Major health issues relating to pregnancy and giving birth may be overlooked when women visit their healthcare providers, according to a survey by the American College of Nurse-Midwives.
Of the women surveyed who have given birth or are pregnant, 62% said their care provider did not discuss how to stay healthy during their pregnancy, 80% said preparing for motherhood was never discussed and only about half said their provider spent a great deal of time with them throughout labor and birth.
Women "need the opportunity to discuss and make decisions on all of their care options with their provider, especially during pregnancy and childbirth, and they shouldn’t settle on care that is not right for them," ACNM President Holly Powell Kennedy, CNM, PhD, FACNM, FAAN, a professor of midwifery at the Yale University School of Nursing, said in a news release.
Women settle for healthcare that is not optimal for them because they either do not know that they have a choice or do not fully understand the issues facing them, according to findings from the survey of 1,252 women ages 18 to 45. Most say they are not getting many of the services they want.
The lack of important conversations with healthcare providers may have significant consequences. For example, 60% of survey respondents said they would agree to an unnecessary cesarean and 90% said they would agree to have their labor induced even with no medical reason.
"Evidence shows that interventions, like early labor inductions and cesarean sections, can mean a more difficult labor and tougher recovery for both women and their babies," said Eugene Declercq, PhD, a professor of community health sciences at the Boston University School of Public Health who has researched cesarean section use. "Every woman wants the best for her baby, but the data clearly show that women are not being informed of the risks of medically unnecessary procedures."
Awareness effort
The ACNM touted its new program "Our Moment of Truth: A New Understanding of Midwifery Care." The program asks women to take a moment to examine the type of healthcare they receive, evaluate what they want from their healthcare experience and ensure that important conversations with their provider take place.
The awareness initiative also encourages women to become aware of their full range of options by showing how midwives can address a range of women’s health needs.
"Persistent myths about midwives prevent women from seeing a provider who can give them the attentive care they say they want during pregnancy and childbirth," said ACNM Executive Director Lorrie Kline Kaplan. "Women deserve a healthcare provider who presents different care options during pregnancy and birth, and who takes careful precautions to avoid unnecessary childbirth procedures that may inflict harm on them and their baby, but also uses them when they are medically necessary."
More information is available at www.ourmomentoftruth.com.
Of the women surveyed who have given birth or are pregnant, 62% said their care provider did not discuss how to stay healthy during their pregnancy, 80% said preparing for motherhood was never discussed and only about half said their provider spent a great deal of time with them throughout labor and birth.
Women "need the opportunity to discuss and make decisions on all of their care options with their provider, especially during pregnancy and childbirth, and they shouldn’t settle on care that is not right for them," ACNM President Holly Powell Kennedy, CNM, PhD, FACNM, FAAN, a professor of midwifery at the Yale University School of Nursing, said in a news release.
Women settle for healthcare that is not optimal for them because they either do not know that they have a choice or do not fully understand the issues facing them, according to findings from the survey of 1,252 women ages 18 to 45. Most say they are not getting many of the services they want.
The lack of important conversations with healthcare providers may have significant consequences. For example, 60% of survey respondents said they would agree to an unnecessary cesarean and 90% said they would agree to have their labor induced even with no medical reason.
"Evidence shows that interventions, like early labor inductions and cesarean sections, can mean a more difficult labor and tougher recovery for both women and their babies," said Eugene Declercq, PhD, a professor of community health sciences at the Boston University School of Public Health who has researched cesarean section use. "Every woman wants the best for her baby, but the data clearly show that women are not being informed of the risks of medically unnecessary procedures."
Awareness effort
The ACNM touted its new program "Our Moment of Truth: A New Understanding of Midwifery Care." The program asks women to take a moment to examine the type of healthcare they receive, evaluate what they want from their healthcare experience and ensure that important conversations with their provider take place.
The awareness initiative also encourages women to become aware of their full range of options by showing how midwives can address a range of women’s health needs.
"Persistent myths about midwives prevent women from seeing a provider who can give them the attentive care they say they want during pregnancy and childbirth," said ACNM Executive Director Lorrie Kline Kaplan. "Women deserve a healthcare provider who presents different care options during pregnancy and birth, and who takes careful precautions to avoid unnecessary childbirth procedures that may inflict harm on them and their baby, but also uses them when they are medically necessary."
More information is available at www.ourmomentoftruth.com.
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