I haven't made an appointment with a maternity/prenatal care provider yet. In part, because I don't know who to trust. With Juno, I had peed on a stick in the morning and had made an appointment with my Dr. for a referral to a maternity doctor before morning coffee break. The positive pregnancy test was 5 days ago...
The prospect of finding somebody to trust is daunting. I would prefer an OBGYN to a maternity doctor - but for the most part you need to be referred to an OBGYN by your Dr./Maternity Care Provider. I wish I could self refer, meet a few of them and figure out who might be a best bet in this situation. I hate the idea of repeating what in hindsight may have been a mistake last time.
On the same token I know that its important to plan as though plan A for whatever reason won't materialize. I could go into labour early (given how quickly things progressed last time with me doing everything I could to not assist the progression - this is a very scary thought). I could wind up with a complication that would make travel ill advised. I could find myself with a bonafide 'medical indication' for a c-section. All of which might make plan A infeasable/unneccessary. All of which makes having somebody I can trust here, somebody who will go to bat for me here, that much more important.
So who?
Showing posts with label BCMA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BCMA. Show all posts
Monday, January 16, 2012
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
The BC Maternity Care Rant
I'm a bit livid right now. I'm livid with the anesthesiologists. I'm livid with the BC Medical Association. I'm livid with the BC Ministry of Health. The situation right now is an all out cluster f**k - the game playing has reached an obscene level, and in the middle of it are the patients. The mothers and the babies.
Yesterday the BC Government, announced funding for dedicated obstetric anesthesiology at Surrey Memorial, Royal Columbian and Victoria General Hospital. But don't break out the cigars just yet...this is not the birth of DOBA, at least not yet - I'm not sure if this will be yet another miscarriage or actually result in DOBA being a resource for pregnant mothers to rely on that will actually result in women having access to timely care (epidurals and c-sections) during labour and delivery.
So what is the cause of my cynicism? DOBA in BC has a long history - a history of being 'supported', but not actually realized. There has been a series of miscarriages. You see, the announcement yesterday is about 3 years too late. Why? Because, the government actually did try to get DOBA at these hospitals in 2009. What happend? Well not a single anesthesiologist applied to the positions. So as much as DOBA was then recognized to be a good thing that should be at all level 3 hospitals in BC, it did not come to be.
As a result - when I had my baby in July 2010, DOBA was not there. When Mrs. Frith had her baby in December 2010, DOBA was not there. When the baby in August was stillborn and sparked an external review, DOBA was not there.
So now, given the outright hostility between the BCMA, the Ministry of Health and the Anesthesiologists - I am in no way certain that DOBA will be in place anytime soon. I'll believe it when I see it, and in the interim - what about all the women who have been harmed between the time the government first realized that DOBA should be in all tertiary hospitals in BC and the time it actually becomes a reality?
There needs to be some accountability for the harm that has been caused - and right now there isn't...there needs to be some recognition of the pain and suffering that didn't need to happen, shouldn't have happend. If you've been harmed by the lack of DOBA in level 3 hospitals in BC, speak up - your voice deserves to be heard above the petty bickering!
Yesterday the BC Government, announced funding for dedicated obstetric anesthesiology at Surrey Memorial, Royal Columbian and Victoria General Hospital. But don't break out the cigars just yet...this is not the birth of DOBA, at least not yet - I'm not sure if this will be yet another miscarriage or actually result in DOBA being a resource for pregnant mothers to rely on that will actually result in women having access to timely care (epidurals and c-sections) during labour and delivery.
So what is the cause of my cynicism? DOBA in BC has a long history - a history of being 'supported', but not actually realized. There has been a series of miscarriages. You see, the announcement yesterday is about 3 years too late. Why? Because, the government actually did try to get DOBA at these hospitals in 2009. What happend? Well not a single anesthesiologist applied to the positions. So as much as DOBA was then recognized to be a good thing that should be at all level 3 hospitals in BC, it did not come to be.
As a result - when I had my baby in July 2010, DOBA was not there. When Mrs. Frith had her baby in December 2010, DOBA was not there. When the baby in August was stillborn and sparked an external review, DOBA was not there.
So now, given the outright hostility between the BCMA, the Ministry of Health and the Anesthesiologists - I am in no way certain that DOBA will be in place anytime soon. I'll believe it when I see it, and in the interim - what about all the women who have been harmed between the time the government first realized that DOBA should be in all tertiary hospitals in BC and the time it actually becomes a reality?
There needs to be some accountability for the harm that has been caused - and right now there isn't...there needs to be some recognition of the pain and suffering that didn't need to happen, shouldn't have happend. If you've been harmed by the lack of DOBA in level 3 hospitals in BC, speak up - your voice deserves to be heard above the petty bickering!
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
News on the Anesthesia Front in BC
This morning I woke up to the following headline:
It appears that the issues between the province, the BCMA and the anesthesiologists are no closer to being resolved. I wish I could say that I was somehow surprised by the headline, but I am not. Further, it makes me even more hesitant to plan a birth in BC - if I was not so keen on the idea before given past experience, I am really not so keen on it now.
What is really disturbing about the proposed job action, is that patients are the ones who will ultimately pay the price. People generally do not undergo surgery because its a fun thing to do, rather they do so because the benefits in the long-term outweigh the pain of recovery and the risks associated with the surgery. Waiting to be 'fixed' isn't fun, often its a time of anxiety, disability, pain and suffering. Having your surgery further delayed or even cancelled because of a labour dispute isn't fair -- and can leave patients feeling like the system lets them down.
Further, in a health care system such as Canada's, there is no outside option - you can get 'medically neccessary' services but you must get them through the public system. Some people might be 'lucky' enough to have the resources to arrange for their surgeries either in another province or out of country - but doing so is an adminstrative and logistical nightmare that can be quite costly.
This does not bode well for expectant mothers in BC who might need anesthesia services that could be considered 'optional'.
Job action by B.C. anesthesiologists could delay, cancel medical procedures
It appears that the issues between the province, the BCMA and the anesthesiologists are no closer to being resolved. I wish I could say that I was somehow surprised by the headline, but I am not. Further, it makes me even more hesitant to plan a birth in BC - if I was not so keen on the idea before given past experience, I am really not so keen on it now.
What is really disturbing about the proposed job action, is that patients are the ones who will ultimately pay the price. People generally do not undergo surgery because its a fun thing to do, rather they do so because the benefits in the long-term outweigh the pain of recovery and the risks associated with the surgery. Waiting to be 'fixed' isn't fun, often its a time of anxiety, disability, pain and suffering. Having your surgery further delayed or even cancelled because of a labour dispute isn't fair -- and can leave patients feeling like the system lets them down.
Further, in a health care system such as Canada's, there is no outside option - you can get 'medically neccessary' services but you must get them through the public system. Some people might be 'lucky' enough to have the resources to arrange for their surgeries either in another province or out of country - but doing so is an adminstrative and logistical nightmare that can be quite costly.
This does not bode well for expectant mothers in BC who might need anesthesia services that could be considered 'optional'.
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