Cesareans = no health insurance?

Over the weekend the New York Times reported that some women who have previously had a cesarean section are being subjected to higher premiums or having the insurance rejected. Greg at DaddyTypes likens this policy to the One Child Policy in China. Our Bodies, Our Blog is really upset about the sterilization issue - basically one insurance company said that they would drop the higher premiums if a cesarean mom got sterilized. And the International Cesarean Awareness Network (ICAN) wants you to write your insurance commissioners and other law makers.

There are lots of ways to take this article. But I suppose what I really have a problem with is that a lot of attention is being paid to women who want to have a cesarean and can't but very little attention is being paid to the moms who want to have a vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) and can't because they are coerced into a repeat cesarean, refused VBAC or bullied into doing something that they don't want to do. If it all boils down to patient choice - where is the choice?

If you think back not too many years ago, a similar debate was raging among certain populations of women, mostly military and those who had fewer monetary resources. The deal was that they were having trouble getting epidural anesthesia. So in steps a bunch of the big medical organizations saying that these women should be given a choice and not bullied into not having medication, if that's what they wanted, specifically the epidural. The problem becomes, not that women can't have an epidural, but that those who don't wish to have an epidural must fight harder to not have an epidural. Sure we can argue that it's because of finances and the potential financial incentive of the hospitals or doctors, but it's really just policy. So women who want to avoid medical interventions are having to make difficult choices for themselves and their families.

In the case of the woman who wants a VBAC she's having to decide whether to risk a potentially unnecessary second surgery that can have life long ramifications to her health and the health of her baby or... It's the or that is the kicker. Some women are being forced into choosing options that they may never have considered, like home birth or unassisted birth.

So what's your story? Have you wanted a VBAC and been told no for medical or other reasons? Have you been denied insurance because of a cesarean? Have you had a cesarean and even talked about your future birth plans? Did you wind up choosing to have a home birth or an unassisted birth because of the medical attitude towards VBAC in your community?

Related:

• 10 Reasons to Choose VBAC
• Vaginal Birth After Cesarean Information
• VBAC Birth Stories
• VBAC eCourse
• Preventing Unnecessary Cesareans
• Cesarean Information
• Cesarean eCourse
• American Academy of Family Practitioners (AAFP) VBAC Guidelines

_{Photo (c) D. Briggs}