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Opeyemi Parham MD's avatar

I am currently in direct "Auntie of the Heart" support to a lovely 30 y.o. requesting a Vaginal Birth After Cesarian in the Brave Little State of Vermont.

Her support options have been steered to an entirely new ob/gyn team one hour away from her home.

All because her high risk (gestational diabetes) pregnancy "can't VBAC" in a system where the anesthesiologist takes their call nights from home.

that's right.

an entirely new team.

at 31 weeks of pregnancy.

in a Black African mom--

who birthed her now 2 y.o

after three days of labor

(in a room alone during Covid...)

by c-section

for failure to progress

and fetal distress

ARE WE HAVING FUN YET?

Mary Anne L. Graf's avatar

Liability. The robber in the closet. Hidden, unseen in the decision-making process, rarely mentioned, so we--who tolerate our vast US oversupply of lawyers*--rarely see the effect in medical decision-making. Likely behind the decision made by her original hospital or doctor, particularly if her original location is rural. And that liability is also part (but not parcel) of why half of US counties no longer have OB-gyn docs or obstetrics services. *I'm married to a lawyer, but one who retained his soul and common sense.

Mary Anne L. Graf's avatar

LOL that some of you may see an Explicit Content warning instead of the "Wanted" and image for this post. Seriously, Substack??? ;)