Monday, October 19, 2009

The Bullying of Pregnant Mothers



Here's a little secret. If you, as a pregnant woman see a sign such as this in your OB's office, please know that you are likely to have encountered a "caregiver" who is a bully.
And, if your OB asks you to sign something like this :


Turn on your heels and leave immediately. You and your baby's life could be in danger from the care "plan" proposed in this document. There is not one shred of evidence to show that this practices will produce a safe or healthy birth for you and your baby. In fact, just the opposite is true !

These types of OBs do not want informed patients. They want to be in total control of their patients and their births. They will not tolerate a well informed woman who has done her research and wants to be an active participant in her birth experience and the health and safety of her baby.

These types of OBs are a direct cause of the high maternal and infant mortality rates we see today.
Be afraid. Be very afraid.

13 comments:

  1. Scary sign. Wow. If I saw that sign I would turn and run.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Holy shit! If I saw that sign at my OB's I'd be out of there in a heartbeat and I would tell everyone I knew to steer clear.

    ReplyDelete
  3. That was my OB's office with my first baby. But I don't believe it listed Bradley at the time I was there. I'd never heard of a doula before so it didn't raise the concerns it now would have. I thought I was becoming educated (taking a hospital Lamaze class, too), but I really didn't know what I was missing. I did end up with a c-section, and that experience overall was definitely the scariest experience of my life. In hindsight, I do think having a doula would have changed that outcome. Thus it is with hindsight, I guess.

    ReplyDelete
  4. WHAT? This is unbelievable!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Wow! This is shocking! Heaven forbid a woman and her body know what to do!

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a joke that they actually say they have this policy because they care about the quality of their patient's deliveries. Ummm, if they really cared, they wouldn't have such a stupid policy!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Women have a right to give birth using any method they want, I don't know why they think they have the right to make a particular doctor do what they want. The right the woman has is to choose a doctor who will work with them. A patient has no more right to force a doctor to do things a particular way than a doctor has a right to force a patient to do things a particular way.

    ReplyDelete
  8. That's not really the point, as I see it, Jonny. The point is that women have choices, and Dr's have no right to deny evidence based care. That is, care that has been proven to support safe and healthy birth. Every doctor has the responsibility to provide safe and healthy care. No one should have to force them !
    Women should demand safe and healthy from obstetricians or they should leave and find a midwife.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Shocking! But I have to say, at least they are being up front about it. All too many women are told during their prenatal care, "whatever you want..." only to discover on "the big day" that, actually, it is going to be "whatever the staff says".

    ReplyDelete