a vaginal exam on Jan. 25, the baby was in a breech - or feet first - position, records say. Instead of transferring the patient to a hospital, Zittle went forward with the delivery after getting the consent of the patient and the patient's husband, even though she had not performed a breech delivery before, Board of Medicine records say.
In a second case, Zittle took on the care of a 42-year-old woman who was obese, had previously delivered two overly large babies and was Rh negative, a blood condition that can lead to the baby having a blood disease.
The Board of Medicine records say Zittle should not have accepted the case for a home birth and should have responded faster after the woman reported she was in labor in June. When an emergency medical crew arrived at the woman's home, the baby was halfway out of her birth canal in a breech position.
They called Zittle to say they were going to transfer the mother to a hospital. Zittle asked them to wait until she arrived, which she estimated to be in 30 minutes, according to the Board of Medicine report.
When the woman was taken to the hospital, the baby was delivered and was dead.
Virginia legislators passed a law in 2005 allowing licenses for non-nurse midwives. The midwives are certified through the North American Registry of Midwives. Their education differs from nurse midwives, who have nursing degrees and work in conjunction with doctors. Nurse midwives usually deliver babies in hospitals or birthing centers, and non-nurse midwives usually attend home births.
Under state law, complaints against licensed non-nurse midwives are handled by the Board of Medicine, which has the power to issue reprimands and suspend or revoke licenses.
In an e-mail, Goodman said licensed midwives use a different model than doctors. "Because midwife licensure is relatively new in Virginia, there does not yet appear to be adequate cooperation or assistance from the medical community to work in a team-like setting" with licensed midwives.
"Ms. Zittle has been in large part the victim of this adversarial relationship," his e-mail said.
The American Medical Association has raised concerns about home births and has issued a resolution saying hospitals are the safest place for deliveries. Earlier this year, four nurse midwives from the northern part of the state wrote the Board of Medicine saying they think more restrictions in the law are needed regarding non-nurse midwives to keep them from taking on women at high risk of complications.
Some state laws do restrict non-nurse midwives from taking on the care of women with gestational diabetes, those who are morbidly obese, those pregnant with multiple babies, those who want a vaginal birth after having a Caesarean birth and those pregnant with babies that are not in a headfirst position.
In a phone interview Monday, Goodman said Zittle is a conscientious person and has many clients who are happy with her work. The Glen Allen attorney said he knows of no other action against her involving the two cases investigated by the board.
Goodman said the consent order ends the case before the Board of Medicine, unless Zittle decides to reapply for a license. "I do not think that is her present intent," Goodman said.
Elizabeth Simpson, (757) 446-2635, elizabeth.simpson@pilotonline.com
Delicious
Digg
Reddit
Facebook
Google
Yahoo
A supportive Homebirth Mom of Krisiti's
I feel qualified to share here because Kristi was my midwife during my 4 month old son's birth. She was compassionate, professional and thorough. I had a prenatal visit with her the June morning after the baby died and she and I cried tears together for this grieving family. The facts in the articles do not hold true to the real story. Kristi was planning to retire soon anyway to take care of her beautiful family. I am just sorry other mothers will not have her expertise and loving support during the birth of their babies. At no time did I question Kristi's judgement. My husband, who was skeptical of homebirth, is now a great fan. With my homebirth, I did not have the pain of healing from an episiotomy or fractured tailbone as I had from my previous 2 hospital births. I know the Lord will bless Kristi and her family through these personal trials and I pray there will be no negative lasting impact on the beatiful experience of homebirth.
OSC, thanks!
I agree with you that legal action is a last resort and that Kristina Zittle probably would not let her lawyer pursue it.
All the more reason for us to let the proper authorities who are already involved in this take it as far as it needs to go.
It does have a potential to divide the Body of Christ and that is not to be divided.
Thanks for your graciousness. I bear you no ill will.
MaryM
Mary you are right maybe I do not have the same right to hide behind my anonymous log-in as you do. But the issue here is bigger than you and I. I used the term associated not caused because my intent is not to cause harm to anyone. If you research the word associated it can mean to have memory or knowledge of, you automatically assumed I meant responsible for which is not the case. We have to agree as God's people we are to honor and glorify him not man or women, we all make mistakes (sins) are responsibility is to learn what God is trying to teach us and not make the same mistakes again. Your threat of legal action against a fellow beliver in Christ is directly against the Word of God and I know this family well enough to know that they would not condone it in any way. I am sorry for the misfortune of all those involved and continually pray for them. For the Glory and Honor of God I concede.
OSC
If you do not have evidence of previous deaths associated with Ms. Zittle in another state, you are committing libel by publicly posting what you just said. She has a lawyer and friends who are reading this board--are you sure your anonymous log-in at the Virginian-Pilot will protect you from a subpoena? Oddly, you are posting here and not calling the medical board investigating her, which is what I would assume anyone with true evidence would do. I offer you a chance to take back what you just said--it is cowardly to hide behind an anonymous log-in to libel people.
Lack of accountability
I also know where this lady practiced before and I know that there is a number of tragic deaths associated with her. My concern is for the parents that place their trust in someone who hides behind all the right words and reassurances but truly operates on their own agenda and prideful self-righteousness. When we lose sight of how precious a unborn life is and let prideful arguments of who is right and who is wrong rule our thoughts we are wrong. The omission of proper care is just as criminal as the commission of an intentional act. Parents do your part protect your precious gifts from God and seek professional prenatal care and let God do his. It is when we balance the responsibility of man with the sovereignty of God that we are truly in the will of God in our lives.
responsibility
I feel so awful for these babies who suffered and for their families who I can only assume have suffered. I feel sorry for responsible certified homebirth midwives and the responsible (and low-risk) families who would seek their care, because the choices of Kristi Zittle and these families have once again pitted homebirth against hospital birth.
It is clear (from posted comments and Kristi's website, as well as personal correspondence I have seen in the past) that she practices with her own agenda, irrespective of any guidelines she may be given by the certifying organization. And although it is true that many homebirth families are well-informed and responsible, probably almost as many are such religious zealots (as evidenced by the abortion comments ranted by the father of one of the victims) that they blind themselves to all logic and common sense.
What greater way to dishonor lif
Shimmerfaded7
As a mother who suffered a loss myself at full term, who was being monitored closely by a local hospital.... my heart pours out to you. May God wrap you in his arms. I felt there was nothing that would of changed my outcome either. The doctor and hospital did all they could do. They were not criminals. I believe God has a plan for us all. May God bless you, your wife and your entire family during these dark days.
OSC
I know where Kristina previously practiced and I have attended a baby shower for her involving dozens of women from that state and this one, all encouraging her in her practice and saying what a blessing she was to them as she birthed their babies. What has happened to our society that everything that happens has to be somebody's fault? Can't we just say God allowed these babies to die for reasons known only to Him and let them rest in peace (and let their families, like the previous poster, heal)? These families have the right to choose home birth. They know it may have some parts that are slightly riskier than hospital birth (and some that may be even safer). If a baby dies due to being a home birth instead of a hospital birth, why do you have to assume the midwife did something wrong? It was a choice made by everyone involved. And frankly, it has not been proven these babies would have lived if they had been in the hospital. Cheers, MGM
Reading
Mary, reading is fundamental this article state her license was suspended in September not surrendered. So much for the administrative investigation, what about a criminal investigation? it appears warranted if a background was done who knows what may be found in this midwives history maybe even in other states.
Hmmmm!
If Kristina Zittle surrendered her license in September, then this follow-up story to a story last week doesn't have a point. This story today claims that her license was surrendered to avoid a medical board. Seems like the medical board was still pending last week when you reported the story the first time. . .
I'm willing to take a guess that the medical authorities have dropped the charges, but have stated that in a confusing way ("since she surrendered her license in September, we will drop the charges"). It doesn't make sense to explain it the way you (the VP) did--that she surrendered the license with the hope of avoiding the medical board. Cheers, MGM