SAFFORD, AZ — Arizona state regulators are moving to revoke a midwife’s license after an incident where a mother and baby died due to complications that developed during a home birth in December.
Sarah Kankiewicz is scheduled for an informal settlement conference with Arizona Department of Health Services representatives on Wednesday.
She was the midwife attending the home birth of Jordan Terry, 28, an emergency room nurse from Safford. Jordan was expecting her third child and her due date was on December 2023.
“We had this vision with the birthing pool in the living room underneath the Christmas tree with the stockings around,” Parker Terry told ABC15 this week, six months after the deaths of his wife and son.
Jordan wanted to become a midwife to better serve her rural community, so she thought it was important to go through a home birthing experience herself. She hired licensed midwife Sarah Kankiewicz, who advertised that she specialized in VBACs, vaginal births after cesarean section. VBACs can be higher risk, in part due to the potential of uterine rupture, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
Even so, Jordan and Parker agreed to move forward after talking to Kankiewicz.
“She gave me exactly what I wanted to hear,” Parker said. “Her plan of action was that she's there to look for red flags; she's there to protect and watch out for the safety of the mom and baby.”
Parker didn't know before his wife’s due date that Kankiewicz had been investigated by the Arizona Department of Health Services multiple times during her four years as a licensed midwife. Regulators found "deficiencies" and cited her for failing to follow state midwifery rules during two prior births. Kankiewicz repeatedly faced civil penalties, as well. She was fined five times for not submitting required midwife reports detailing the care she provided to clients.
Jordan went into labor on the morning of December 17. By late afternoon the baby still had not arrived. Parker said Jordan started to lose color in her face and eventually lost consciousness while laboring at home.
“Her last coherent words were ‘call them,’” Parker said. “Sarah clarified, ‘Call the ambulance?’ And Jordan said, 'Yeah.'”
Parker said the couple’s baby, Mack, was stillborn at the hospital. Jordan was treated for a ruptured uterus and airlifted to a larger hospital for additional care. She did not survive.
After reviewing the circumstances of Jordan and Mack’s deaths, state regulators sent Kankiewicz a Notice of Intent to Revoke License. It said, in violation of Arizona code, the "Licensee did not immediately alert emergency medical services once the client began to visibly decline," "did not check vitals for client and fetus" as required, "did not monitor dilation" as required, and "provided services to a client who had a previous cesarean section with complications."
"Accepting a client with these risk factors for a home birth increases the risk of complications and can contribute to avoidable maternal and fetal demise," the notice said.
When reached by ABC15 on the phone, Kankiewicz said she was advised not to talk to the media by her lawyer.
“The safety and the health of mom and baby is the most important thing,” Parker said. “I wish I knew then what I know now.”
Parker said he wants to educate other parents-to-be about how they can check a midwife’s past licensing history and prior fines or discipline. He also said he wouldn’t have supported a home birth if he had understood more about VBACs and uterine rupture. There are separate regulatory agencies for nurse midwives and certified professional and licensed midwives.
“Hindsight is 2020, and it just kills me,” Parker said.
While he supports the state’s efforts to revoke the midwife’s license, Parker said, “At the end, it's just kind of a slap on the wrist, but here I am with no wife and losing a newborn child.”
Parker posted his story on social media a few weeks ago and received an outpouring of support from the community. He told ABC15 he’s connected with other midwives and is discussing how they can advocate for stronger regulations governing midwifery in Arizona.
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