Jessica and Justin

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Van, TX, United States
I am a farmer and a doula. My husband and I are recently planted into the soil of East Texas. Together we seek, we learn, we dance, we sing, and we grow vegetables, and I attend births. This blog is the ongoing story of our farming and birthing journey.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Refusing a c-section = abuse and neglect?

Do you guys know about this??
I am absolutely livid. i cried when I heard of this bull shit:

In 2006, a woman known only as V.M. in court documents gave birth to a baby girl, J.M.G., at a New Jersey hospital. During labor, V.M. "behaved erratically" and at some point refused to consent to a cesarean section, despite her doctor's concerns about fetal distress. The obstetrician ordered an emergency psychiatric evaluation, which found that "V.M. was not psychotic and had the capacity for informed consent with regard to the c-section." The staff then asked for a second opinion, but before the next psychiatrist could complete his evaluation, the baby was born vaginally. And healthy. Oops.

After the birth of the child, plaintiff Division of Youth and Family Services (DYFS) investigated. It learned of V.M.'s refusal to consent to the c-section and discovered that V.M. had been under psychiatric care for twelve years prior to J.M.G.'s birth. Moreover, V.M. was not forthcoming about her treatment or diagnosis. B.G. also refused to cooperate with DYFS's efforts to obtain information.

the trial judge found that J.M.G. was an abused and neglected child due in part to her parents' failure to cooperate with medical personnel at the time of her birth. V.M.'s refusal to consent to a c-section factored heavily into this decision. Later, at a permanency hearing, the judge approved DYFS's plan for termination of parental rights and foster family adoption.



This is a total witch hunt.
if anyone is abusive to children in this scenario it is doctors who call for a cesarean section to an uninformed mother, then perform one, and the mother and baby turn out to be perfectly healthy! This is so backward. UGH!! Amy are you so pissed with me?!

Writer of one article said
"And how does saying no to major surgery a punishable offense? I was lucky enough never to have C-section come up during my labor, but if the words had been bandied about, I wonder if I would have been “combative,” “uncooperative,” “erratic,” “noncompliant,” “irrational” and “inappropriate.” Those were all the words used to describe V.M. during her labor. "



article on the woman who refused the c-section


Deep breaths.

4 comments:

  1. Yes! I am. SO many crazy and inappropriate things go on in hospitals....

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  2. seriously. This poor woman. They think she's crazy? If the state were trying to take away my newborn, I'd go totally ballistic! Are a mother and father supposed to stay calm and rational while their baby is forcibly removed from their care?!

    What can we do here??

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  3. Agreed, A witch Hunt. Don't people have better things to do with their time?

    As a Mom, I would be livid if someone accused me of neglect for wanting to have my baby vaginally. More so, I think I would be scared.

    Have these charges been dropped??

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  4. Hi Jessica, I am not on your friend list, but I came across your page through looking at Justins FB. Justin and I are old work mates from UMHB. CONGRATS on your marriage. Please tell him Gladys said hi.

    I really need to read the article before coming to conclusions, but from the sounds of things.

    This doctore was another needle happy, medicine givning, no regard for patients future health, no good doctor.

    Sorry if I offend anyone who is tender hearted.

    ReplyDelete