---------- ---------- Excerpted From: DON'T CUT ME AGAIN! True Stories About Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC) By Angela Hoy ISBN: 1591139945 Twenty-two birth stories from women who fought the unnecessary surgical removal of their healthy babies by a knife-wielding doctor. Available from the following online stores: BookLocker.com - http://www.booklocker.com/books/2845.html Amazon.com - http://www.amazon.com/AGAIN-Stories-About-Vaginal-Cesarean/dp/1591139945/ And by special order from any bookstore. (ISBN: 1591139945) ---------- ---------- DON'T CUT ME AGAIN! True Stories About Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC) By Angela Hoy January 20th: We Had To Hire A Midwife... Despite the fact that we have good insurance and live only two minutes from the one of the largest hospitals in Maine, Richard and I have been forced to hire a midwife so we can deliver our new baby (#5!) at home. Basically, the local hospitals won't allow VBACs, even if the doctor doesn't feel it's in the patient's best interests to go through that major surgery. We feel my doctor and his nurse weren't honest with us about the situation and we had to find out information about what was really going on from other parties. Once we learned the doctor wasn't giving us all the facts, we could no longer trust him. So, we had three choices: 1. have another cesarean because the hospital basically says they get to cut you open or you can't have your baby there; 2. hire a doctor from out of town and pray I don't have the baby on the side of the road while traveling to the out-of-town hospital; 3. hire a midwife and have the baby at home. We, of course, opted for #3. We shopped around and found a local midwife with several years of emergency room experience. She's licensed and certified, etc. and we really, really like her. We're not getting home birth support from many of our family members. I've heard this is a common problem with other parents like ourselves. Family members who don't know any better accuse you of putting yourself and your baby in danger. I suggest having some research available to show them how dangerous a hospital birth can be. There's tons of it on the Internet. Honestly, my biggest fear is uterine rupture, but I've read that only happens in about 1 out of 580 VBACs. Other than that, I think I can handle it. Lord knows, I've birthed babies without drugs before! And, if something does go awry, we're only two minutes from the hospital and, at that point, they would have to admit me and take care of us. They can't turn you away at the door if you're already in labor or if you've just given birth. February 1st: Our Attempted VBAC Update Last week, we went for our 20-week sonogram at the local hospital. Everything went beautifully and the baby is perfectly healthy. However while we were there, I was questioned by the woman who weighed me: She said, "I see here you want a VBAC." I said, "Yes." She replied, "What did your doctor say about that?" I immediately became suspicious and, since the doctor said we could attempt a VBAC (even though I didn't trust him when he said that), I thought he was going to get into trouble. Maybe he was letting me attempt a VBAC and not telling the hospital because of the local controversy brewing here about VBACs? So, I replied, "His nurse told us he'd never allow a VBAC." She replied, "But what did the doctor say?" Uh oh. Now I really knew something was going on. I changed the subject. "We read that (this hospital) doesn't allow VBACs. Has that policy changed?" She wasn't giving in. She snapped, "I don't know. What did your doctor say?" Huh? She works in that hospital in the Maternal Fetal Medicine office and she doesn't know what their VBAC policy is? I may be blonde, but I'm not THAT blonde! I pressed some more, "I know they used to allow VBACs here but not anymore. Do they allow VBACs now?" She again dodged my question and only said there was a lawsuit back in 2000 or 2001 after someone died there during a VBAC. She then asked again, "What did your doctor say?" So, I was honest. I said, "He said we could go for it." She made a note in my file and that was the end of the conversation. ~~~~~ This morning, I once again visited my Ob/Gyn. I wanted to get his definitive word on the hospital's policy and his opinion on the matter. Before he examined me, I brought it up. We talked for about 25 or 30 minutes. Well, he talked. I listened and shook my head like a good little patient (that works the best when you're trying to get as much information as you can out of somebody). Basically, what he said was this. The organization that governs Ob/Gyns requires hospitals that do VBACs to have an anesthesiologist and a surgeon immediately available. Does that mean in the hospital or in a building nearby? Does that mean right there on the Labor and Delivery floor? The requirement isn't clearly worded. So, while I can go there for a VBAC, if something is happening in the Emergency Room that requires the anesthesiologist, I won't be able to do a VBAC. (I was wondering...so, how would the anesthesiologist treat me anyway if he's so busy in the ER?? Hmmm....) Likewise, if my doctor's surgery day is Monday and if I go into labor on Wednesday and attempt a VBAC, he can't drop his other appointments for the day waiting for me to deliver or need a c-section. (I was thinking...okay, so if I go into labor on any other day than Monday, a VBAC is out of the question? So...if you're so busy on that Wednesday, who's going to do that c-section?) None of that made any sense, either. He said, "The ducks have to all line up perfectly for a VBAC to be possible." So, I thought to myself, if all those ducks don't line up, and it looks like it's impossible that they will, he is probably going to make sure I have a c-section anyway! He'll just string me along for now, until it's too late for me to find another provider and, at the end of the pregnancy, maybe he's going to say the baby's too big or that I have some other malady that requires a c-section, just so I don't inconvenience everybody else? Is he just humoring me to get my money, hoping I won't give my money to a midwife instead? What's the point of even asking for a VBAC when it's obvious that, barring some miracle, like a parking lot delivery, I will not get a VBAC if I go to this hospital? So, he said if the ducks don't line up, I could then refuse a c-section anyway, but then they'd have to explain the risks to me (he's already explained the risks). He also implied that you can refuse a c-section, but end up having one anyway (we heard a story that we can't confirm about a woman here who was forced to have a c-section after the doctors obtained a court order). Basically, what he told me was that if I don't go into labor at exactly the right time, on the right day, I can't have a VBAC. It's that simple. And, the chances that all the "ducks" will line are up pretty much nil, from all the scenarios he gave me. So, in actuality, they just appear to be humoring me at this point. He mentioned that I may have read a recent article in the newspaper (yep, sure did), and I told him I'd also read online that our hospital is a VBAC-Hostile Facility. He said, "You can't believe everything you read online." I thought, ‘You also can't believe everything your doctor tells you!!!' He then made a passive comment about women wanting to give birth vaginally to feel like real women. Well, I've had three vaginal births and I don't need to do that again to prove I'm a woman. However, I was still offended by his comment. I, personally, want to have a VBAC because the research I've done suggests the risks of a c-section are much greater than attempting a VBAC (something the doctor never did mention to me). And, I don't want to spend a month recovering from major surgery! At that time, I will have five children AND a business to run! I guess he could have hidden all that information from me and just surprised me at the very end. I'll give him credit for that. He also said if he thinks this baby is another 10-pounder, he won't let me have a VBAC. He says he would never advise any woman to have a 10-pound baby vaginally. Hey, Doc, women successfully birth 10-pound babies the old fashioned way all the time! And, you can't use your hands on a woman's belly or even a sonogram to accurately judge a baby's size! He actually under-calculated the weight of our last one. And, he and his nurse both told me in recent weeks that this baby was oversized (they actually told me this before the fetus was old enough to have accumulated any fat!). However, the sonogram results say he is exactly the right size for his age. As I was leaving, they gave me two VBAC consent forms to sign. One was from the doctor's office (dated 1998, which was 8 years ago). The other was from the local hospital. Since we heard they haven't allowed VBACs since 2001, it was humorous that the date was included on that form as well. It's dated 1999. And, I wonder when the last VBAC was actually done at our local hospital... I didn't sign the forms. I told the nurse I wanted to take them home to read. Boy, those forms sure are scary! Funny how they didn't give me the c-section forms as well. I would imagine the risks mentioned on those are much more numerous than the VBAC forms. But, nobody at the doctor's office has said anything at all about the risks of having a c-section. I have an appointment with my family practitioner next week so he can help us find a VBAC-friendly Ob/Gyn in Ellsworth (that hospital allows VBACs) and our next appointment with the midwife is in two weeks. Something else disturbing happened during that doctor's office visit. While I was waiting for the doctor to come in, I heard him say, very loudly down the hall, as if he was talking to someone else, "Hooters!" I shook my head, knowing I must have misunderstood him. No way would someone who gives breast exams every day say that word in his office, and he most certainly wouldn't say it that loudly! But, suddenly, once again, he said it, louder this time, "HOOTERS!" Then I knew I had heard him correctly. A mere second later, he opened the door and came in. I looked up at him and said one word, "Hooters?" He said, "Yeah, I sent some people from my office on a training trip and they had lunch at Hooters one day." While it seems like an innocent explanation, I was, and still am, extremely and deeply offended that my doctor yelled that word twice down the hallway in his office, knowing there were women behind closed doors waiting for him to examine their breasts. March 7th: Got the records!!! Our primary care physician found an Ob/Gyn who allows VBACs! After several days of wrangling, the Ob/Gyn's office finally sent my records to my primary care physician. They're forwarding them to the new Ob/Gyn this morning so we should know in the next couple of days or not if he'll take me on as a new patient. March 8th: We have a new doc! He supports VBAC! We received great news this morning. The Ob/Gyn in Ellsworth has reviewed my records and has agreed to take me on as patient! His name is J. Scott Flubacher, D.O. We met with the doctor on Friday and he never once tried to talk us out of having a VBAC. He explained the risks, said, "It's obvious you've done your homework," and said my risks of uterine rupture were very low, about ½%, because of my previous vaginal deliveries and the incision (lower transverse) from my c-section. He also said they wouldn't intervene at all during the labor unless something goes wrong. That means no Pitocin and not even artificially rupturing my membranes. He said, "You're on your own." That's exactly what we wanted to hear! We have fired our old Ob/Gyn. I will send him the letter below only after the new baby is born. Unfortunately, if an emergency arises, I may end up at the local hospital and he may end up treating me. I wouldn't trust him to give me or my baby the best care, especially after he reads this: March 8, 2006 Dear Dr. x, Over the past few months, we have received contradictory statements from you and your nurse concerning attempting a VBAC at [the local hospital]. Your nurse told us late last year that you would "never allow it." On our subsequent appointment, you stated there "wouldn't be a problem." We got suspicious and started vigorously investigating VBAC's, c-sections and [the local hospital]'s VBAC history online. We learned about the lawsuit in 2000/2001 and the new VBAC practices at [the local hospital]. According to one website, [the local hospital] is a "VBAC Hostile Facility." Around this time we also read the letter to the editor in the Bangor Daily News, of which we know you are well aware. Later, when having a sonogram at [the local hospital], the technician there questioned me about your notes stating I was attempting a VBAC. She seemed stunned that you told me I could attempt one. That, too, told me something bad was going on. I questioned you at length the last time I saw you and you admitted that "all the ducks would have to line up" if I were to have a VBAC. You listed those "ducks" (anesthesiologist must be available and not called to the ER for something else; surgeon must be available; must be on your surgery day at the hospital, etc.). You also stated you would never allow one of your patients to birth a 10-lb. baby vaginally. Well, women give birth to 10-pound babies vaginally every single day and even sonograms can misjudge a baby's size by up to 30%. You, yourself, were off by a pound when guessing the final weight of our last baby. Basically, what you were telling me was that the chances that [the local hospital] and you would let me have my baby vaginally were nil. A couple of weeks later, Channel 5 (whom I'm already spoken to) interviewed your partner, [Dr. S.], and his statements confirmed our suspicions. At that time, we were pretty convinced that we were embroiled in this controversy and that you were going to lead us along this path, that I'd eventually end up with a c-section anyway, and that you would have known the final outcome all along. I was even convinced that you or the hospital might even go so far as to concoct a phony reason for my need for a c-section. You also made an offensive comment about women wanting to give birth vaginally to feel like real women. I've had three vaginal births and don't need another to feel like a woman. However, being a business owner (I'm a journalist and publisher), and having my fifth child, I'm not interested in the month-long recovery from a c-section. You also went into great detail about the dangers of VBACs but never once mentioned the dangers of c-sections. That's also the day I heard you very loudly say the word "hooters" twice in the hallway of your office and asked you about that. You said two of your employees had been to a conference and had eaten lunch there. I was deeply offended when I heard you say that, knowing there were women waiting for breast exams behind closed doors and that we all heard you say that. I was disgusted, to say the least. I haven't been back to your office since then. I have found a new doctor that supports VBACs and have transferred my care elsewhere. It seems that the directors of [the local hospital] and/or your liability insurance company have been directing my care all along, not you. This is very wrong and I'm sure every one of your patients would agree with me. Unnecessary c-sections are for the convenience of the physician and hospital (and at the expense of insurance companies and their customers). While I just might end up with a c-section, it is my right to choose my own path of care, not yours, and not [the local hospital]'s. This is America, Dr. X. Nobody has the right to subject me to unnecessary surgery for their own convenience and bottom line. I hope you will reconsider your care of future VBAC patients and try to remember that the patient comes first, not the hospital's board of directors or your insurance company. Angela Hoy ---------- ---------- Excerpted From: DON'T CUT ME AGAIN! True Stories About Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC) By Angela Hoy ISBN: 1591139945 Twenty-two birth stories from women who fought the unnecessary surgical removal of their healthy babies by a knife-wielding doctor. Available from the following online stores: BookLocker.com - http://www.booklocker.com/books/2845.html Amazon.com - http://www.amazon.com/AGAIN-Stories-About-Vaginal-Cesarean/dp/1591139945/ And by special order from any bookstore. (ISBN: 1591139945) ---------- ----------