Birth Survey Results Are LIVE!

After months of?collecting?surveys, which is still ongoing, the results from the Birth Survey are now LIVE. ?Click on the Connect button to be taken to the spot where you can look at the satisfaction rates of midwives, doctors and facilities for birth in your area. ?If you’ve given birth in the last three years - take the survey to have your voice heard!

This data is so exciting, be sure that you spread the news about the results being live. ?I spent a lot of time just looking around to see what local practitioners and hospitals were rated and why…

So how do you plan to use this as a birth activist?

New Spanish Commercial for Flex Brand Beds Features Actual Birth

American mattress advertisements typically feature a thin, white woman reclining on the bed in her pajamas.

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European advertisements tend to be more progressive and inclusive, such as this recent non-heteronormative French mattress advertisement.

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In this Spanish commercial produced by the firm Sra. Rushmore which was released today, the typical American mattress demo of trying to upset a glass of wine with a bowling ball pales in comparison as a subject to newborn Waira, who was born at home on the advertised product– a Flex mattress.

The slogan of this new ad campaign by Spanish company, Flex, is “Tu cama, el lugar m?s importante del mundo,” or “Your bed, the most important place in the world.” This commercial spotlights the home birth of Waira, daughter of Carolina and Nicholas Umpierrez of Barcelona, Spain. In the advertisement, they claim that their bed is special to them because it is where there son was born and they would like for their daughter to be born in the same bed.

Hat tip: ZGZ- Pro Parto Natural

Posted by Jill

Women in Labor

I was having lunch with my doula today and asked her if she ever felt like she couldn’t talk to someone after their birth because of the way they had behaved in labor. She replied “No. I can excuse a lot.” When I think of the media’s portrayal of women in labor it’s screaming and frantic. While that can certainly happen (especially in cases where women are not well prepared) most women aren’t like that. “Quirky” is a good word for it. I love hearing stories of women’s labor where they decided they needed to rub one certain sheet or say one word over and over. What do you think brought on this image of women behaving like monkeys just because they are in labor? How can we change people’s attitudes about what labor looks like?

Call to Action on Breastfeeding

The US Breastfeeding Committee (yes, there is such a thing!) has decided that after 10 years, the nation needs a revived direction for breastfeeding support, protection and promotion, but they need our help.? From the press release:

We are seeking comments from individuals and organizations about breastfeeding in the United States. We welcome your suggestions about policies, activities, or other initiatives to protect, promote, and support breastfeeding that need to be considered for inclusion in our national action plan for the next decade. We are especially interested in new ideas that will increase equity in breastfeeding rates among all racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups. Ideas should build on programs and policies that are recognized to be effective or evidence-based. In addition, we welcome suggestions to adopt, expand, implement, research, or improve existing strategies.

Visit this link to submit your comments (deadline is May 31, 2009):
http://www.blsmeetings.net/owh_call_to_action_on_breastfeeding/index.cfm

Cesarean Awareness Month

So we told you last month that the cesarean rate for the nation was up for the 11th straight year.? The number, an astonishing 31.8%.? That was a timely announcement for the CDC because this month, April, is National Cesarean Awareness Month.

During this month it is a time to educate women on cesarean section uses, the benefits and the risks.? It is also a time to promote education and and activism, no matter how small. Our local ICAN chapter celebrated it’s second birth this month.? While there we brainstormed some ways to spread the word, including:

• Sharing pages and information on facebook.
• Joining ICAN and other birth related groups.
• Taking the Birth Survey.
• Talking to other mothers about cesarean and VBACs.

What is on your list?? How will you advocate for women this month?? What is your personal activism?

Can Doctor’s Stop Negative Online Reviews?

The article Docs Seek Gag Orders To Stop Patient’s Reviews has been circulating around the internet.? The article states that some doctors are so uncomfortable with being rated online on sites such as RateMDs.com or Angies List that they are actually asking their patients to sign wavers prohibiting them from giving any online ratings or reviews of that doctor.? I read this article with great interest since I am involved with the project The Birth Survey which will soon display ratings of doctors and midwives who assist with births.

It seems that some doctors are quite upset over being rated online.? One doctor received this comment from one of his patients: ?Very unhelpful, arrogant, did not listen and cut me off, seemed much too happy to have power (and abuse it!) over suffering people.”? Dr. Segal, who has started a business to help doctors fight these online reviews states: “such postings say nothing about what should really matter to patients ? a doctor?s medical skills ? and privacy laws and medical ethics prevent doctors from fighting back.”? I think this statement is very telling.? It seems many doctors feel that the only thing that should matter to a patient is the doctor’s medical skills.? These sites are showing doctors that something else does matter to patients: bedside manner.? Patients today don’t place unquestioned trust in their doctors like they did in generations past.? They want to be involved in their health care decisions, and feel respected and cared about.? I think that most patients would desire a balance between medical skills and a good bedside manner, as well as feel like they have decision making power over their own health care.? I think what is happening with these websites is that patients are using their consumer power and really showing doctors what is important to them and how they need to be treated.? Medical skills are not the only thing that matters to patients anymore.

Segal’s company is providing wavers for doctors to ask patients to sign.? These wavers will ensure that a patient can not fill out an online review, or post about a doctor online in any other way.? The article states: “Doctors are notified when a negative rating appears on a Web site, and, if the author?s name is known, physicians can use the signed waivers to get the sites to remove offending opinion.”? Of course, these wavers only have power if the name of the person who wrote the review is named, which is not the case on many of these sites.? The article states: “RateMd?s postings are anonymous, and the site?s operators say they do not know their users? identities. The operators also won?t remove negative comments.”? Hopefully if this happens on any site that hosts ratings of doctors with anonymous sources, they will follow the example of RateMD.com: “John Swapceinski, co-founder of RateMDs.com, said that in recent months, six doctors have asked him to remove negative online comments based on patients? signed waivers. He has refused.”

I wonder why a doctor would even present wavers to a site that rates anonymously?? Perhaps they feel if they make every one of their patients sign a waver, then of course one of those patients broke that agreement?? However, it seems to me that the doctor would need to take this up with the patient, not with the site hosting the comment.? The site did not sign anything forbidding them from hosting ratings of doctors, the patient signed something forbidding them from giving that rating.? Therefore the agreement is with the doctor and the patient, and the website does not have to honor that agreement.? I think as long as the site is anonymous, then there is nothing a doctor can legally do to prevent this from occurring.? The article states: “Segal, of Medical Justice, said the waivers are aimed more at giving doctors ammunition against Web sites than against patients. Still, the company?s suggested wording warns that breaching the agreement could result in legal action against patients.”? It seems to me that the only function of the wavers would be to scare a patient into silence, making them feel as though they may get sued if they rate their doctor on one of these sites.? It is odd that Segal states this will give doctors ammunition against the sites, when they have no legal agreements with the sites.

I am sure it is distressing for a good doctor to stumble upon a bad review made about them, however, your typical consumer is savvy enough to be able to discern that one bad review does not mean much.? Many bad reviews on the other hand could be really telling.? If a doctor is getting so many bad reviews online that they would consider asking their patients to sign a waver, perhaps they should think about changing the way they practice.? If a doctor asked me to sign a waver like this, I would run, not walk, out of their office.? I would never want to see a doctor who would attempt to stifle my freedom of speech.? I would be afraid that signing this waver would leave me open to bad treatment, and I would be left with little recourse if I signed my rights away.

In the birth world, we now have The Birth Survey which will soon be putting their national results online (currently only NYC’s resluts are up).? The Birth Survey differs from these other sites in that it focuses solely on doctors or midwives who assist with childbirth, and it asks comprehensive questions about the entire birthing experience, from prenatal to postpartum.? This is not a flippant rating given on a whim, but a thought out recounting of an actual experience.? The survey is anonymous and takes about 20 to 30 minutes to complete.? If you have given birth in the last three years and have not taken The Birth Survey yet, please do.? Hopefully doctors and other care providers will begin to learn from the feedback given on sites like these and adapt their practice style in a way that will serve their patient’s needs.