A Florida mom, pregnant with her fifth child, is furious because she says her obstetrician has threatened to send the police to her home so they could take her to the hospital and force her to give birth via C-section. Lisa Epsteen's pregnancy is considered high risk because she's already given birth to her other four children via C-section and she's a week past her due date. But Epsteen is convinced she should be given the chance to attempt to give birth to her fifth child vaginally, despite her doctor's concerns.
Amazingly, her obstretician actually agreed with her at the beginning of her pregnancy, even though VBACs can be extremely risky, especially after four C-sections. When I decided to have a VBAC with my second child, I had to search high and low for an obstetrician who'd be willing to do it because of the risk.
Read more ¿Qué más?: What I did to have a successful VBAC instead of a C-section
Even though I was able to successfully deliver my second child vaginally, I always knew that if anything changed during my pregnancy or at the moment of delivery and my son's life or mine was in jeopardy, I'd be more than willing and ready to have another C-section. I'm sure that after four kids, Epsteen has to be aware of the dangers she's exposing both herself and her baby by refusing her doctor's orders to give birth via C-section. I simply can't understand why she continues to insist on a vaginal birth.
The worst part is that her doctors told her on Tuesday that her baby's in distress and her gestational diabetes is not helping matters either. But instead of heeding her doctor's advice, Epsteen has gotten in touch with the National Advocates for Pregnant Women who agree that what her doctor has done is both illegal and unethical.
As someone who had a successful VBAC, I'm the first one to defend other women's rights to be given the opportunity to do the same thing. But this case is totally different and I think it's unfathomable that Epsteen is willing to put her baby's and he own life at risk for no reason at all. I hope she doesn't regret it!
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