Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Cesarean Choice 'Abandoned By Feminists'

My co-author, Dr. Magnus Murphy, gave an excellent interview on CBC Radio this week (listen here), explaining how "when it comes to caesarean sections, women don't have as much choice as they should."

"There are a lot of women who do feel that the feminist movement has dropped the ball on this... pelvic floor outcomes are completely ignored and that is a huge impact on a woman's quality of life over time."

How right he is.

Beneath the CBC's accompanying article, Elective C-sections are the women's health issue abandoned by feminists, says Alberta doctor, I posted the following comment:

"I am the co-author of one of the heavily referenced books cited in this article, and I am a woman and a journalist who chose a cesarean birth twice. I began working on a campaign to ensure greater balance in the information women receive in their antenatal care back in 2004, and my organisation, which is a Stakeholder for numerous NICE guidelines in the UK, was instrumental in bringing about an update to national guidance on maternal request cesareans in 2011.

I have worked closely with many other incredible women, including Maureen Treadwell (Birth Trauma Association), Penny Christensen (Birth Trauma Canada), Leigh East (c-sections.org), Janice Williams (Cesarean by Choice Awareness Network), and this is to name but a few. I've also worked or collaborated with organisations including the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, Advocacy for All (AFA), Erb’s Palsy Group, Perinatal Illness-UK, Pyramid Of Antenatal Change and AIM New Zealand, with all but one of my personal contacts at these organisations being women. Also worthy of note here is the incredible research and passion of Professor Hans P Dietz and midwife Elizabeth Skinner, at the University of Sydney, Australia, and their continued support for the (voluntary) work that I do, such as communicating with journalists and trying to help women whose cesarean requests are being refused.