Unfortunate

Well, this is the newest update in the BIRTH WORLD.

So, here is my 2 cents on the photo....

It's disgusting, and irritating. The fact that they are so out of touch with birth that they can't even spell "doula" or use the correct term for a birth plan shows that they just "decided" to do this and didn't base it on anything, let alone consider the welfare of their patients.

I also would like to know what they plan on doing if one of their patients shows up in labor, and is using The Bradley Method? I'm assuming they have heard of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act.

EMTALA requires hospital emergency departments (EDs) to provide any individual coming to their premises with a medical screening exam (MSE) to determine if an emergency condition or active pregnancy labor is present. If so, the hospital must supply either stabilization prior to transferring the patient or a certification (signed by the physician) that the transfer is appropriate and meets certain conditions.

Are they planning on refusing to accept the woman as a patient and pass them off to some other on call OB?

Honestly, it's GREAT that they have this posted on their wall. Pregnant women know upfront what they are getting themselves into with this practice and can feel free to run the other direction if necessary.

Someone who called the actual office for more information got this:

"I called this clinic and spoke personally to the receptionist, manager, and then doctor. The receptionist and manager were concerned over the fact that I informed them that "doula" was misspelled, and that "birth contracts" were actually birth plans. The doctor was rude and told me that he HATED doulas and didn't care what I thought and didn't care about evidence-based maternity research."

Well, if that isn't a place to end this post, I don't know what is.