Todays Blog Post is shared from Improvingbirth.org We hope many of you will share resources from their site, consider joining their membership and show up and rally today, and each year– on Labor Day weekend.
This year is focused on VBAC awareness. Here is what Improving Birth has to say about this years VBAC access and why this is their focus this year:
“Once a woman has had a Cesarean, she will have a difficulty finding a care provider and hospital to support her in a vaginal birth.
In fact, vaginal birth after cesarean is not allowed in over 40% of American hospitals.
Major health organizations like the National Institutes of Health and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists use words like “safe,” “reasonable,” and “appropriate” to describe vaginal birth after cesarean for most women. The American Academy of Family Physicians states that every eligible woman should be offered a VBAC.
Of women who do attempt a VBAC, three out of four will give birth vaginally, while the other one out of four will have a repeat surgery.
Despite these facts, the prevailing public opinion is that VBAC is excessively dangerous.
That’s why the 2016 Rally to Improve Birth will focus on VBAC Access.
This movement isn’t about natural birth vs. medicated birth. It’s not about hospital birth vs. homebirth or birth center birth.
It’s about women being capable of making safer, more informed decisions about their care and that of their babies, when they are given full and accurate information about their care options, including the potential harms, benefits, and alternatives. It’s about respect for women and their decisions in childbirth, including how, where, and with whom they give birth; and the right to be treated with dignity and compassion.”
For more information about what Evidence-Based Maternity Care is, please click here.
This week DTI watched a moving and all too important call to action from Dawn Thompson. Dawn is the strength, wisdom and courage behind the organization. This call to action will wake and shake you INTO ACTION:
I’m asking you to wake up the activist inside of you and write a letter, make a call or better yet, both.
Glendale Adventist just put a ban on a women’s right to choose breech birth. They have a skilled provider on staff who is willing and able to support patients who want this option.
Help us flood them with calls and letters. Let them know we are coming next Wednesday at 11 am to stand up for our right over our bodies.
1.You may file a grievance with GAMC by calling or writing: GAMC Customer Service 1509 Wilson Terrace Glendale, CA 91206 (818) 409-8196
2. You may also file a grievance with Adventist Health by contacting: Adventist Health Compliance Program 2100 Douglas Blvd. Roseville, CA 95661 (888) 366-3833
3.Karen Brandt, Director of Women and Children’s Services: 818-409-8243
4.This ban is not only unethical but violates the patient’s right to informed consent and right of refusal. Providers like Dr. Wu should not be at risk of sanction should a patient exercise their right to choose vaginal breech delivery.
5. 2001, a study came out that took away the option for breech birth but the study was later found to be faulty, but the damage was already done — vaginal breech birth was almost completely eliminated from medical school training and from delivery rooms.
6. A more recent study from the Term Breech Trial Collaborative Group found that the original Term Breech Trial study had included many things that it shouldn’t have (e.g., unplanned breech deliveries, premature breech deliveries, breeches with congenital anomalies) and that planned c-section delivery is NOT associated with a reduction in risk of death or neuro-developmental delay in children at 2 years of age.
7. There are also known long-term health effects on the child from cesarean delivery, like obesity, asthma, diabetes and allergies . We must also think about the possible effects on bonding, breastfeeding, and attachment, as well as the psychological trauma of cesarean for many women, and the loss of the birth experience, all of which the studies on cesarean don’t address.
8.ACOG Opinion Committee says, “Planned vaginal delivery of a term singleton breech fetus may be reasonable” and that “the decision regarding the mode of delivery should depend on the experience of the health care provider.” GAMC has an incredibly skilled provider in Dr. Wu on staff, therefore going against this committee opinion
9.Forcing patients into major abdominal surgery by leaving them no other option when you have a skilled provider on staff is unethical
10. ACOG Committee Opinion also says “the obstetrician–gynecologist’s actions should be guided by the ethical principle that adult patients who are capable decision makers have the right to refuse recommended medical treatment.”
11. Dr. Wu is a skilled provider who has been supporting birth for more than 40 years and has never been sued for a bad outcome for breech delivery.
12.Elective c-section does NOT guarantee the improved outcome of the child, but may increase risks for the mother, compared to vaginal delivery.