Cristen Pascucci realized there were issues with maternal health care when she gave birth to her first child 21 months ago.
Past her due date at 41 weeks pregnant, Pascucci, vice president of Improving Birth, was informed by her doctors that she would have to undergo an induced labor—a birth made possible with drugs. She was told that an induced labor was her only option, which she noted is both an excess expense and threat to her and her child's health. It was not until she switched providers that she realized that she "had the right to say no."
After experiencing these inequities in maternal health care, Pascucci got involved with the organization Improving Birth—which is dedicated to providing information to pregnant women so that they can make their own care decisions. Improving Birth organized a rally in Durham to raise awareness about maternal care Monday.
“Moms don’t really have a voice in this country," Pascucci said. "All our maternity care decisions are being made by hospitals, lawyers, legislators and insurance companies.”
A handful of activists gathered outside at a local park in Durham to raise awareness about maternal care in the United States. Although there was only a scattering of mothers and daughters, they represented a national movement occurring across 170 cities.
Improving Birth organized their first rally last year, but this is the first time one has occurred in the city of Durham.
Croft said that many women are unaware that there are alternatives in the childbearing process.
"Fancy gadgets and toys that aren't proven to show outcomes are overused," Croft said.
She noted in particular that women receive Caesarean sections when natural birth is a viable option.
She hopes to help “women ask questions they don’t know they should be asking. A lot of practices in hospitals that are presented to women as routine interventions often make the outcome worse.” Croft wants to let “women know they have the right for informed refusal, not just informed consent.”
The World Health Organization declared that a C-section is only medically necessary for 10 to 15 percent of women.
Croft noted that in the United States, 33 percent of all births result in C-sections. At Duke Medicine, the rate is 44 percent.
Ever since her successful, natural birth, Pascucci has been encouraging women to “be smart about the care that they are getting and the risks that you are accepting in the maternity health system.”
She noted that one in 10 women have an induced labor, and that forcing women into induced labor creates a snowball of deterious effects.
Women may be forced to undergo different interventions, such as C-sections and epidurals, as a result of an unnecessarily induced labor, Pascucci said. Not only are these actions excessive, costly and dangerous, but they are also easily avoidable, she added.
Pascucci noted that walking up the stairs can function just as well as a natural catalyst for birth as drugs, and that more women should be aware of these options.
Another activist, Belinda Maymard of Chapel Hill, explained the United States is particularly inequitable with regards to maternal care.
“The U.S. is a market driven, liability driven culture," Maymard said. "Physicians have an elite status and we aren’t raised to question authority.”
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.