Yesterday I had the pleasure of speaking with Holly of Champaign, Illinois. She's a courageous mama! When she went into labor with her first son, she was surprised by the medical system into a heavily augmented labor with lots of medical interventions she didn't want and wound up with a cesarean she never dreamed she would get. She's been on her healing journey and blogging about healthy pregnancy, natural birth, and VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean). I'm so thankful she's sharing her story to encourage others and to help bring change in America's birth culture.
To read Holly's story, check out: http://mamaplainandtall.blogspot.com/p/my-birth-story-how-to-avoid-c-section.html
One of the most important things we talked about was the possibility of contacting the surgeons who augmented this mama's labor and performed a cesarean against her wishes -- to let them know how their decisions and actions effected her -- and to ask them to honor women's will in childbirth in the future.
The American Medical Association and the law in all 50 states supports patients' rights to informed consent. That means, for every procedure, a woman in childbirth should know the risks, benefits, timing and alternatives BEFORE any procedure is performed. Too often, this basic right is totally ignored in the labor, delivery and recovery rooms in American hospitals.
But if women will communicate their experiences to their caregivers, by speaking face-to-face, calling or writing, mothers may be able to help change practices, policies and procedures one doctor at a time.
To read Holly's story, check out: http://mamaplainandtall.blogspot.com/p/my-birth-story-how-to-avoid-c-section.html
One of the most important things we talked about was the possibility of contacting the surgeons who augmented this mama's labor and performed a cesarean against her wishes -- to let them know how their decisions and actions effected her -- and to ask them to honor women's will in childbirth in the future.
The American Medical Association and the law in all 50 states supports patients' rights to informed consent. That means, for every procedure, a woman in childbirth should know the risks, benefits, timing and alternatives BEFORE any procedure is performed. Too often, this basic right is totally ignored in the labor, delivery and recovery rooms in American hospitals.
But if women will communicate their experiences to their caregivers, by speaking face-to-face, calling or writing, mothers may be able to help change practices, policies and procedures one doctor at a time.
