The Birthing Vagina's Bill of Rights

I was at a birth the other night supported by an OB. Never in my doula career have I ever witnessed any OB, midwife or nurse try to force their was into a woman's vagina, in this case a teenagers vagina.
But I did the other night.

Mom opted for Demerol. Demerol makes you dizzy, sleepy and 'out of it.' Dr Petraca, the OB, walked in to the room (first time meeting this laboring mother-to-be) and she was asleep, as was her own mother. No gentle waking, no gentle, amicable introductions were had. Instead, Dr. Petraca used a loud voice, as if mom was hard of hearing, telling her he was going to check her.

After getting mom centered in the bed, and her knees up, this doctor proceeded to pull on my clients legs and shout at her that 'she had to loosen up! She had to open her legs!' He 'needed to check her!'

 Because I look at my clients, observe them, I could see that she was having a contraction. Quickly double checking myself, I glanced over my shoulder and saw on the TOCO monitor that she was in fact contracting.

Putting my hand out as if to say 'hold on' I asked, "Can we please wait until she finishes this contraction!?"

What kind of a doctor, what kind of a man tries to force his way into a woman's vagina?

The rest of this story will be talked about in another post, but from this experience I realized that our vaginas need a Bill of Rights. Just because a child is being birthed does not mean that a woman gives up ownership of her vagina. It does not become the property of anyone else, yet it seems to me that there are cases where a woman's vagina is treated as not belonging to her... and that infuriates me.

So, I started writing. I listened to my own vagina. 

What would she like to say for herself and the other vagina's out there when in their birthing time?

While this started out kind of 'tongue in cheek' originally, I realized that my vagina was quite serious. This is what she told me.

The Birthing Vagina’s Bill of Rights

1.      The Birthing Woman who spent nine months in gestation of her child(ren) retains ownership of me, her Birthing Vagina. Regardless of the fact that I am bringing forth children, I am not a separate object but am connected to a human being, The Birthing Woman. A Birthing Vagina does not become property of any birth center, hospital, medical staff, Nurse, Obstetrician or Midwife.

2.      As a birthing vagina, I retain my right to choose whom and what I allow inside me and when I allow them inside me, and have the right to allow none inside me.

3.      As a sacred portal into this world, I deserve and have the right to respect. Approach me with kindness and reverence. Enter me as gently as possible at all times after, and only after, you are given permission to do so.

4.      As a Birthing Vagina, I retain my right of privacy. If requested by the Birthing Woman, all nonessential personnel may be asked to leave the room if permission is given to enter me. The Birthing Woman’s cultural and religious requirements of privacy should also be respected at all times by all members of medical and support staff.

5.       My sister, Uterus must be honored and those with permission to enter me will wait until she is not surging. Unless there is a medical purpose for it, you will exit me before the next surge begins.

6.      The Birthing Woman that I am a part of retains the right of informed consent and informed choice about any and all procedures that may potentially take place within and beyond me. This includes all augmentations, drugs and medications, including their risks and side effects to either her or the unborn child. She also retains the right to be told of any alternatives, and the right to deny any and all treatment as per the Patient’s Bill of Rights.

7.      I retain the right to not be enlarged by cutting my sister, Perineum. I have the ability as a Birthing Vagina to stretch to pass the child through me. If I tear in the process I can be mended by a skilled physician or midwife, giving me the best opportunity, as per researched studies, for a healthier outcome. We have the right to be gently supported with counter-pressure and/or gentle massage and gentle assisted stretching.

8.      As a Birthing Vagina, the Birthing Woman and I retain the right to birth the child(ren) in any position we agree is most beneficial for us, as well as the child, and not the attending medical or midwifery staff.

9.      All third stage procedures should be done gently and respectfully, taking into    account the feat I have just performed. The emergence of my sister Placenta should be given as much time as possible and if assistance is required, it should be as gentle as possible.

Translated by Tamrha Richardson CD(CBI)©

www.tamrhasdoulasupport.com

Reprinting and sharing welcome, with credit given.

A letter to Senator Flanagan of NY regarding the MMA Bill

I found out today that my Senator is not on board the Midwifery Modernization Act bill, which frees midwives from obtaining written practice agreements, essentially permission, from an OB to practice. . I'm so disappointed... I've repeatedly called, put up the red flags to the Birth Net of the finger Lakes gals and have just sent him a letter.

Please call your senator, and assembly person and ask them to get on board with this if they are not already.

To find out more, and how to locate your representatives, as well as what to say, go the Free Our Midwives page. To find out more about the MMA bill go here

Here's my letter...

Senator Flanagan,

I do hope that after recieving all the phone calls yo your office, and being sent further information regarding the Midwifery Modernization Act, that is eligible as of Monday for a vote, you will realize that the women of Long Island, and NY State, want and deserve this option in pregnancy and birth choices.

Will you be on the side of these midwives, who's professional, wise ways create safer birth outcomes for NY women and babies, who's mode of care saves the state money?  Did you know that the US sits at #44 in the WHO's list of countries with the worst maternal mortality rates? That means there are 43 other countries where I am safer, and more likely to survive childbirth, Senator Flanagan. This is the US. We are not a poor country. Why are women dying here? Why are women more healthy in other European counties? Why are they more likely to survive? Part of that reason is the Midwifery Model of care. Help make NY State one of the states to pull us up from those numbers and have healthier childbirth outcomes!

I was told today by one of your staff that you feel that women are in better hands because Obstetricians have gone to eight years of medical school. For the record, OB's never study normal, uncomplicated, natural births in their eight years of medical school. They study the pathology of pregnancy, the problems, the risks, etc. And that's wonderful, for some women and babies need those specialists. However, they walk out of medical school and begin to treat ALL women. And most women are not in the need of a specialist, or of a surgeon, because essentially that is what an OB is. A Midwife can do all an OB can do in a healthy pregnancy, except cut a cesarean section.

Not all pregnant women are high risk. The majority are healthy, pregnant women who's care providers are trained only in the problems... and therefore many often see only the problems. Or the possibility of problems, and then treat from a stand point of 'what -if' or 'safety' when in all actuality what they are often doing is harming women and babies. Hence, our World Health Organization ranking of #44. Of course, this is just a piece of that #44 pie for things like fear of litigation plays a huge part, but if I get into that I'll digress from the purpose of this email.

When necessary, our midwives are still going to work along side Obstetricians. This bill is not saying that they won't. What this bill does is free them from the written practice agreement, essentially the signature of an OB or group of OB's giving her permission to practice in their being willing to back her up. That's it Senator. That's all its aim is. Midwives will still refer their clients in need of those specialists to those specialists whether they be chiropractors, nutritionists, acupuncturists, or Obstetricians. They do this with all the rest without a written agreement, and there is no reason to suspect they would not refer out high risk clients to the OB's when the women need their specialties. The goal is a healthy mother and child.

Here is is the fact sheet that Im sure you have already received. Please do more research on this, Senator. NYS has some of the highest cesarean section rates in the US. We need our midwives! Near your Long Island office, St Catherine's has a section rate, in 2007 of 51.9%. That means more than half of the women that walk into that hospital are being cut. Good Samaritan has 49.4%, St Charles 47.3%,Mercy in Rockville Center is at 47.2%.In the city Lenox Hill is up to 40.1%, Long Island Jewish is at 40.3. 44.7 in Staten Island at Richmond University Hospital. ALL of these exceed the WHO's recommendation that no country have a section rate over 10-15 %.

You may find all the LI and NYC hospitals rates at an online list I created for Better Birth NY, of which I am the representative for here.

We NEED our midwives, Senator. And we need them to have the fetters removed. This is the 21st Century. Will you be on the side of women having access to all their birth options, or not?

Dr. Besser and a laboring girl in Haiti

Dr. Besser Assists in Haitian Baby's Birth



The reason I posted this video was for a few things. I guess it was in looking at the language used from the doctor in this report. Its very true that this small clip cannot give us a very clear picture of what was going on. However, There were still a few things I noticed.

Dr Besser (whi is an MD and not an OB. I looked him up on Wikipedia) mentions that Sariah had a 'trained midwife', Maritann, there. He says that he thought she was lucky because of that fact. In the end of the clip you can watch the midwife massaging and possibly palpating the girl's belly. I'd be curious to know where the transverse worry stemmed from... yet the doctor says "I was worried about transverse or feet first and that she needed a c-section." He doesn't state the midwife was worried about this, yet again, this is a short clip. We don't know. I did find his asking to touch her kind and appropriate.

Dr Besser then mentions her waters were brown and not clear. 'This could be a sign of infection." Really? Could the mother having gone through a trauma of an earthquake create distress in the baby and cause the baby to pass merconium, dr.? Of course its not a great scenario, there being merconium present but itsn't that more likely due to distress than an infection?

Then he says he emails doctors in the States. Why is that? He just before said she had a trained midwife there. How can a doctor a 1000 miles away really give an on target recommendation? They give a clip from Dr Moritz, located in New York. "Is there a heartbeat? It doesn't look good." What tells him that? The info from Dr. Besser most likely because sitting in NY how can he really make an evidence based call for a girl in Haiti? He can't, can he?

I was actually glad for some 'bells and whistles' of technology for this girl here. The ultrasound worked in her favor telling them that baby was 'in a better position that I thought.' High blood pressure? I'm not surprised either. I'm just glad for her that an unnecessary section was done for suspected mal position.

Dr Besser I'm sure had good intentions for this mother, but he had set out to do a story on "The impact of this quake on pregnant women and newborns." "What I didn't know was that it would unfold before me."

Really? Dr. Besser, don't you think you created some drama here? Possibly? We can't be sure, because we don't havethe whole picture, but I wouldn't be surprised. Made for a good story, this transeverse and breech woory. If she'd just birthed right there with her midwife, with no suspected mal-presentation... not so 'dramatic' to the ABC audience, is it?

VBAMultipleC Mamas!!

Its possible! With support, faith, and intention... it is very, very possible!