Your body, Your decisions -This means you, moms!

[Gormy Cuss]

Recently, a mother in South Carolina reached out to the ACLU for help. She was pregnant, and although she had had two prior cesarean surgeries, she wished to attempt a “trial of labor,” that is, to give birth naturally, rather than having a scheduled cesarean surgery. The mother’s wish made sense in light of her medical history, and according to professional standards set by obstetricians.

Nevertheless, the mother’s doctors – publically employed physicians working in a public hospital –forced her to schedule a C-section, called her “stupid” for wanting to do otherwise, and threathened to withhold medical care if she refused the surgery and went into labor naturally. In short, even after having made her wishes known to her physicians, the mother was being coerced into undergoing a serious and invasive medical procedure against her will....

https://www.aclu.org/blog/reproductive-freedom-womens-rights/your-body-your-decisions-means-you-moms

[HockeyMom]

1. I had a natural breach birth in 1979

My firstborn who was 7 lbs. I am a small woman at 5'1" and 98 lbs. pre-pregnancy. My doctor was delivering another baby and late to get to the hospital. Yep, the hospital staff were in a panic over my delivery. They wanted me to have a C-Section. When my doctor got there, he just said to them all to get out of "our" way.

I had the entire OB staff there watching this delivery. "Let me show you how it's done", was what he said to them. When my daughter was born, perfectly fine, the very crowded delivery room all applauded.

It really helps to have a supportive OB/GYN doctor who had delivered babies for over 30 years. He delivered all my sister-in-law's 4 babies, including twins, and both of my 2 babies.

[Gormy Cuss]

6. My mother delivered a frank breach.

Also a tiny woman at the time and it was her first born. The doctors did a great job and the child was born without serious complications. Of course that was back when they avoided c-sec as much as possible. My mother went on to have many other children without ever needing a c-sec.

[woodsprite]

2. I had planned on a natural birth with my first

But I ended up having a c- section for 'failure to progress'.
My dr wasn't able to be there, and the docs on call were
pushing internal fetal monitoring, pictocin, etc. before we
finally ended up with a c-section after 22 hrs.

Along comes my high-risk 2nd baby who was supposed to
be a scheduled c-section, and I had him through natural,
unmedicated vbac. I was terrified because I had a friend
whose uterus ruptured in an attempted vbac. My doc explained
that she never should have been allowed to labor because of
the direction of her internal incision. Apparently that makes
a difference. One way (up/down) weakens the incision, where
the other one heals into a stronger scar.

[Gormy Cuss]

5. That's an interesting anecdote about the incision scar. n/t

[niyad]

3. I hope their damned licenses are revoked!

[Gormy Cuss]

4. Yes, it took the ACLU's intervention to get their attention.

Obviously if there were medical reasons against it the docs should counsel women on choices but to deny VBAC categorically is a tad too paternalistic for me.

[niyad]

7. you are being kind