Monday, January 23, 2012

The Challenge of Finding a CDMR Friendly Doctor in Canada

Maternal request c-section in Canada is controversial - the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada is explicit in its criticism of the practice and government has aggressively promoted normal birth (see The Power to Push campaign).

In all honesty, it is far easier in BC to find providers supportive of Homebirth, even for first time mothers; than it is to find providers supportive of maternal request c-section. There is no listing of maternal request c-section friendly providers (you can actually google 'home birth' Victoria, BC and get a bunch of names of providers who support this service - including the "Home Birth Association of BC"). Further, providers in Canada must operate within the constraints of the health authorities. As such a mother who requests a c-section, without any underlying medical indication, is directly at odds with aggressive attempts to lower the c-section rate - and at odds with all the other demands for the same set of resources. As such there is little to protect a woman's right to choose delivery mode and have her choice respected.

Today I go to my doctor, much as I did over two years ago - and will ask to be referred to a maternity care provider. Except, this time, I will be more blunt - this time, I will not trust blindly. I'm nervous...and rightly so - I have no confidence that if I were to give birth here, that I could expect any different of an outcome than I had last time.

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