september mama

first off, i must admit i didn't read the entire thing. i wasn't as interested as i thought i was because it concerned itself primarily with lack of access to care as the problem, which though a huge problem, is not my "cause" per se. i have found it actually very easy to get prenatal care, now being the uninsured half-working mother that i am... medicaid was easy and adequate. i'm not sure why one wouldn't find a way to get prenatal care if one had no insurance--i am quite sure that every state has some option for pregnant women who need care.

anyway... the parts that got me were the section titled "Lack of Implementation of Protocols and Standards" where they address how the hospital system fails women in the US, "Lack of Information and Autonomy," where they discuss the fact that informed consent, well, isn't, and the "Appendices" section where each state is broken down into its failings and whatnot. florida is second only to new jersey in record percentage of c-sections: 37.2% of all births. MORE THAN ONE IN THREE! it's appalling. the WHO recommends that 15% be the upper limit to how many c-sections are performed... no state met that recommendation. the lowest c-section rate was for utah (thanks to the homebirthing mormons, probably), and it was still 22.2%.

i just read more. it's worth the time if you have it, but it might piss you off.

Deadly Delivery