The average birth in the United States costs something like $11,000. The average c-section is twice that. Hello, you can buy a brand new car for that kind of money or have a decent down payment on your house. What kind of service do you think you should be receiving when five figures are involved?
According to the WHO, Estonia has better birth outcomes than the US. ESTONIA. And yet when a mom educates herself and walks into her OB’s office with a birth plan, they have the audacity to roll. Their. Eyes. Are you freaking kidding me?! I read recently that between 1991 and 2010, the maternal death rate in this country went up by 50%. FIFTY. (And I have no problem blaming the hospital system for this because *maybe* 1% of births occurred outside of a hospital during this time period.)
What I am telling you is this: if you actually give a damn about what they plan on doing to your body and your baby, they will be annoyed with you. They will not respect you. Sure, you have to fill out eight pages of paperwork before they see you. Anecdote: during the first 20 weeks of my pregnancy, I spent all of 15 minutes actually talking to my OB. Who I eventually dumped in large part because every time I talked to her she brought up termination. Don’t even get me started on the fact that she did not bother to ask if terminating was an option for us. This is what I mean. Absolutely no respect.
I’m sure all of you are going to write back with how well you were treated during your prenatal trips and hospital delivery and that’s all fine and good. Despite the fact that you were happy with your service (“I survived labor and delivery!” gets 4 out of 5 stars these days, and moms that don’t survive sadly can’t participate in the polling) the stats are clear that the American hospital system is failing women.
But what do I know? I’m not a doctor! So just, you know, ignore the data and don’t bother educating yourself. And definitely let them do whatever the hell they want to you and your child. Most likely, your doctor won’t give a damn about what you think even if he or she lacks the testicular fortitude to tell you that upfront.
We Are A Beginning 