A newborn’s death and the second state complaint against a Miami midwife since 2019
For the second time since 2019 and third time overall, the Florida Department of Health has filed an administrative complaint against Miami licensed midwife Barbara Blot.
This time, there’s a body count — one baby, just hours into this world.
An administrative complaint starts the state discipline process. Blot knows this because she’s still taking care of the obligations imposed after the last administrative complaint, which was filed Nov. 22, 2019.
In that instance, the complaint said she didn’t make a required home visit before a home birth and, when the mother went into labor, she took from three hours, 45 minutes to four hours, 15 minutes to get to the mother’s home.
Blot was fined $1,000, had a Letter of Concern issued to her, made to take 10 hours of continuing education in laws and rules of midwifery and five hours of continuing education in ethics of midwifery. Her online Florida Department of Health profile doesn’t say “obligations satisfied” with respect to this case yet.
Blot’s been a licensed midwife in Florida since Nov. 21, 2002, and a licensed registered nurse in Florida since July 7, 2011. Calls to Natural Birth Choices, which state records say Blot started in June 2002, were unanswered.
Delivery troubles
The complaint says in November 2015, in addition to her own place, North Miami Beach’s Natural Birth Choices, Blot worked for Hollywood Birth Center. A woman named “H.N.” met with Blot at Hollywood Birth Center and Blot agreed to manage H.N.’s pregnancy. H.N. was due around April 12, 2016.
A still-pregnant H.N. went to Blot on April 24, 2016. From there, the complaint lists several issues with Blot’s handling of H.N.’s delivery of her child, “M.N.”
▪ H.N. had tested positive for Group B Streptococcus, a bacteria that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says about one in four women have. Blot knew this and inserted a balloon catheter into H.N.’s cervix, the complaint said, “to artificially, forcibly and/or mechanically assist in starting the birth of Patient H.N.’s infant.”
But, the complaint says, “the standards of practice of midwifery require that a midwife refrain from inserting a balloon catheter into a GBS-positive patient.”
The catheter wound up in the toilet that night around 11:45. The next morning, April 25, 2016, H.N. was admitted to Hollywood Birth Center at 11:30. Blot re-inserted the balloon catheter at 11:45 a.m.
▪ H.N.’s membranes ruptured at 4:27 p.m., the complaint said. Blot gave H.N. the antibiotic ampicillin at 10:11 p.m., five hours and 44 minutes later.
“The standards of practice of midwifery require that antibiotics be administered immediately after the rupture of the patient’s membranes,” the complaint said.
▪ H.N.’s cervix measured 8 cm dilated at 5:34 p.m. At 2:34 a.m. on April 26, it measured 10 cm dilated. M.N. was delivered at 3:39 a.m., but was “unresponsive.”
Also, there had been meconium staining (newborn baby poop) back at 9:25 p.m. and Blot noticed “moderate meconium staining upon delivery of M.N.”
After seeing the meconium staining and that H.N.’s labor was taking longer than two hours from 8 cm to a complete birth, the complaint says, Blot “failed to consult, refer and/or transfer Patient H.N.’s case to a physician with hospital obstetrical privileges.”
Also, the complaint says, because H.N.’s pregnancy had reached 41.6 weeks, Blot should’ve referred her to a physician with hospital obstetrical privileges.
At 3:54 a.m., an ambulance took Baby M.N. to a hospital. Baby M.N. was dead on arrival.
“[Blot] did not have a written plan of action with Patient H.N. and her family to ensure the continuity of medical care throughout labor and delivery and to provide for immediate medical care if an emergency arises,” the complaint said.
