A few months ago Joy Szabo was in the news. She wanted a vbac and her local hospital, where she had previously had a vbac, informed her that she was required to have a cesarean. They had changed their policy since her last birth. Joy resisted, strenuously. She talked her way all the way to the CEO of the hospital, which only resulted in a threat of a court ordered cesarean. That's when the media got involved, and the hospital backed off their threat. But they still wouldn't let her try a vbac.
Joy decided not to back down. Since she did not have other local hospitals as options, she moved. Yes, moved. Alone, leaving her other children with her husband at home. And she had her vbac at a different hospital in a different city.
Do you have any idea how much courage that took?
The fact that CNN reported the story - Gabe saw it on TV and emailed me about it - just makes me happy. :) Every little step toward more knowledge and more power for birthing women is important!
Joy, you're an inspiration. Thank you for standing up for yourself, for bringing attention to the state of maternity care in America, and for making it just a bit easier for other women to follow your example.
1 comment:
Yes, good for her indeed! That is really amazing. Sad that sometimes we need to go to such extremes, but good for her that she was willing to do it and not back down. That's the sort of courage that shows the potential of human beings to do great things.
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