“Maternally Yours” Radio Interview Show Notes 7/31/12

In July 2012, I was interviewed by a community radio station in Florida. I was asked about who made a good VBAC candidate, the risks and benefits of VBAC, the laws relating to VBAC, navigating VBAC bans, and popular VBAC myths. [...]

Hospital triplet VBAC

I know I’ve been neglecting the blog lately.

I see things daily that I want to write about, but never actually have the time between laundry, dishes, meal prep and daydreaming of going to the National Institutes of Health’s upcoming free conference entitled Consensus Development Conference on Vaginal Birth After Cesarean: New Insights. I’m [...]

Lightning strikes, shark bites & uterine rupture

When someone understates the risk of UR, I think it’s just as important the clarify as it is when someone overstates the risk. How else are women to make an informed decision? Just as it’s plain wrong for an OB to tell a woman with one prior low transverse cesarean that she has a 20% [...]

Rebutting Dr. Amy’s Information

Last night I wrote Homebirth vs hospital birth for the number cruncher and the famous Dr. Amy commented on the piece.

“Women choose to give birth in hospitals because they believe it is “safer” than birth outside the hospital. ” Birth in the hospital is safer. The only people who appear to be unaware of [...]

The cost of getting your medical records

When considering your post-cesarean birth options, it’s good to know what type of uterine incision you have. The only way to verify this is by getting a copy of your operative report from the hospital where you had your cesarean. I recommend bringing copies of your operative report when interviewing care providers as [...]

Florida law mandates that insurance covers homebirth

Found this blog where another woman uses Florida law to get her insurance to cover her homebirth.

Here is Florida Statute Number 627.6574, but it’s section 7 that spells it out very clearly. I’ve bolded it for your reading pleasure….

1) Any group, blanket, or franchise policy of health insurance that provides coverage for maternity [...]

Once a cesarean, you become uninsurable?

Things are harder once you have a cesarean – limited future childbirth options, future potential complications in your own body, future potential complications with babies, future potential complications getting and staying pregnant, and now complications with insurance. I read this article in the New York Times and my stomach turned. This is yet one more [...]

Cesarean & VBAC Rates of Hospitals – AL, AK, CA, FL, ME, MA, NJ, NY, OR, TX

This article has links to cesarean and VBAC rates by hospital for the following states: Alabama, Alaska, California, Florida, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Texas, and Utah. (For more information on California hospitals, go here.)

This is great info for women of those states!

Compliments of Our Bodies Ourselves: Finding and Comparing [...]

Physician Credential Verification by State

Want to know if your doctor has been subject to a board hearing or disciplinary note?

Here is a link to the State Board sites for all 50 states.

Letter to Insurance Requesting Homebirth Coverage

Below is a letter I’m posting with permission from the poster. I’m sharing it here because I hope that others would benefit from the structure as this letter resulted in CIGNA covering their home birth after initially rejecting their claim.

The strength of this letter lies in a few key pieces of information. First, it [...]