Redondo Beach, CA, February 7, 2008: The International Cesarean Awareness Network (www.ican-online.org) would like to publicly condemn both the AABC (American Association of Birth Centers) and the ACOG (The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists) for their statements* this week that limit not only women's choices in birth but imply that birth is a fashion trend rather than a safety concern.
Since VBAC is the biological normal outcome of a pregnancy after cesarean, ICAN encourages women to get all of the facts about vaginal birth and elective cesarean before making a choice. This decision should not include weighing the choices of your doctor's malpractice payments but only be a concern of the mother, her baby and their health and safety.
Since some mothers will make the choice to give birth outside of the hospital, we encourage the AABC to not cave into ACOG's demands that all women give birth in a hospital facility with a surgical specialist, but instead allow women to make their own choices about care providers, birth settings and risk factors. ICAN respects the intelligence of modern women and accepts that the amount of information available about VBAC and elective repeat cesarean should serve as informed consent.
ICAN further encourages the governments of individual states to look closely at their cesarean rates (31.1% national cesarean rate as of 2006) and the informed consent laws that apply and help women to reach a standard of care that lowers the risks of major surgery and the risks of elective or coerced cesarean without medical indication. Women and children should not bear the brunt of malpractice risks being conveyed into physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health risks in order to protect their physicians.
Mission statement: ICAN is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to improve maternal-child health by preventing unnecessary cesareans through education, providing support for cesarean recovery and promoting vaginal birth after cesarean. There are more than 94 ICAN Chapters across North America, which hold educational and support meetings for people interested in cesarean prevention and recovery.
* AABC statement: http://www.birthcenters.org/files/file.php?id=2&file=file&file_type=file_type
ACOG statement: http://www.acog.org/from_home/publications/press_releases/nr02-06-08-2.cfm
Thursday, February 7, 2008
ACOG believes in limiting your birth choices
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) released a statement yesterday reiterating its stance that women should not deliver their babies at home among other chafing comments. The statement is linked here: http://www.acog.org/from_home/publications/press_releases/nr02-06-08-2.cfm.
So ACOG with an Executive Board of 24 with various districts and committees underneath, believes it is allowed to dictate for the millions of women each year where they are to deliver their babies (hm two days ago the American Association Birth Centers decided not to revisit allowing VBAC's in order to appease ACOG).
Personally and professionally, I am appalled that a group that sets out to provide excellence in care for women throughout the childbearing years, has continued to band together and make policy that negatively affects the entirety of childbearing women in the US (through lobbyists, self-serving studies and treating the healthy full-term pregnant woman as a hostile host to her baby).
Amazingly most women and babies are low risk in pregnancy and birth. These women and babies can be cared for by family practitioners, midwives (CNM's, licensed, registered and direct entry) or by the mothers themselves who choose to take the highest level of responsibility and birth unassisted. If a mother or baby become high risk, she is sent to an OB/GYN for care. If things unexpectedly occur in birth, often the issues can be handled safely by a skilled provider outside of the hospital environment.
Today the usual standard of care many women receive (non-medical induction, continuous monitoring, epidural, non-medical cesarean) by ACOG members actually make the low risk mom and baby high risk. These practices increase complication rates and the need for more intervention than would occur normally in birth. Essentially the abnormal becomes normal.
By continuing to support and utilize care providers who believe we should only deliver our babies in the hospital or accredited birth center, we are allowing our decision making to be undermined, being limited in our parenting choices and putting ourselves and babies in the path of unnecessary iatrogenic risk. Not all ACOG members believe we should be limited and do offer a great service, however, they do belong to and pay dues to an organization that does.
Buyer beware.
Spread the news. Don't ignore the truth.
Pax,
Desirre
So ACOG with an Executive Board of 24 with various districts and committees underneath, believes it is allowed to dictate for the millions of women each year where they are to deliver their babies (hm two days ago the American Association Birth Centers decided not to revisit allowing VBAC's in order to appease ACOG).
Personally and professionally, I am appalled that a group that sets out to provide excellence in care for women throughout the childbearing years, has continued to band together and make policy that negatively affects the entirety of childbearing women in the US (through lobbyists, self-serving studies and treating the healthy full-term pregnant woman as a hostile host to her baby).
Amazingly most women and babies are low risk in pregnancy and birth. These women and babies can be cared for by family practitioners, midwives (CNM's, licensed, registered and direct entry) or by the mothers themselves who choose to take the highest level of responsibility and birth unassisted. If a mother or baby become high risk, she is sent to an OB/GYN for care. If things unexpectedly occur in birth, often the issues can be handled safely by a skilled provider outside of the hospital environment.
Today the usual standard of care many women receive (non-medical induction, continuous monitoring, epidural, non-medical cesarean) by ACOG members actually make the low risk mom and baby high risk. These practices increase complication rates and the need for more intervention than would occur normally in birth. Essentially the abnormal becomes normal.
By continuing to support and utilize care providers who believe we should only deliver our babies in the hospital or accredited birth center, we are allowing our decision making to be undermined, being limited in our parenting choices and putting ourselves and babies in the path of unnecessary iatrogenic risk. Not all ACOG members believe we should be limited and do offer a great service, however, they do belong to and pay dues to an organization that does.
Buyer beware.
Spread the news. Don't ignore the truth.
Pax,
Desirre
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