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Violation of Woman's Rights
- Sep 19, 2009 at 11:18 AM
- By
- Comments (48) Total Views (882) Everyone can see this journal post.
Recently many internet bloggers have been going back and forth about the “Home Birth Debate”. I saw Jennifer Block post a great piece about home birth, which was immediately challenged by Dr. Amy Tuteur via her internet blog. Whether or not Jennifer Block agreed to a “debate” over the subject is completely irrelevant in what I have to say.
Whether or not home birth is safe, as safe as hospital births, or more dangerous than hospital births doesn't matter when it comes down to it. What does matter is that a woman should be able to legally choose where she wants to give birth, and with whom to managing her care, and deliver her baby.
What we should be debating about, or even merely discussing is what we can do as women, mothers, providers, and advocates to reduce the maternal and infant mortality rates in The United States, as well as make all birthing options available. The way that births are being over managed, and birthing options being restricted, such as Vaginal Birth after Cesarean better known as VBAC. Across the country women are being essentially forced to have repeat cesarean sections, with no medical reason, because the local hospital, or local OB/GYN's do not attend VBAC's or provide any kind of VBAC options. Leaving women with very few options regarding subsequent pregnancies if they do not wish to undergo surgical birth a second time.
Some of these options include home births with Midwives, but some women cannot even have that options because home birth midwives, and home birth in general in their state, or area has been now become punishable by law. But I digress, VBAC access is a whole other tragic story in itself.
The real issue at hand is why we sit and argue over difference in opinion when it comes to other peoples birth choices, while American women are being denied the right to make their own medical decisions.
This is not a Natural Birth Advocate vs. The Medical Community. This is a simple womans rights issue. Women have fought for the past 100 years for all the amazing freedoms that we have today, and for doors to be closing left and right for choices women would like to make regarding their own medical care is downright frightening.
Why are so many options being taken off the table for pregnant women? Mainly for fear of litigation on the part of Obstetricians which have this little group standing behind them called The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Their name is very misleading. They are not a college, nor are they an institution of higher learning. They are basically a really big “union” for OB/GYN's. They issue statements, publications, and “guidelines” better known as their opinions. Many are unfounded medically or scientifically (which has been proven over and over again). They say that certain medical events, such as birth, which we all know isn't rocket science, should be handled in one specific way. But women know that every pregnancy, woman, and birth are different. You cannot compare the experiences of two women, or even two pregnancies in the same woman, but they continue to treat all pregnant and birthing women the same. They are being put on a conveyor belt of hospital interventions, which you have to fight tooth and nail to avoid. I don't know about you, but when I was in labor with either of my children, the last thing I wanted to be doing was battling with Nurses or even the OB/GYN I picked for my first birth. I was the portrait of a good patient my first time around. That landed me with a non medical induction and cesarean section for the oh so typical “failure to progress”.
Now I am a nobody. I do not have M.D. after my name, I do not have C.N.M. After my name. In fact, I do not have anything after my name. I am nothing more than a mother, of two children, both born by cesarean section. My first cesarean completely avoidable. My second, not so much, after 26 hours of labor attempting a VBAC. Now I find myself at a petrifying crossroad. I am literally scared to even think about having another child because I know in my area, there will be no OB/GYN or Midwife that will take me on for a vaginal birth after two cesarean sections, even though many women have successfully accomplished birthing a baby after one, two, or five cesarean sections. They simply do not want the liability, or work, and I simply do not want the repeat cesarean section.
Why are more people not speaking out about this huge womans rights violation?
Because it does not effect or impact them on a personal level?
Because they do not know about it?
Someone, anyone, everyone, needs to step up to the plate and help women have the right to have any birth she chooses. It is a human rights violation to dismiss her wishes.
Comments:
And you are entitled to your opinion. The fact is in most cases, when it comes to birth choices, especially VBAC, it is safer for mother AND baby than a repeat elective cesarean with no medical reason. The problem is in our country, the mother has the right by law, yet mothers rights are being violated daily by things like VBAC bans in hospitals.
GREAT POST!
I was lucky to find my OB who was willing to even think about letting me have my VBAC...Everyone one else shut me out. I wasn't "allowed" to birth at home like I wanted to and had things pushed on me that were both unnecessary and unwanted (by nurses, not my ob who was wonderful). A complete violation on thier part!! I had my successful VBAC, but parts I wish I could relive even though 95% of it was a dream.
I completely agree with your post. We need rights for a pregnant/laboring mother! It's rediculous that was are having to fight for what's SAFER for us, to try and NOT do the things that are proven detrimental to our and our unborn child's health!
That is one of the huge reasons I'm so glad that homebirth is legal in Florida. There are some restrictions on it, but it's still for the most part legal. I had my son in the hospital in 2006, and as soon as i got into the hospital, I was stuck in bed, strapped to the monitors and not allowed to even get out of bed to pee. With my daughter, last year, I had her at home in my living room in a water birth tub and it was a much better experiance.
I'm not bitter or angry about my hospital birth experiance, like I've seen from a lot of women, but it's just an experiance that I would not choose again, unless it was medically necessary.
I am also not saying that the hospital is totally bad either. IMHO, it's not the best choice for a perfectly healthy woman with a perfectly healthy pregnancy, but in the case that a C-section is called for (the few truly medical reasons, none of this elective, doctors schedule crap that we get so much) the hospital is where you need to be.
Barring any medical emergencies, if/when I have any more children, it will be at home.
Great post. Voted popular.
LokisMama, Florida also has one of the highest cesarean section rates in the country! Congrats on your home birth!
Awelling
Are you For real???
An Unborn baby should NEVER have more rights then its LIVING mother....
But let ne guess...it has more rights (In your mind) when its 1 month gestation then the mother as well..)
Thats Insane!
GREAT POST BTW!!!!
until the price of malpractice insurance goes down, none of this will change
Anyone who thinks that pregnancy is a medical illness needs a reality check. Doctors have scared the masses into thinking that anything outside of a hospital birth is dangerous and makes for bad parents....some even go as far as to get court orders for repeat C sections and have the state remove the babies born from VBAC's, claiming the mother endangered them....even tho the babies are born healthy with no issues.....It is our right to have birth how we see fit, not the doctors nor the state's.
awelling, you made me throw up in my mouth a little. that was DISGUSTING.
ita with tiggerabba and also want to add that an even bigger injustice to women's rights and needs in this country is how much of this is taught to us to help us be educated consumers in our own healthcare. This might be partly because so much of it is debatable... But the average woman who finds out she's pregnant goes into an OB office at the referral of her primary care and is immediately put behind a "What to Expect" book and a dozen magazines to decide which stroller they like better. None of that is bad but the truth is that women are NOT taught what their options even are these days... It's not just "birth" that's commercialized- it's being a mother period :(
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I think babies have rights before mothers.
- awelling
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