what.the. fuck??? please tell me this isn’t real.

This makes my blood boil. Who made them God?!

Yes, there are docs with judges on speed-dial for instant court-ordered cesareans and such, and horror stories abound on the abuses of that terrible power when the State claims the right to make decisions “in the interest of the fetus”. Which is why I wholeheartedly oppose any legislation to grant legal personhood status to a fetus, regardless of my feelings that unborn babies are not just “tissue”. Be very afraid of that legislation and what it means for women’s rights.

Okay, granted the first part of that paragraph is talking about birth plans in the context of “mother or baby at risk.” But I really don’t like the tone that hospital has! Overriding maternal choice?! Regardless of how a dr may feel about me or my unborn child during a labor, it is ultimately up to ME and my husband to decide what action to take, or to refuse!!

Mother or baby at risk means different things to different people. They might well have felt it in my baby’s best interest to have a forced repeat section for any one of the following reasons: macrosomia (10lb, 12 oz), posterior position, post-dates (9 days post), or leaking amniotic fluid (just a little, but over a week).

Instead, I had a healthy baby at home with an amazing midwife.

Many of the same issues that might be considered safety issues, in the right hands, can be treated easily. For example, leaking waters meant absolutely nothing in the vagina (no checking for dilation until during active labor) and monitor for any signs of infection (any fever would have instantly bought me a trip to the hospital), and stay hydrated. At the hospital, that would have meant more intervention and led to c-section.

So, while there were risks, c-section and all of their procedures come with risks as well – and a woman needs to make informed choices about her own body.

Comments like this doctor’s are why women are looking at alternatives for giving birth. I’m a former nurse, and I know that things can go wrong, even with no interference by MDs, but I also know things can go wrong BECAUSE of MDs. Women need to be honored for knowing their bodies.

It seems that, anymore, that line of authority is very short – they don’t have to go very far to harass you into something. Ann, you’re totally right – so many of these problems are caused because the doctor just can’t leave you alone to ‘gestate in peace,’ and rarely is a patient just left alone if she refuses intervention (see the last post re: the patient refusing an induction). *sigh*

The links are the same. I want the link to the original article, not the to the one about the sign.

Thanks, Danielle

You know, I am very pro-doctor, very ok with medical intervention at my birth, totally looking forward to a hospital birth this May, and even I think that sign is ridiculous. Seriously, does that doctor think this is 1950′s Soviet Russia? How does he have any patients?

I would guess it’s fair to assume this doctor caters to the type of patient who does not want to ask questions, who gleefully announces to anyone in earshot that the sooner they get an epidural the better, how does 7 months gestation sound?

Who plans an elective c-section for their first birth because they “heard it keeps things tight down there.”

Or who wants an induction at 37 weeks because it “prevents all those icky stretch marks, and besides that way the relatives can book plane tickets in advance, so convenient!”

But I am just guessing, of course.

Then again, wanting an epidural ASAP is a birth plan, scheduling a primary elective c-section is also a birth plan, and so is scheduling an induction. Isn’t planning ahead your basic “responsible adult” behavior?

I could go on all day, I got a million reasons I would never darken the door of that office, but ultimately their honesty about their refusal to treat their patients with respect is… refreshing I guess. Better far than bait and switch.

Danielle Saxon: The links are the same. I want the link to the original article, not the to the one about the sign.
Thanks, Danielle

you can go here to see a picture of the sign on the Unnecessarean website, scroll down for a bit:

http://www.theunnecesarean.com/blog/2009/10/18/an-obs-birth-plan-obstetricians-disclosure-sent-one-mom-runn.html

No wonder 95% of all mothers who birth there get epidurals. If I was confined to bed with continuous monitoring I might opt for one too. Yes, I know some places have telemetry.

The Line of authority waiting in the wings chills me to the bone. Worse even than the sign at the clinic. The sign basically tells women its our way or the highway. But that’s not the whole hospital. For them to blatently disregard patient rights is inhumane in the least.

just wow… just another reason i’m really glad i’m planning a homebirth (assisted if possible, unassisted if necessary) when i finally get pregnant and carry to term again. i’m tired of feeling bullied and like i’m inconveniencing the doc though it’s their job to be there. i’m also tired of the lies, the pressure, and the fear they perpetuate.

I support the Parent’s Right amendment in part for this reason (www.parentalrights.org).

This, “sit down and shut up” mentality is rampant in Utah. (especially towards women, it’s so backward it’s not even funny) I feel very fortunate that I found my midwife after a very bad experience with one of intermountain’s other OB’s.
Judd’s notorious for being late and missing deliveries because he wanted to stay at a basketball game until half time and being a general, pompous, ass.
I’ve never heard of a physician’s right to chose, they must’ve pulled that one out of their butt.

That is SO horrible and in violation of the laws that were put in place after Angela Carder was killed (her baby died as well) by a forced cesarean (against her wishes, against her family’s wishes and against even her attending physician’s wishes). It also violates:
* In re Fetus Brown, 689 N.E.2d 397, 400 (Ill. App. Ct. 1997) (overturning a court-ordered blood transfusion of a pregnant woman)
* In re Baby Boy Doe, 632 N.E.2d 326 (Ill. App. Ct. 1994) (holding that courts may not balance whatever rights a fetus may have against the rights of a competent woman, whose choice to refuse medical treatment as invasive as a cesarean section must be honored even if the choice may be harmful to the fetus).
* Stallman v. Youngquist, 531 N.E.2d 355, 359-61 (Ill. 1988) (refusing to recognize the tort of maternal prenatal negligence, holding that granting fetuses legal rights in this manner “would involve an unprecedented intrusion into the privacy and autonomy of the [state’s female] citizens”).

It should NOT be legal for a court to override a mother’s ability to say no. It’s a violation of the woman’s right to informed consent and her constitutional rights of privacy and bodily integrity.

The thing that bothers me about this article is the fact that it reinforces the scope of negligence and violation society tolerates in regards to laboring women. A doctor seems to be able to get away with almost anything in the delivery room, and for some reason a blanket statement like “for the safety of mother and child” excuses everything.
It also reinforces my belief that a mom should utilize a doula. At least then you have someone who can give you an honest account of risk vs. benefit. You also have someone on your side, and just having a doula in the room improves medical staff behavior. I also think that if you don’t want to fight for the delivery you want…stay home and have a midwife. (if that’s an option for you)

This makes me sad.

Welcome to the NWO

I live in Utah, where both Intermountain Healthcare and the Aspen Women’s clinic are located. Utah’s homebirth rates are roughly double the national average, and I think that these two places (especially the virtual monopoly that is Intermountain Healthcare,) contribute to that.

I live in Utah, and don’t find it “so backward it’s not even funny.” Then again, I’ve lived all over the world, so what do I know.

I’ve had one baby at the IHC facility mentioned in the article with an OB. I’ve had another baby at a different IHC facility with a midwife. The two experiences could not have been more different.

As Melissa said, we have a large homebirth community, and considerable choice in providers, levels of intervention, and locations.

It’s absolutely no skin off of anyone’s nose if they want to go to Aspen/Judd. In fact, there are two other OB clinics in the very same building. Sure, the sign immediately tells me that I don’t want to be touched by that man ever, but hey, at least he’s up front. I’m happy delivering at another hospital more accustomed to natural child birth, and mother choice, with my beloved midwives.

It saddens me when these kinds of things occur in communities where women do not have a great deal of choice. In our community, it just makes it easier to choose your provider and experience.

It’s sad that there are people and hospitals like this that take away from the many wonderful OBs and hospitals that actually do try to honor the parent’s wishes. I hate that this guy is what people think docs and hospitals are all about. Sure, there are some out there who are jerks, but like the previous post said, at least this guy is upfront about it. If I would’ve seen that sign in my docs office at my first checkup, I would have turned right back around and walked out. He’s not the only doc in town!

I was just reading the original article, and came upon this: “a person in labor”

Okay, so for the record I think that being policially correct is a bunch of… well, you know, but since when do we have to use “person” to indicate someone in labor. Ahem! When was the last time a guy “went into labor”? Good grief!

Maybe the stupid pc use of the word person is to placate those people who insist on spelling ‘women’ as ‘womyn’….