There are GPs who support homebirth?
One of the big things the government keeps banging on about in its anti-homebirth drive is “collaboration”. You might think that the existing situation – woman hires midwife, woman and midwife seek obstetric surgeon or hospital in the unlikely event of need, often midwives have relationships built up with hospitals or surgeons so that’s not so hard – looks a lot like appropriate healthcare collaboration as exists in other kinds of healthcare.
Not so.
“Collaboration” as redefined by the weasel words brigade who write legislation and speeches actually means, “doctors telling midwives and women who’s allowed to birth at home and who’s allowed to be such a good girl she’s allowed to attend those women“.
Yup, that’s “collaboration”. Or as the dictionary says:
World English Dictionary
collaboration (kəˌlæbəˈreɪʃən) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
—n (often foll by on, with, etc)
1. the act of working with another or others on a joint project
2. something created by working jointly with another or others
3. the act of cooperating as a traitor, esp with an enemy occupying one’s own country
collaborationist
—n
Collins English Dictionary – Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
(My bold)
The basic problem is this: the AMA and RANZCOG are opposed to homebirth. They don’t support it, they’ve worked actively for twenty years or so to undermine and destroy women’s access to consumer-driven, midwife-attended homebirth, they don’t give two hoots about the right of women to basic self determination in healthcare. Now the government tells them to “collaborate” and remember that’s the new and improved definition which really means “be in charge of regardless of women’s wishes” and guess what?
Midwives can’t get doctors to sign collaborative agreements with them. Not even doctors with whom many midwives have previously had fine working relationships. Women can’t get their GPs to sign off for them.
Owing to a lot of rhetoric and a lot of bullshit, obstetric surgeons and GPs are refusing to “collaborate” claiming that homebirth is oh so dangerous they can’t be a party to it. Of course that this stymies the right of women to choose healthcare which suits them is just a beautiful byproduct. More “unintended consequences” like we were told the whole “oops yes homebirth just got wiped out” in the original legislation, no doubt.
So what happens when women seek out doctors with whom to “collaborate”? Well typically the doctor refuses to sign the piece of paper. Women are looking to doctor after doctor, not finding one, being treated really poorly by some of those doctors and simply refused care by others. Some women are being refused hospital bookings even though that too is part of the brave new world of “reform” the government has created. Gee it’s working great so far.
Here’s one woman’s experience of trying to get a doctor to sign off on her homebirth in her country town. Thanks, Tandi, for sharing this. I’d love to be able to say this is uncommon but this is pretty much most women’s experience.
So I made an appointment with the doc in town that has the reputation of being the least ‘conservative’. ANYWAY – this is how our conversation went this morning
Doc “Hello, how are you?”
Me “Very well, thank you.”
Doc “How can I help you?”
Me “The reason I am comming to you so late in pregnancy is because I have been attending the midwives at the antenatal clinic but have recently decided to have a homebirth. I have found a lovely midwife who supports homebirth and….”
Doc (rudely interrupts) “I do not support homebirth”
[I] was blown away – he had NO interest in my history, my health, my reasons NOTHING – then he wrote a few things on his computer, then asked if i wanted to him to check my baby – I said NO THANK YOU. Then he looked at my little girl and asked if she was my first and i said no she is my 4th….. then he told me that I am a grand multi and I am at very high risk of PPH.
[...]
So I managed to hold it together until I left his room but started crying at the desk while trying to pay – my 2 yrs old kept saying “Mummy crying” poor baby, and the receptionist was so kind and concerened but I just wanted to get the f*ck out of there. So I paid $64 to find out that yet another jerk is anti homebirth and I came home and called my IM and sobbed on the phone to her cause I felt so humiliated and infuriated. So anyway my IM was very supportive and we are not going to pursue any more doctors as we have proof that attempts have been made (he signed my hand held record and stated that he will not support HB).
Doctors are also refusing to write scripts for syntocinon which can be used at home in the unlikely event of a PPH because they’re claiming it’s Unsafe and they can’t know how it will be used. Bull.Shit. Unsafe? Let’s talk about hospitals and how safe they are, shall we? How about other kinds of injuries done to women and babies?
Were doctors truly concerned about the use of a drug at home, why would they be concerned when it’s about the only drug actually administered by a trained professional? Most of us just use our seretide, insulin, heart meds, antibiotics, antidepressants, sleeping pills… oh my golly gosh, without a doctor present! I’ve never heard doctors complaining that they can’t give out those scripts to be used by the Untrained Great Unwashed but suddenly a drug being used by someone trained in its use (when the GP isn’t trained in its use anyway) which might help a woman avoid transfering, is out? Right.
Pull the other one, it plays Jingle Bells.
Considering RANZCOG wouldn’t even go to meetings about “collaboration” that were attended by consumer representatives, what did the government think this was going to look like?
I can’t imagine why we don’t want to birth in their nice hospitals, can you?
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When you look at what happens in the System that they excuse and don’t get how Affected Families are. How can anyone think they could be decent just cos Govt Legislated!! This was never what Womon ask for!!!
Disallusioned midwife !!!!!!
It’s not just homebirth, hospital staff are refusing to collaborate with independent midwives for planned hospital births! There have been incidents when IMs have been barred from attending obstetric consultations with women – their clients – and have been told straight out that the hospital does not engage in collaboration with IMs. And of course there have been numerous incidents of hospitals refusing to accept backup bookings for homebirths. How on earth anyone thinks this legislation is leading to “expanded choice for women” is beyond me….
While I don’t get why women would take a real mw to a hospital where she has no rights as the CP, it’s inexcusable. The legislation which was supposedly about “expanding choice” has led to hospitals simply acting like regulatory bodies for women and independent midwives.
It’s revolting and what have the government done about it?
I was able to get my prescriptions from a GP fairly easy enough, but she did pull the dead baby card on me should i go over 40+7 when i asked if she would refer me for u/s for placenta monitoring should i felt i wanted it checked. when my son was 10 days old i went to visit a friend who had a baby in hospital (my local public hospital which was 5 minutes away). well because i didn’t have my baby in their hospital and had no file to attach his hearing test results too (hey why don’t you just give them to me and i will be on my way…) they refused to give him a newborn hearing test so i had to wait till he was 10 weeks old and travel 40 minutes away to the tertiary maternity hospital here in perth.
I went to my GP yesterday for blood test request forms as per my IM’s request and my GP had no problem handing them over and said if I or my IM need anything this pregnancy just to come see him.
I wonder if this means he would sign a collaboration agreement…..hmmm must ask when I see him tomorrow.
Well written as usual Janet
Thanks for sharing, Katie and Robyn. Get back to us about that agreement, Robyn, other women may need him!
I have had a good experience with my GP as well. Happily ordered blood tests for me and filled out prescriptions I need for the birth. I am in a country town so guess I am lucky to have such a good GP.
Why am I not surprised?
Macquaires Dictionary calls collaboration co-operation with Dictironary.
We need to document these stories and legitimately collect names and shame those doctors who are treating midwives and mothers approaches with such contempt. Believe me this is civil war and we must get smart.
Just like we name films stars who have normal home births lets name doctors who refuse to sign birth plans and who actively veto home birth. A tape recorder in the room should be brought out on the table and you need a witness with you – do not go alone for these interviews. Bev Walker
Would you share your GP’s deets, Renae? I hear from many women who are looking for them across the country.
Hello Beverley, glad you dropped in. I agree, the govt needs to be confronted with the reality of the bs they’ve tried to force upon us too.
I wonder if with the reform discussion going on now in the wake of the election non-result we might have a shot at pushing the idea of a patient’s bill of rights? One that enshrines the right to a care provider of our own choosing, bodily autonomy, right to refuse care without fear of reprisal etc. Might be hard to get three middle aged men from the country on board with that idea, but stranger things have happened – plenty of their constituents are going without care providers (whether being their provider of choice or not) as we speak.
I think we live in interesting times, for sure. The hung parliament may indeed be a slightly more receptive place to our needs but I wouldn’t be surprised if nothing changes. So far all the major parties, even the Greens, seem to have no idea that this is an issue of human rights and autonomy.
My HBAC was in Aug. 2009. We’re in Canberra and my GP was supportive and ordered all the necessary tests. She is from some an exotic locale though and said that she had witnessed “many” unmedicated births. I’d give her name but I don’t have her permission. Doctors who are willing to collaborate should leave their details with the Maternity Coalition so we can get a list going.
My HBAC was in Aug. 2009. We’re in Canberra and my GP was supportive and ordered all the necessary tests. She is from an exotic locale though, and said that she has witnessed “many” unmedicated births. I’d give her name but I don’t have her permission. Doctors who are willing to collaborate should leave their details with the Maternity Coalition so they can get a list going.
I agree, Marge. It would be great to have a list!
Since this is a human rights issue, decided to take it up with Sarah Hanson-Young, who has Status of Women and Human Rights among her portfolio. Quietly shitting myself should she actually agree to a meeting, but sent this anyway:
“Dear Sarah,
I’m contacting you as you have both Human Rights and Status of Women as part of your portfolio. I know that Rachel Siewert has been tackling the issue of homebirth and independent midwives in the Senate, but recent posts on her facebook page stating that “collaboration is absolutely necessary” have me concerned that she doesn’t understand the concerns of homebirthing women at all. This actually isn’t a health issue. It isn’t about risks, or medicare or insurance. It’s about something far simpler, basic and essential than that: the right of a woman to decide what she can do with her own body. This is a right that is routinely stripped away from pregnant women in the hospital system, which is why so many homebirthing women reject the concept of routine hospital birth. The new legislation gives obstetricians the right to decide which women can and can’t homebirth. To me, this situation is unacceptable and unworkable. Women’s bodies shouldn’t be given over to the control of obstetricians. Women’s reproductive rights don’t end with the right to safe abortions and contraception, clearly, it must extend to birth if we are to have any integrity. I urge you to think of this as a basic human rights issue.
I would welcome the opportunity to discuss this further.”
I too, am one of the few lucky ones I think. My (female) GP was fantastic with my 2008 homebirth, while quite frankly admitting she knew virtually nothing about the safety or lack of of homebirth, she was satisfied that I was being cared for by a Registered Midwife who “clearly knew the process better than herself”, and quite happily wrote out scripts, path requests and US referrals as requested by my IM. The one time she was unavailable and I had to see her partner, I was treated with little more than contempt.
Refreshing as it was that after our initial conversations, she was satisfied enough that I had done my own research and was taking responsibility for my own care, it is sad that I am sure she will be the exception, rather than the norm.