"Dr." Amy to speak at September ACOG conference

I just heard it through the grapevine that the formidable "Dr. Amy" of homebirth hater fame is on the docket to speak at an ACOG conference in September. And not surprisingly, one of her topics is "Everything an obstetrician needs to know about homebirth."

Of course, I don't know personally, but I'm going to take a wild guess that she's never attended a homebirth before. Yet she is probably considered the "expert" source on them, most likely because she squawks the loudest. Never mind what actually comes out of her mouth.

Here are her "credentials," according to the ACOG PDF handout:

Um, no, not exactly. Although I realize that the title "Dr." is often a courtesy after a physician has left practice or retired, this is incredibly misleading. My father-in-law is a retired physician that most people address as "doctor," but he certainly doesn't go around representing himself as a licensed, practicing physician. I would hope those in attendance actually know better when listening to her blather on for an hour about how much she hates homebirth and the women who choose them.

A Google search of her name produced the obvious results referring to her blog and "advocacy." She shows up on a number of websites like Healthgrades, listing a physical address to what would seem an office, but no reviews from actual patients. And when you search her name on the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine database, you come up with this:

She spends countless hours trolling the internetz for every story ever published about homebirth and basically makes all natural birth advocates everywhere out to be liars. Yet she continues to represent herself as a licensed physician who is still practicing medicine. Hypocrisy much?

Since ACOG is trying to set guidelines that offer women the best care while treating them with dignity and respect, I'm not really sure how she fits into their lineup.

According to ACOG's website, they acknowledge that

"Most women have normal conception, fetal growth, labor and birth and require minimal-to-no intervention in the process. Women and their families have different views about childbearing based on their knowledge, experiences, belief systems, culture, and social and family backgrounds." (Really? They really believe that?! Who knew.)

It goes on to explain their idea of what "patient-centered care" means:

""Patient-centered" means that health care providers, and the system they practice within, accept that the values, culture, choices, and preferences of a woman and her family are relevant within the context of promoting optimal health outcomes." 

They also acknowledge that part of that patient-centered care includes having not only a skilled attendant (which can come in other forms besides an OBGYN), but also "supportive resources."

Based on their description, I don't think Dr. Amy fits into their scheme of things at all. Either that, or they're just very out of touch with the way a majority of births are carried out these days. Phrases like "support" and "education" are all relative, when you consider that many patients often get all their information from their physician and trust no one else in the process.

On the surface, healthcare initiatives and much of the jargon ACOG churns out sound great - but when you actually ask women about their experiences, it seems that there is a major disconnect. ACOG itself argues that they feel the hospital is the safest setting for giving birth, but admits that it "respects the right of a woman to make a medically informed decision about delivery." It's clear that Dr. Amy does not. I am really curious to hear how this one is going to play out.

From The SOb's website: What a caring, compassionate and professional
way to promote your "advocacy." Would you want someone this vulgar and
derisive in charge of your care? 

More reading:
The C in ACOG Stands for Castrated