[womancaredoula]

Here is the list of WA hospitals that ban VBACs according to the nationwide survey completed by ICAN in January. Please help us find VBAC denied women in these areas who may want free legal help by our probono lawyer:

Cascade Valley Hospital and Clinics Arlington Washington Banned
Central Washington Hospital Wenatchee Washington Banned
Forks Community Hospital Forks Washington Banned
Samaritan Community Healthcare Puyallup Washington Banned
Island Hospital Anacortes Washington Banned
Jefferson Healthcare Port Townsend Washington Banned
Lake Chelan Community Hospital Chelan Washington Banned
Lourdes Medical Center Pasco Washington Banned
Mid-Valley Hospital Omak Washington Banned
Newport Hospital and Health Services Newport Washington Banned
Othello Community Hospital Othello Washington Banned
Olympic Medical Center Port Angeles, Washington Banned
Prosser Memorial Hospital Prosser Washington Banned
Providence Centralia Hospital Centralia Washington Banned
Providence St Peter Hospital Olympia Washington Banned
Samaritan Healthcare Moses Lake Washington Banned
St. Francis Hospital Federal Way Washington Banned
St Mary Medical Center Walla Walla Washington Banned
Sunnyside Community Hospital Sunnyside Washington Banned
St Joseph Medical Center Tacoma Washington Banned
St Joseph's Hospital Chewelah, Washington Banned
Toppenish Communtiy Hospital Toppenish Washington Banned
Walla Walla General Hospital Walla Walla Washington Banned
Whidbey General Hospital Coupeville Washington Banned
Whitman Hospital and Medical Center Colfax Washington Banned
North Valley Hospital Tonasket Washington Banned
Skyline Hospital White Salmon Washington Banned
Swedish Medical Center - Ballard Seattle Washington Banned

-Barbara Stratton

 

[Kirsten]

Quote:

Originally Posted by womancaredoula Providence St Peter Hospital Olympia Washington Banned St Joseph Medical Center Tacoma Washington Banned Swedish Medical Center - Ballard Seattle Washington Banned

They are all sad, but the "big" three are really heartbreaking. Swedish?

 

[JaneyD]

While yes, it is surely heartbreaking, please note that Swedish First Hill still does VBACs. Ballard is much much smaller, has no NICU, etc. Not that that is an excuse, but the main Swedish campus still does them.

 

[Belle]

Is there a list of Pro-VBAC hospitals?

I know that Southwest Washington Medical Center was sued for encouraging a mother to do a VBAC. She wanted a ERC and her baby was stillborn at 39 weeks. They were sued for not doing a CS when the mother demanded one at 38 weeks. They refused to settle out of court because they wouldn't be able to do VBACs anymore. The hospital won and can still do VBACs. I feel sorry for the family, but judgement in their favor would have forced many other moms into unneeded surgery.

It made the paper. I'll see if I can find it.

 

[SalmonBayDoula]

I would have to say that the most VBAC friendly hospital in the King County area is Group Health! Head and shoulders above the rest, in every way!

Swedish Medical Center First Hill which does the most births in the state (almost 8000) still does VBAC births. Their smaller campus, Swedish Ballard, (which does about 700 birth/year) is the hospital that has the vbac ban.

Sharon

 

[womancaredoula]

I'd say that pro-VBAC hospitals are in the minority. I personally surveyed around 40 in January and the only enthusiastic responses I got were from two university hospitals. One (Washington DC) when asked if they allowed VBACs happily said, "YES! We consider them a QUALITY MEASURE!" The rest would hmm and haww and typically say, "Weeeeellll it depends on the doctor." Even some that are listed in the survey database as allowing VBACs may have not seen one in years.

To view the database where you can pull up individual hospitals and read the comments typed in by the surveyor go to www.ican-online.org and click on the VBAC page. Then scroll down the left to near the bottom and click "VBAC ban policy database."

The March of Dimes is on a big campaign to stop early cesareans due to a rise in "late term prematurity" that they can only attribute to the rising cesarean rate. Also, when the National Institute of Health had their VBAC consensus hearing in the spring of '06 they concluded that the risk to the baby goes up for every week before 39 weeks that the cesarean is done. So,. Yup, we hate these kinds of lawsuits that are what feeds the hospitals' and OBs' fear of doing them.

-Barbara Stratton

Quote:

Originally Posted by Belle Is there a list of Pro-VBAC hospitals? I know that Southwest Washington Medical Center was sued for encouraging a mother to do a VBAC. She wanted a ERC and her baby was stillborn at 39 weeks. They were sued for not doing a CS when the mother demanded one at 38 weeks. They refused to settle out of court because they wouldn't be able to do VBACs anymore. The hospital won and can still do VBACs. I feel sorry for the family, but judgement in their favor would have forced many other moms into unneeded surgery. It made the paper. I'll see if I can find it.

 

[*~~Shannon~~*]

This may be outdated, but my sister-in-law was looking at having a VBAC in late 2007. She was told by St. Joe's in Tacoma that they don't "ban" VBACs, but they require the attending doctor to be on site for the entire labor. I think that's just their way of saying "we're going to put the blame on your doctor for not allowing you to do it."

 

[SalmonBayDoula]

St. Joe's in Tacoma has an outright VBAC ban. They do not do VBACS. at all!

publicly stated by them.

rumor has it, this may change, possibly as early as this summer?

S.