Wyoming Medical Center: Allow women to have VBACs without giving up their rights.

The Issue

Women should have supported choices in their healthcare. Help support the women of Wyoming in having a voice about their labor and delivery experiences in Casper! 

Despite updated VBAC guidelines from the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), Wyoming Medical Center policy dictates that any woman who has undergone a C-section in the past be forced to have a repeat C-section. If a woman chooses to proceed with a VBAC, she must waive numerous rights and privileges, including access to an epidural and several labor & delivery resources that would normally be available to her.

"The College says that restrictive VBAC policies should not be used to force women to undergo a repeat cesarean delivery against their will..." 
- American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists

Visit http://vbaccasper.org/ for more information.

avatar of the starter
Sara McCarthyPetition Starter
Media inquiries
This petition had 782 supporters

The Issue

Women should have supported choices in their healthcare. Help support the women of Wyoming in having a voice about their labor and delivery experiences in Casper! 

Despite updated VBAC guidelines from the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), Wyoming Medical Center policy dictates that any woman who has undergone a C-section in the past be forced to have a repeat C-section. If a woman chooses to proceed with a VBAC, she must waive numerous rights and privileges, including access to an epidural and several labor & delivery resources that would normally be available to her.

"The College says that restrictive VBAC policies should not be used to force women to undergo a repeat cesarean delivery against their will..." 
- American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists

Visit http://vbaccasper.org/ for more information.

avatar of the starter
Sara McCarthyPetition Starter
Media inquiries

The Decision Makers

Julie Cann-Taylor
Julie Cann-Taylor
Chief Operating Officer & Senior Vice President of Patient Care Services, Wyoming Medical Center
Responded
“Wyoming Medical Center has become aware of a petition urging us to reconsider our policy against performing VBAC – vaginal birth after cesarean. We sympathize with a mother’s desire to experience natural child birth. But VBAC is considered a high-risk obstetrical service for both mothers and babies. A cesarean birth requires the uterine wall to be surgically opened, weakening it for future births. Natural birth in a woman who has had a prior cesarean can rupture the old scar of the uterine wall. A ruptured uterus can be catastrophic for both the baby and the mother. In such cases, medical response must be extremely rapid. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends the “immediate availability” of an obstetrician, an anesthesiologist, a surgical suite and an operating team to provide an emergent cesarean delivery. The position of our insurance carrier is that “immediately available” in these guidelines means these services would have to be available at any time a patient presented for a trial of labor after cesarean. In addition to being very costly, our insurance carrier does not allow us to provide this service due to the risk involved. We realize other hospitals in Wyoming may offer VBAC, but they may not have the same insurance carrier. We and our insurance carrier have taken a conservative position in the belief that this best protects the health of the mother and the baby. WMC is continuously engaged in improving the care we offer patients. We will use the input from this petition to engage the stakeholders in reassessing our position. ”
Vickie Diamond
Vickie Diamond
President & CEO, Wyoming Medical Center
Mandy Cepeda
Mandy Cepeda
Senior Manager of Community Development, Wyoming Medical Center
PATIENT CARE OR SAFETY
PATIENT CARE OR SAFETY
Wyoming Medical Center
GENERAL INQUIRIES
GENERAL INQUIRIES
Wyoming Medical Center

Petition Updates

Share this petition

Petition created on June 2, 2013