The mother is a gravida II who is free of pre-existing disease and has completed 37 weeks of pregnancy. Her first child was a normal spontaneous vaginal birth at home under the care of a midwife. Sequential ultrasounds reveal a normal twin gestation without evidence of congenital anomalies. There has been no antepartum bleeding or polyhydraminosis.
Placenta is in the upper pole of the uterus and without evident pathology.
No California state law defines childbirth to be a medical or pathological condition or requires a mother to seek out medical or midwifery care during the pregnancy or to be attended a doctor or midwife during labor and birth. Neither residency nor status as a bona fide citizen of California obligates the state of California to provide care or payment for care rendered to pregnant women. Any voluntary arrangements made by the mother for ante or intra or postpartal or postnatal care are above that required by California law. However, in the presence of full disclosure of risks, it is acknowledged that the final decision properly belongs to the parents. They remain committed to home-based care except in the event of a bonafide emergency or evident pathology of either mother or neonates.