Home births sometimes make sense for health insurers

I sat in my car, anxiously watching the minutes tick by as I ruminated over and over the words, I had prepared for this crucial meeting. I had arrived much earlier than the appointed time, knowing I would need a few moments to calm my nerves before walking into a room to face a panel of eight legal, medical, and insurance professionals. I was pregnant with my sixth baby and was seeking to have an out-of-hospital birth under the care of licensed and professional midwives in my home state of Wisconsin — just as I’d given birth to my last baby. Due to having a history of multiple prior cesarean births, if I were to give birth in a hospital this time, I would be forced to either consent to an elective cesarean section scheduled at 39 weeks, or go to the hospital late in labor to take my chances at refusing surgery with the on-call obstetrician. One might wonder how I knew with such certainty that these were my only two in-hospital options; I know this because, in my quest to plan a vaginal birth for this baby, I had contacted every one of 70 in-hospital, in-network care providers within 30 miles of my home to seek their support in a second vaginal birth after previous cesareans. Not one would do so; those who responded to my request often cited that a vaginal birth after multiple Cesareans was not the “standard of care.” Continue reading ... Your patients are rating you online: How to respond. Manage your online reputation: A social media guide. Find out how.
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - Category: General Medicine Authors: Tags: Patient OB/GYN Source Type: blogs