repercussions of doula's redefining the word "advocate" - Page 4

[jennica]

Originally Posted by Sage.Naissance

The choices arent vast or fantastic but there ARE choices. Women have choices, and they do assess the risk of each and assume the risks of their choice.
Therefore a woman may seem to have no choice but to give birth in a hospital because she didnt get in at a birthing centre. However she has the choice to have an illegal midwive, a UC, or a hospital birth, or to relocate to an area with better access to care for their birth(my mom stayed with relatives 3 hrs away from her home during her pregnancy with me to avoid a caesarean).
Now if a woman is not willing to assume the risks of a UC or an illegally assisted birth she is willing to assume the risks of a hospital birth.
This understanding is an important part of prenatal preparation for problems. If she is 100% unwilling to consent to unneccesary intervention at any time she needs to reconsider having a birth at a hospital. Is it fair? No. Is it ideal? No way! Is it reality? yes. We are functioning in a broken system and we need to empower ourselves to make decisions that we can live with. Clients also need to know that they absolutely have the right to refuse anything, but what they will have to go through to have that happen in a hospital and that if they go in with their fists up they are going to wind up with a battle.

Where do I even begin? Women don't have choice if they don't know that the hospital system is messed up. If they don't realize that this "choice" they make will impact them in ways they never imagined possible. If you had told me before my son was born that I can either go to the hospital and get birth raped and end up with PTSD, or I can stay home with an illegal midwife, now that would have been a choice. But, you are asking women to choose between things that they have no understanding of before it happens. That's like telling someone, "well, you chose to travel to the west coast right before an earthquake hit, that was your choice, you could have traveled to the east coast or the midwest, or you could have just stayed home, but you chose the west coast."

[paquerette]

Originally Posted by jenneology

I was then told that all of my options had been taken away and I needed to leave the hospital right then, no more discussion allowed.

You were actually thrown out of a hospital in labor?

[MammaB21]

Sage.Naissance I am confused by your post. It sounds to me that you are putting the blame back onto the womanfor anything that goes wrong in her labor, because she made the 'choice' to birth where she did.

The thing is, that no matter where a women choses to birth, or who she picks for her care provider there is no gaurentee that her wishes will be met. Even the crunchiest midwives sometimes do things that are less then ideal. There are some serious issues with birth in our country, and it is ashame that there are so many people out there willing to throw the blame back on the mothers, when in reality, we need to put it where it belongs. In hospital systems. In the media portryaing scary, high risk births. In the lack of education this country porvides for pregnant women. In the law that prohibits women from laboring with midwives or at home, or doing UC.

[sapphire_chan]

Originally Posted by MammaB21

In the law that prohibits women from laboring with midwives or at home, or doing UC.

Small note here, homebirths aren't actually illegal in any state. What tends to be illegal is being an unlicensed midwife. Which is impossible to avoid in states that refuse to license midwifery.

[jenneology]

Originally Posted by paquerette

You were actually thrown out of a hospital in labor?

That's what I beleived that the time, yes so I reacted like that was the case. In truth, I was 3.5 cm dilated in early labor. Just a half centimeter from being considered in active labor when I would have been "allowed" to stay in the hospital. Why they admitted me in the first place, or sent me up to L&D I'll never know.

I did send an email to the midwife who told me to go to L&D and told her the effects of her actions on my labor and transition to motherhood and she apologized that she had contributed to my distress and she would take my experience into consideration the next time she encountered a first time mom in early labor who was wanting a natural birth. She should have known not to send me up and given me the Penny Simkin advice of resting, going home, and enjoying myself until I was in active labor. Instead the midwife led me to beleive I was in active labor and deserving to be admitted.

[MammaB21]

Originally Posted by sapphire_chan

Small note here, homebirths aren't actually illegal in any state. What tends to be illegal is being an unlicensed midwife. Which is impossible to avoid in states that refuse to license midwifery.

Ya, I was refering to unliscensed midwives, and illegal UC's. But, I thought there was a momma or two on here that said homebirths were illegal in her state, and was considering doing a UC because of that. Maybe she was reffereing to unliscensed midwives as well.

[sapphire_chan]

Originally Posted by MammaB21

Ya, I was refering to unliscensed midwives, and illegal UC's. But, I thought there was a momma or two on here that said homebirths were illegal in her state, and was considering doing a UC because of that. Maybe she was reffereing to unliscensed midwives as well.

UCs aren't illegal. Doesn't mean there isn't a risk of being treated like a criminal for having one, but there isn't actually a law in any state about it. I'm not sure if there are states that have laws prohibiting anyone from attending a home birth, but then I only know for sure of one group of OBs who are willing to attend to home births at all, so it might be a moot point.

[MammaB21]

Originally Posted by sapphire_chan

UCs aren't illegal. Doesn't mean there isn't a risk of being treated like a criminal for having one, but there isn't actually a law in any state about it. I'm not sure if there are states that have laws prohibiting anyone from attending a home birth, but then I only know for sure of one group of OBs who are willing to attend to home births at all, so it might be a moot point.

AAAaaahhhhh.......okay, you got me again. I honestly haven't really researched what states have what laws. I just remember hearing other momas on here talking about it. But, even if it isn't illegal, it is sometimes really hard. Especially conserning medical insurance and midwives and homebirths.

[sapphire_chan]

Originally Posted by MammaB21

AAAaaahhhhh.......okay, you got me again. I honestly haven't really researched what states have what laws. I just remember hearing other momas on here talking about it. But, even if it isn't illegal, it is sometimes really hard. Especially conserning medical insurance and midwives and homebirths.

Totally.