One of the greatest faults of the American Health Care System as it relates to maternity care is its blatant disregard not only for maternal health but also of the health and well being of a mother’s “living” children in favor of the yet to be born fetus. What an agonizing decision this woman had to make-Go on bed rest in an attempt to preserve the life of her unborn child and risk the financial security, health, provision and care of her older children or provide for her older children by continuing to work and care for them and risk her own life and the life of her unborn child. How does a mother choose?

What is most offensive to me is the fact that our current medical system can declare that a woman is having a high risk pregnancy, prescribe bed rest and yet, make absolutely no provision for the well being and security of this woman and her family. (This may change with the passage of the Affordable Care Act Grant Program providing grants for home care to mothers, infants and children http://www.hrsa.gov/about/news/pressreleases/1006... Currently the United States provides no paid maternity leave. As a single mother and sole support of her family, Ms. Burton would be without income throughout her bed rest tenure-an estimated 15 weeks according to the court documents. How many people can be without income for 15 weeks? Did either Ms. Burton’s OB or the court offer to pay her rent/mortgage and expenses for the duration of time she is on bed rest? Did either of them offer to provide food or care for her 2 living children? The original court ruling basically stated that Ms. Burton was putting her unborn child at risk by disregarding her OB’s recommendations. But similarly, the court and Ms. Burton’s OB put her living children at risk, neglecting their care and provision. Would the court or Ms. Burton’s OB be willing to support Ms. Burton when Child Protective Services tries to cite Ms. Burton or take her older children due to neglect, inadequate care or provision? Sadly Ms. Burton was in a no win situation.

Women, it’s time to sit up and take notice of this ruling and other court rulings like it. These court cases are not just about medical rules and treatment. At their core they are about a woman’s right to make her own medical decisions and to have the freedom to make decisions regarding her own life. Because women bear children, they are constantly forced to choose-family or career. What man makes such a choice? A pregnant woman risks losing her job if she is absent longer than 12 weeks for maternity leave, the amount of unpaid time allotted for maternity leave under the Family Medical Leave Act (http://www.dol.gov/whd/fmla/index.htm). Yet the same woman or a man faces no such job risk if they are out for bypass surgery, hip replacement, or other medical treatments.

It has long been established that working mothers make less than their childless female counterparts (at least in corporate America. This is often not the case for self employed women or women business owners.) They are often passed over for promotions, denied raises and are often perceived as less dedicated to their jobs. Why are we women allowing these employment disparities? The US Department of Labor reports that “Women comprised 46.8 percent of the total U.S. labor force and are projected to account for 46.9 percent of the labor force in 2018.
Women are projected to account for 51.2 percent of the increase in total labor force growth between 2008 and 2018.”

Still, most of our corporate workplace rules and cultures reflect the standards and norms of mid 19th century corporations in which the corporate employees were mostly men with stay at home wives. The workplace rules need to change. The rules need to reflect our current corporate culture and employees.

Women, we must stand up-as Samantha Burton did-or else we are going to lose not only our right to make medical decisions, but other rights as well.

My recent post Massachusetts Maternity Leave Act- No Help for Mamas on Bedrest

Darline
darline@mamasonbedrest.com
My recent post Massachusetts Maternity Leave Act- No Help for Mamas on Bedrest

WATCH OUT, THOSE KIDS ARE GOING TO BE GIVING THEMSELVES EPIDURALS!!!

Wasn't there a similar complaint when Lane Bryant (I think) launched a series of sexy ads for their "plus size" lingerie? Because clearly overweight people should invest in plus size hair shirts so every knows they feel terrible about being fat.

Remind me to find the comment on Science and Sensibility in which a physician expresses concern about making nitrous oxide available for pain relief in labor because it might make teens think it's ok to use nitrous. Not even kidding.
My recent post Invisible Women- Invisible Shackles