ACOG SUCKS, and I Hate Them

"ACOG encourages all pregnant women to get prenatal care and to make a birth plan. The main goal should be a healthy and safe outcome for both mother and baby. Choosing to deliver a baby at home, however, is to place the process of giving birth over the goal of having a healthy baby."
From ACOG Statement on Home Birth 

This is from the last paragraph from a statement about home birth issued by The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, also known as ACOG.  I have to admit that sitting here at my computer, just hearing those four little letters together, A C O G..... it causes me to feel a very deep and primal burning emotion of pure hatred.  

Am I crazy!  I hate them, I really do.  I don't even know "them".  Are "they" even a person?  Maybe on an individual basis "they" are nice people.  Maybe I would enjoy a dinner party with some of "them" (if the subjects did not ever touch on my personal passions that is.)  I know that these feelings are totally irrational and probably make me sound just a tiny bit nuts.  But there it is.  


Maybe I should forgive them and move on.  Maybe not...


They want me to get prenatal care.  I think prenatal care is pretty nice.  I get some of it.  It was interesting though that with my last birth, with a midwife (CPM) I was able to opt out of almost every test and yet-  still had a perfectly healthy baby!  Is it possible?  Can you have a normal baby without the glucose test?  Without an AIDS test?  Without an ULTRASOUND (gasp, no- double gasp!).  Yes folks, it can be done.  My normal baby without all this "prenatal care"  (IE money making, fear mongering, catering to the lowest common denominator and ignoring evidence based care) is just fine!


They want me to make a birth plan.  Well, that is sure nice of them, isn't it?  Well golly gee, thanks daddy for 'letting' me plan my birth!  Thanks for 'letting' me have an opinion about my body, my baby and this life altering event.   I know that you will actually ignore it and try to frighten me with lies, but hey, at least it is in your file, right?  It made me feel comfortable and safe with you when I should have been running for the hills.


They want me and my baby to have a healthy and safe outcome.  Hey, we are on the same page with that one right?  They know that 30% of mothers "need" a c-section to have a safe birth.  They know that I will "need" pitocin to get my baby out in a timely manner.  They know that cytotec is safe for the pregnant woman even though the FDA has not approved it for that.  They know that attaching a vacuum to a babies head and pulling with all their might is perfectly healthy and safe.  


They think that having a baby at home is valuing the process more than the outcome.  Really?  They can read my thoughts?  They know that I actually do not care one whit for my baby?  No, not me, all I care about is the "experience".  Yes, I chose a home birth because I thought it would feel really great.  I thought it would make a great story.  I wanted bragging rights with all my friends.  "Oh yeah, I had a home birth.  Just like Riki Lake."  


I know something "they" do not know.


I know I researched this.  I know I studied.  I know I exercised and ate properly and practiced and prepared myself for this experience.  I know that as a trained natural birth mother I probably know more about normal birth than most members of ACOG.  I know what is best for me and my baby.  I can feel it.  


How can anybody else know what is right for me, except me?  How can anybody accuse me of valuing an experience over this precious child?  I chose this "experience" because I knew it would be the safest and best experience for us.  If I felt differently I would have chosen differently. 

Comments

January said…
Wow. That was an incredible post! Couldn't have said it better myself. I can not believe they have the audacity to even say that. Bastards. You are not nuts, you are right!
Partylsbabe said…
I hear you completely!! I think that the ACOG is only looking out for their own interests! Not that of a pregnant women, they just know that Supporting Homebirth would mean supporting more midwives, and therefore make them really OBsolete!!! LOL
Anonymous said…
I had no idea who the "ACOG" were until I read your post. "They" make me sick. "They" are probably childless and predominatly men. "They" can kiss my A%^.
Mama Birth said…
Thanks ladies! Feeling just a touch guilty that am encouraging hatred...but it is so well directed!
Theuppercblog said…
That is just amazing. An awesome post. I agree with you.
kariwhite said…
Succinctly stated. In total agreement!
Christina said…
I'm here via Informed Parenting. I feel like you're writing my thoughts/feelings! I ended up with a c-section (literally without even signing the consent form they shoved in my face) and this: "It made me feel comfortable and safe with you when I should have been running for the hills." is how I felt afterward. [Though, honestly, I don't know if I would have been able to deliver vaginally. He was breech, one foot up, one foot down, etc. - but shouldn't I have been allowed to try instead of wheeled out of the room being held down and screaming "NO! I don't WANT A C-section!"?] ACOG, and the current state of prenatal care in the US, makes me sick. (Ok, sorry for the comment hijack. Hi! It's nice to "meet" you!)
Momioso said…
I think it's very interesting that they're basically admitting that yes, you'll have a shitty birth experience with an ob in a hospital. And they're telling us that doesn't matter.. because we need to sacrifice it all to be "safe." Or at least their definition of safe. The insane thing is - with a homebirth midwife, you can have it both - experience, and safety. ACOG does suck, and I totally agree with you. Well said.
Mama Birth said…
Thanks- this was a fun one huh?
Stacy said…
Just read this and I had to post on my profile! Seriously, with infant and maternal mortality rates as high as they are in the US, how can they print such lies?!
Niki said…
Bravo. Yup.

I've been lucky, my widwives have been great and VERY hands off. They've even encouraged me to forego tests that are "standard procedure". Perhaps it's a little different in Canada. In the States I wouldn't touch a CNM or CPM with a ten foot pole. I went with a Lay Midwife, which was illegal in Iowa. Sadly she was charged a few years later, and sentenced to community service and some other stuff to stay out of jail. It's horrendous. She helped me heal after a violent hospital experience after the birth of my twins.

I love how condescending that whole ACOG statement is. Barf.
WOW! LOVE IT! Couldn't have put it better myself!!!

~Stephanie
hopefulharvest.info
Right On! Thank you for speaking the words that all women should say...
This is MY CHOICE and MY RIGHT and MY BODY and MY BABY.. and I CHOOSE!
Ah, are they losing too much business? The process effects the outcome, something they seem to forget.

As a 2 time unassisted birthing mama (and once "attended" by a FACOG- which was ultimately an empowering experience when I realized he had no real control over the power of my body and baby) I hold no hatred for them, simply because I don't like how that feels. Educated women can see through their posturing, as well illustrated here.

But thank you for being a voice for home birth. A beautiful process that actually creates a higher percentage of successful outcomes....
wow this was great! I wish I had the balls to put this on my fb profile but I've already received enough comments from all of my hospital birth believing friends....all of whom have had inductions, c sections, epidurals, vacuum extractions and forcep extractions. all of 'em. sad. this was a perfect post! I 10000000000% agree and this is why I stayed home and delivered my gorgeous baby girl with just my husband and my sister. F the hospital and their stupid 'rules'.
Anonymous said…
It's awesome to see the double-speak of doubt being called out! I am so glad that women are talking to each other, and so grateful to have had a wonderful birth with a CPM! It would not have happened without being able to hear other women's stories and experiences. I now have a very strong, healthy, beautiful baby girl (despite not having any ultrasounds, gasp!). Thank you for speaking out.
Unknown said…
Hi. I just saw your blog post, and I know it is years later, but I wanted to say a couple things. First, I really appreciate your feelings and knowledge about the birthing process. The birth journey is different for all women, and one way is not "right" or "wrong." Second, ACOG is a professional organization made up of Obstetricians and Gynecologists around the continent who make medical recommendations for practice around the globe. They are M.D.s, and in North America these days are predominantly women (as opposed to the old days). While it is true that healthy pregnancies happen without screening exams, the purpose is to identify high risk conditions that put you and your baby at risk. Home birth in the developed world and in the developing world are much different things, which carry different risks. For example, in North America, you almost never encounter women in prolonged labor (days etc) who do not progress, wait at home and die from the process. This is NOT uncommon in the developing world (for example in Tanzania, Uganda etc). So take the recommendations of the organization in context of helping to assess risk for the best outcome. Pregnancy and childbirth are natural, but actually potentially dangerous states of being. No Doc wants a bad outcome for their patient. It's not just about money (the docs in the healthcare system get a small fraction of the charges). As moms, we all want to do what is best for our baby and body.