Woman Who Compared C-Section to Rape Will Have Baby Alone 350 Miles from Home
An Arizona mother who compared her hospital’s policy of not allowing VBACs to rape has come up with a solution to her dilemma:Â She’s moving 350 miles away to have her baby.
Joy Szabo (who infuriated Strollerderby’s commenters with her choice of words) can’t convince Page Hospital to let her deliver her fourth child vaginally because she’s had a prior c-section. Her third child was delivered vaginally in their hospital, but administrators have since changed their policy and refuse to budge.
So the Szabos set out to find a hospital that would allow them the birth they wanted, and they found one … five hours away. Next month Joy will move 350 miles away from her husband and three boys to have the baby without the support of her husband, family, or friends.
Her husband, Jeff Szabo told CNN:
“With our other sons, her labor only lasted three hours. It’ll take me five hours to get to Phoenix. Of course I’m scared that I won’t be there. It’s my job as the dad to make sure the baby’s OK after the birth, to follow him around and make sure he has 10 fingers and 10 toes. Now the chances of that happening are slim to none.”
According to CNN, about half of the hospitals in the U.S. have banned VBACs.
While I disagree with Szabo’s comparison — that her c-section would be like rape — I can’t help but sympathize with her position. At the same time, Page Hospital has a right to protect itself from litigation. Szabo should have the right to do what she wants with her own body, but if she knowingly puts herself at risk, then the health care providers who help her deserve some protection. That’s just not possible with the system we have today.
What do you think about Szabo’s decision to move away? And would you have gone to similar extremes?
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- Is It Fair to Call a Forced C-Section Rape?
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Tags: arizona, bethany sanders, birth, C-section, feminism, Joy szabo, mother, natural birth, pregnancy, vaginal birth, VBAC
23 Comments
[...] And also? Larimore’s forgetting that Szabo — and others who have claimed birth-rape — doesn’t actually have a choice. The doctors wouldn’t let her attempt VBAC, based only on hospital policy, not Szabo’s history. You can read more about Szabo and her drastic and expensive alternative to the c-section here. [...]
Is It Fair to Call a C-Section Rape? | Strollerderby commented on Oct 20 09 at 6:01 pmPlumbLucky commented on Oct 16 09 at 11:45 amLike I said - she HAS a choice. She made the best decision for herself and her baby in her opinion. I surely won’t judge her for it. In the overall scheme of things, yes, it isn’t ideal, but its what she wants and has chosen.
Suburbia Mama commented on Oct 16 09 at 11:51 amIt’s shameful that she can’t have her SECOND vbac at a closer hospital. C-sections aren’t rape, but they are serious surgeries with possible complications. I might not agree with the language and tactics she has used, but I can understand her going wherever she can have the kid of birth she believes right for her and her baby.
jenny tries too hard commented on Oct 16 09 at 11:59 amit isn’t ideal, but I’m glad she made the choice she wanted. Part of the trade-off in living in a place as small and relatively unspoiled as Page is having to travel to larger cities for certain things.
TMC commented on Oct 16 09 at 12:14 pmWhile I might not have phrased it as she did, I agree with the general sentiment, that she was not being given any control over her own body, especially after the same hospital had allowed her last delivery to be a successful vbac. It is sad that she has to travel so far but I am glad that she will have the chance to give birth in a way that is most comfortable for her. Best of Luck!!
Sabrina commented on Oct 16 09 at 2:14 pmIf that father is so concerned about his baby being born when he isn’t there, how does he think fathers of the past felt? Fathers whose babies are being born by c-section or emergency c-section, fathers who are deployed in a war zone? It’s not the end of the world. It’s not ideal, but it doesn’t bear whining about it and blaming the hospital.
Bec commented on Oct 16 09 at 2:32 pmFunny, vbac’s have possible complications too. Even the fact that she’s had one successfully doesn’t mean she won’t have complications this time.
Ultimately, what matters more here? That she has the birth experience she wants most, or that she has a healthy baby to bring home afterwards?
Leila commented on Oct 16 09 at 2:40 pmIf she had a successful VBAC previously, I don’t know why the doctors can’t try. But I do know a case of a woman who demanded a VBAC after 3 C-Sections prior deliveries, and she lost the baby at birth. That’s a more extreme case, where she should have avoided the vaginal delivery at that point.
maresi commented on Oct 16 09 at 3:03 pmThe larger point here is why would ANYONE now choose to birth at the hospital closer to where she lives? Their assertion of control over her birth rests on their claim that they do not have the facilities/staff to accommodate an emergency c-section if her VBAC were to have complications. Why would anyone choosing a hospital choose one without those capabilities? This hospital shouldn’t allow births of any kind if they claim to not be able to handle an emergency.
Rape may have been an inflammatory way to describe a forced c-section, but I am sad for this mother. I wish there were a good homebirth midwife available to her so she could labor surrounded by her husband and family.
ChiLaura commented on Oct 16 09 at 5:14 pmBec, the “birth experience she wants” thing is such a crock. It may be “birth experience she wants” only because she doesn’t want to cut her abdomen open for major abdominal surgery the third time when her body CAN, apparently, make it thru birth without having to be sliced. I’m sure that there are women who truly are filled with bitterness because they didn’t get “the birth they wanted,” but I’m guessing that these women are few and far between. It could be that her C-sections were actually truly traumatic for her; that she can’t pay someone to come take care of her other 3 kids during recovery from a C; who knows? I hardly think that the black and white choice you present in your question “what’s more important?” really reflects this woman’s and her family’s full reality. I’m so tired of women using that line to bash other women’s preferences and, yes, needs.
Mistress_Scorpio commented on Oct 16 09 at 5:15 pmI agree with PlumbLucky’s comment. She had a choice, she’s going to great lengths to make her choice. For those who pooh-pooh the importance of her birth experience, maybe c-sections have become all too commonplace. It still is MAJOR surgery, and for so many to roll their eyes at that fact is scary. With a VBAC, the mom gets to trust in her body that has successfully birthed a child before. With a cesearean, she must put all her trust in doctors, that nothing will go wrong, that she won’t get an infection, that her recovery from major abdominal surgery will be such that she will have no problem caring for her three(?) children at home and a newborn. While I didn’t agree with the attention whorish “rape” meme, I give her props for carrying out her choice.
stcelia commented on Oct 16 09 at 6:59 pmC-sections are life saving, when they are necessary. When they are used unnecessarily they expose both mother and child to unnecessary risk. A woman’s risk of death increases four fold when she delivers by c-section. Why doesn’t anyone talk about this when they discuss the risks and benefits of the method of delivery? So, to ridicule this woman’s “birth experience” is really overlooking some issues. Uterine rupture with VBAC is a real risk. By the same token, infection, wound healing problems, damage to internal organs, hemmorage, death, breathing problems with the neonate are all serious problems associated with cesarean. This family does not deserve to be disected under the microscope for there dilemma, rather, the focus should be on the choice and informed consent that hospitals and physicians all over this country are witholding.
Sarah commented on Oct 16 09 at 10:02 pmLike stcelia said: the risks of VBAC are, all told, lower than the risks of c-sections. It’s not for true risk-reduction reasons that hospitals don’t do it, but for lawsuit-reduction reasons; courts are more likely to think “oh, they did everything they could” if they go the route that requires MORE interventions. I hope someone with a bad c-section experience manages to successfully sue for not being allowed a VBAC; maybe that will change their policies.
Mistress_Scorpio commented on Oct 16 09 at 11:48 pmSarah, for the sake of hypothetical mom and baby… I hope NOT.
Sarah commented on Oct 17 09 at 11:20 amMistress_Scorpio, while I too would love it if Caesareans suddenly magically became 100% safe, that strikes me as an unlikely scenario. As it is now, they are riskier than VBACs, and I hope some families can use this to their advantage if bullied into a less-safe procedure by the hospital.
stunned commented on Oct 21 09 at 11:15 pmso many uninformed women so little time!
Heather commented on Oct 22 09 at 11:32 amThe woman has only had one of her 3 current children by C-section. Her first and 3rd were both vaginal births. Obviously this woman has the ability to successfully complete a vaginal birth. And someone mentioned that she should try a midwife, but apparently if you have had a c-section you must have any subsequent baby in a hospital. Midwives are not allowed to deliver a baby at someone’s home if they have had a c-section before. A midwife could probably do the delivery, but at the hospital, not at the woman’s home.
what about the baby commented on Oct 24 09 at 6:01 amComments WOW while agree she can choose and sometimes like with everything the choices she makes are hard ones, lets remember we don’t know her history, and with every baby and c-section the risk of her uterus detaching during labor and therefore killing her and baby are greater. I hope the hospital she has chosen has a great NICU and goof high risk ob
VBAC Mom commented on Oct 25 09 at 8:08 amSarah is right…doctors will do everything they can to birth your baby on their schedule, and then if something goes wrong with all their crazy interventions, it looks like they ‘did everything they could.’ It’s really sad that women automatically assume that VBACs are so dangerous, when in fact you’re really trading one set of risks for another. I VBACed in 2006 and everything went beautifully - they didn’t treat it much differently than a ‘traditional’ vaginal delivery. And if this hospital can do an emergency c-section for a typical laboring mom, then they can do a VBAC. Her uterus is already ‘proven’ and chances are she’ll be just fine, seeing as how your risk of uterine rupture goes down once you’ve already had a prior VBAC. Good luck to this mom!
Kohr commented on Oct 26 09 at 11:09 pmSounds extreme and like she made a choice of her own free will. This doesn’t even seem to be a real conundrum.
She wanted the hospital to perform a procedure on her. They agreed to perform it using Method A. Because she wanted Method B, she accused them of a most gruesome bodily violation despite them not having actually done anything and despite her having the ability to elect to receive care from another facility that would cater to her needs.
BuggysMama commented on Oct 27 09 at 12:51 amlet her call it what she wants but when her uterus ruptures and she hemorages and she or the baby dies god forbid…then she can know why they want to be safe…so what happens if it does rupture and the only thing that can save the baby and her is a C-section…. is that concental rape??
Nikki commented on Oct 28 09 at 1:18 amComments: I wish you all the best I am in the same situation I have had 3 c sections and now pregnant with my fourth child an dreading to have to go back into the operating room. So now I’m in the process of looking for a doctor who will attempt a vbac. No doctor wants to take the risk. So I wish you the best of luck.
Mardi commented on Nov 06 09 at 12:58 pmI’d go far away if I thought I could get a better deal. Childbirth is so horrible and frightening. *shiver* gih.
