If I were you Claire, I'd suggest to her that she get herself professional birth support. That's how I started down this road. She might need some cold hard facts about how the system is geared to help her fail and not succeed... If that prompts her to seek birth support then that might empower her to investigate her options further.
Cheers, Cas. Cas McCullough [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.casmccullough.com -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Rob and Claire Leslie-Carter Sent: Wednesday, 12 November 2003 7:00 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: RE: [ozmidwifery] Advise, encouragement, support (long) I have a question for all you wise women. A friend of mine is now pregnant with her second child, the first born by c-section due to placenta praevia (sp?). She is mostly decided to try for a VBAC but not 100%. After all our recent talk about caesarians etc. I think she is a prime candidate for a failed VBAC. However I don't really know what to say to her. I think she would be better off finding an independent midwife, but that is so far away from her mind set. There is a lot in what Sonia was saying about the perceived inferiority of midwife led care, I don't know if it would be possible for her to shift to the idea of a midwife. She is complaining about her ob's gap (which I think is some sort of extra payment (I'm English it's all a mystery to me)) but still doesn't even think about a midwife. All I'm asking is is there anything I can do or say? I will just feel so bad if she has a horrendous time which possibly could have been avoided. What can we learn from all these horror stories to help other women? Claire Saxby >From: "Wayne and Caroline McCullough" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: RE: [ozmidwifery] Advise, encouragement, support (long) >Date: Wed, 12 Nov 2003 08:46:07 +1000 > >Sonia, > >Thank you for your beautiful words.. I have tears in my eyes. You are >coming to terms with something so monumental... A year or so ago that >was me... I went from the "private/obstetric" mindset about birth to >the "midwife" mindset but was still so influenced by all the things you >mention that I still had my own obstetrician even though I'd hired a >private midwife. Now I know that I would do things very differently >next time.... It is a hard journey to be on and you are doing so >amazingly. I send you strength and blessings and would like your >permission to pass this message on to others who may need to read it >too. > >Love Cas. > >Cas McCullough >[EMAIL PROTECTED] >www.casmccullough.com > > > >-----Original Message----- >From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of *G and S* >Sent: Tuesday, 11 November 2003 6:11 PM >To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Subject: [ozmidwifery] Advise, encouragement, support (long) > > >Jodie Miller wrote: > >" I honestly don't think many birthing >women really know what midwives can do for them. " > > >Hi all (Yeah, I'm still around), > >I absolutely agree with Jodie's statement. > >Before I birthed my fourth babe I was always of the understanding that >to be in the very best of care meant that you had to be looked after by >an obstetrician. Anything less was inferior care or not ideal. To be >looked after by a midwife, in the public system ie Midwive's Clinic >suggested lower socio-economic status and desperation. > >This still appears to be the pervasive thinking among the many women >that I know. > >My 4th babe was a 'public babe' as I was caught out between health >insurances when I became pregnant. That whole pregnancy was spent at my >local hospital's mw's clinic....or so it seemed. I would regularly wait >for hours to be seen by a mw and then in turn by a stressed out RMO. >And as I always had my three children under seven with me, I was >consistently hypertensive. (suprise,suprise) > >It was so very easy to see the frustration that other women attending >the clinic were feeling. And perhaps in a more sublte way, so too did I >see the immense frustration of the midwives who tried to do their job >under difficult circumstances. > >At the end of this horrible pregnancy came a difficult induction (at >the hands of one incredibly arrogant ob) due to hypertension. > >HOWEVER, once that was over my labor was overseen by a very gentle and >amazingly astute midwife. (Hi Nola!!) > >This was the first and only birth I have had without an ob present. It >was by far the most peaceful, gentle, beautiful birth that I have >experienced. My hypertension slipped away and was no longer problematic >and I was treated with dignity. > >With my 5th pregnancy I was SO ready to be looked after by a mw. But >the prospect of dealing with 'The Clinic' was so off-putting that I >went private with an obstetrician. And while I wasn't hypertensive >throughout my pregnancy and prenat. visits were hassle free, there >still was a disatrous consequence to be paid later on during my >unnecessary (?) cesarean section. > > >Upon reflection: >I wish that I had been given the option of a one-on-one mw service. I >wish that I had known that this type of service existed. I wish that >women could be better educated about the services available to them >BEFORE they are pregnant. I wish that I had realised that when I hired >an ob/gyn I was actually hiring a surgeon. I wish that midwifery as a >whole could be widely promoted as a valid, obstetric profession, one to >which vulnerable women can safely entrust their care. I also wish that >there will soon be total reform in the Public Maternal Health system. >Women should always be treated with dignity and be made to feel that >they are more than just a pregnant chunk of flesh. > >If only I could have my time again......... > >Sonia W. > >PS. I hope that I haven't been too high-handed in posting this and >that I haven't offended. > > > > > > > > > > > > >-- >This mailing list is sponsored by ACE Graphics. >Visit <http://www.acegraphics.com.au> to subscribe or unsubscribe. > >-- >This mailing list is sponsored by ACE Graphics. >Visit <http://www.acegraphics.com.au> to subscribe or unsubscribe. _________________________________________________________________ Express yourself with cool emoticons - download MSN Messenger today! http://www.msn.co.uk/messenger -- This mailing list is sponsored by ACE Graphics. Visit <http://www.acegraphics.com.au> to subscribe or unsubscribe. -- This mailing list is sponsored by ACE Graphics. Visit <http://www.acegraphics.com.au> to subscribe or unsubscribe.
