What does the former health editor of Ms. Magazine say about childbirth in America, after researching and writing the book, Pushed: The Painful Truth About Childbirth and Modern Maternity Care.
You can see a succinct explanation/introduction as to why Ms. Block wrote her book and what she discovered in her extensive research, in this video.
For more information, visit Jennifer Block's excellent blog, PushedBirth.com
Showing posts with label childbirth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label childbirth. Show all posts
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Saturday, May 24, 2008
So close! Show me the truth, show me state!
MISSOURI is one of the "hot" states in the effort to license midwives. Last year, the Missouri CPM licensure bill, introduced by Senator John Loudon (R-Ballwin), was effectively filibustered by Missouri Senator Graham (D - Columbia), which incluced reading pages of the phone book, discussing his and his colleagues' new blackberries, and countless hours of wasting Missourians taxpayer dollars.
Seemingly out of frustration, Louden attached a clause onto an insurance bill that allows anyone to practice if they are certified to provide tocological services, by a group that's accredited by the National Commission on Certified Agencies (in other words, CPMs, CNMs or CMs).
The doctors, with all their overblown education, didn't catch it. The law passed, and it was a huge victory, which is now being battled out in the Missouri courts.
This year, a licensure bill passed the Missouri Senate after some political maneuvering, but the medical lobbyists stopped it from getting out of the House.
The stories from those "on the ground" in Missouri are spooky. This is hardball politics, to say the least.
Seemingly out of frustration, Louden attached a clause onto an insurance bill that allows anyone to practice if they are certified to provide tocological services, by a group that's accredited by the National Commission on Certified Agencies (in other words, CPMs, CNMs or CMs).
The doctors, with all their overblown education, didn't catch it. The law passed, and it was a huge victory, which is now being battled out in the Missouri courts.
This year, a licensure bill passed the Missouri Senate after some political maneuvering, but the medical lobbyists stopped it from getting out of the House.
The stories from those "on the ground" in Missouri are spooky. This is hardball politics, to say the least.
Rock, meet hard place
What would you do, if you were on the cusp of winning a 30 year battle to make home birth midwives (CPMs) legal, and in the 11th hour an unanticipated fork in the road was presented to you? One path leads to legalization that's desperately needed, but the twist is many moms could be left to the cold, steel rooms of the surgical suite. The other fork means almost certainly giving up licensure for many years to come.
It's not an easy place to be in. Illinois advocates find themselves wedged tightly between a giant boulder, and one of the hardest places of all. And a lot of moms are hopping mad about it. So mad, that some individuals have threatened to withdraw support of the bill that would licensed CPMs.
The issue is regarding whether or not an Illinois CPMs would be allowed to attend moms who have had a cesarean birth, in their first attempt at vaginal birth (primary VBAC, or first time vaginal birth after cesarean). The twist is that it's extremely difficult, at best, to achieve a safe VBAC attempt in most Illinois hospitals, and in many parts of the state, officially disallowed by hospital protocols.
So we have a group of moms who expect other women (most of them moms themselves) to risk jail or losing ALL their personal assets, to preserve the ability to access vbacs. And another group of women who desperately want to serve vbac moms but don't necessarily want to risk jail and all of their personal assets in order to do so. (And yes, a lot of midwives have served time.)
Where's the balance?
Please post a comment if you have an answer to this quandary. Or just to spout off. (Please note: I understand that this is an emotionally charged issue, but personal attacks will be removed.)
It's not an easy place to be in. Illinois advocates find themselves wedged tightly between a giant boulder, and one of the hardest places of all. And a lot of moms are hopping mad about it. So mad, that some individuals have threatened to withdraw support of the bill that would licensed CPMs.
The issue is regarding whether or not an Illinois CPMs would be allowed to attend moms who have had a cesarean birth, in their first attempt at vaginal birth (primary VBAC, or first time vaginal birth after cesarean). The twist is that it's extremely difficult, at best, to achieve a safe VBAC attempt in most Illinois hospitals, and in many parts of the state, officially disallowed by hospital protocols.
So we have a group of moms who expect other women (most of them moms themselves) to risk jail or losing ALL their personal assets, to preserve the ability to access vbacs. And another group of women who desperately want to serve vbac moms but don't necessarily want to risk jail and all of their personal assets in order to do so. (And yes, a lot of midwives have served time.)
Where's the balance?
Please post a comment if you have an answer to this quandary. Or just to spout off. (Please note: I understand that this is an emotionally charged issue, but personal attacks will be removed.)
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