courgetteDOTcom Wed 24-Jul-13 09:33:31
I wonder if MNHQ have read this thread?
I've always been aware of this happening but reading a thread like this is still shocking, it's not so isolated, this is happening to too many women. what scares me is how many posters don't seem to know they're suffering Birth Trauma! PTSD.
Courgette, I see that MNHQ have this on their radar. Its on mine and has been for a while. I've lost count of the number of women who say things about internals and consent. The number of threads on MN is quite frightening. There is an overriding issue of what women think they are 'allowed' to do or say and a theme of coercion.
I think I could answer the OP in a couple of ways; the first would be to get my post deleted, the second would be to say, you simply assume that HCP will always have your best interest at heart and will put them first when the reality is startingly different.
Women are made to feel guilty or selfish for refusing to consent. Ironically this tactic is actually being actively used by the NHS to persuade women to have cervical screenings, rather than presenting the facts about the risks and benefits (and there ARE risks). I'm guessing you are familiar with Margaret McCartney from her comments on Bounty. Her position on cervical screening is controversial but based on evidence based medicine and an opposition to this type of propaganda linky to her defence of her position. She is a doctor and openly says that she won't be screened (she defines diagnostic tests as something completely different).
I certainly am not against screening, for anyone who wants it and has made an informed decision to participate. What I am against is the bullying that goes on to make women go for it - and there are plenty of threads on MN that are sadly examples of this attitude - and the lack of ability to opt out that is written in to procedures and GP targeting (there is a lot more about this in Margaret's book which I highly recommend everyone to read to understand what is happening to healthcare and the NHS in this country even if you disagree with a lot of her opinions, particularly this most controversial one).
For me, the start of this, has been Bounty with good reason. Its about getting women (and men), hcp and people in power to properly understand what womens rights are, what they can and don't have to consent to. It creates the groundwork for being able to tackle more complex and serious problems like this.
Language is extremely important as other on this thread have stressed. Its about how you communicate as a HCP to your patient. So is understanding the idea of being vulnerable though not necessarily in a state where you can not make a decision due to limited capacity for whatever reason. The two are too often thought of as being mutually exclusive and that just wrong. Its about properly understanding that consent and informed consent covers a wide range of issues within maternity.
To me the OP is ignorant and naive beyond belief and still in a state where she believes this myth that HCP are infallible and beyond reproach or being guilty of abuse. She is complicit in allowing it to happen by suggesting that women are able to stop it from happening within our current culture. It is that attitude that stop people from speaking out and saying what happened to them for fear of being judged as weak.
Women who are assaulted are not weak. They aren't people who didn't do enough to prevent something from happening to them. They are simply victims of a situation that is not properly recognised nor seen as a problem.
The people who have said 'victim blaming' are bang on for that reason.
I hope in time that MN do follow this up with a campaign, but right now I do think they need to see through some of their other campaigns first, as if success they should make it easier to really make an impact with this. I'm in when they do decide to go for it though.
And I hope anyone reading this thread takes onboard a really important point here. The Bounty campaign fails down most with hospitals because women aren't making complaints. There are a lot of reasons why women don't make complaints about their maternity care; they are understandable. The trouble is that without them, hospitals are actively refusing to acknowledge the various problems that are happening on their wards.
We need to do everything in our power to encourage women to step forward and report each any everything that causes them distress even if it may seem someone trivial, unjustified or it may put pressure on staff. We need to create a culture where is it acceptable to complain about maternity care and it is taken seriously. Women should not worry about it being their word against a HCP. If the same HCP has done it to them, they will have done it to someone else - that means it is not your word against one person. Its several women word. Whilst I appreciate this might put extra pressure on staff, if it focuses them on saying "may I?" rather than "I'm just going to" its worth it.
My heart goes out to the women on this thread who have shared their awful stories. I hope the OP hasn't come back because she is ashamed, though I wish she had the guts and the grace to apologise for her insensitivity.