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Mary Birch does not deny that its C-section rate is high
After I read this article I found myself thinking, "wow, that was me". A week after my doctor's estimated due date (I am certain that their date was early by 2 weeks, and informed my doctor of this. She did not budge and change the date) my husband and I show up at the hospital to be induced. I was given a clipboard full of paperwork to sign and fill out. I have no idea what I was signing or what half of it said, I was about to have a baby, am I really the right person to be looking over such important stuff and signing it? After all of that was taken care of, the nurse set my IV and got the pitocin going, then the doctor said we are going to break your water. I was never talked to about how the pitocin worked and how they used it, or how breaking my water worked, nor was I given any choice between the two. I was new at this baby business, as it was our first child, but I don't feel like the doctor or nurses treated it that way. They treated it as if it was routine for them and just went on about their day delivering babies. After 10 hours, fetal distress twice, turning the pitocin on and off twice, and finally a high fever from me, the doctor said "we are going to have to do a c-section". When I asked about the possiblity of having a VBAC when I decide to have another child, the doctor's reponse was "we can discuss that when the time comes". I understand that doctors and nurses go through training and have years of experience taking care of pregnant women and their fetuses and delivering babies, but I think they need to work on how they go about treating their patients. Taking just a few more minutes to listen to their patients and explain things like inductions and how they work and alternatives to using drugs, and giving you options would be some much more helpful. I feel like they just go through the motions to get it done and move on to the next patient. I also understand that with modern medicine there are a lot more women and children surviving child birth, but doesn't mother nature get a say at all? Doctors simply are not that smart. Isn't there somewhere in this process where doctors need to step back and let a women's body do what it has naturally done for so long? If the fit hits the shan then I am all for doctors stepping in to assist, that's what they have been trained to do; assist women having babies. With all that I have said, I did not have my baby at Sharp Mary Birch, I had him at Scripps La Jolla, where I feel I received very similar treatment to the women in this article. This article points at SMB, but it happens other places as well. Women need to be more informed, and hopefully policies and doctors will change and when they do women will hopefully not have to endure what I, and so many other women have.— January 18, 2012 3:13 p.m.