tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56060752024-03-18T22:38:52.546-06:00The Mommy BlawgThe Intersection of Mommyhood and the Law.The Mommy Blawgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15089652068368856212noreply@blogger.comBlogger541125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606075.post-20809738157442744202011-01-07T00:01:00.002-07:002011-01-07T00:01:00.922-07:00Do Home Schoolers Deserve a Tax Break?Do Home Schoolers Deserve a Tax Break? Should they even want one? <i>The New York Times</i> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2011/01/04/do-home-schoolers-deserve-a-tax-break">explores this debate</a> with seven different opinion pieces.The Mommy Blawgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15089652068368856212noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606075.post-27461818962548529272010-11-29T23:59:00.001-07:002010-11-29T23:59:00.061-07:00Healthcare Providers and Social MediaThe American Medical Association has <a href="http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/news/news/social-media-policy.shtml">issued a new policy</a> on the use of social media (<a href="http://healthcarebloglaw.blogspot.com/2010/11/ama-issues-new-policy-to-guide.html">AMA Issues New Policy To Guide Physicians’ Use of Social Media</a> on the <a href="http://healthcarebloglaw.blogspot.com/">Health Care Law Blog</a>). The new policy "aims at helping physicians to maintain a positive online presence and preserve the integrity of the patient-physician relationship." <br />
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Do you think that the AMA guidelines would be helpful for other types of healthcare providers, such as midwives, doulas, chiropractors, and so on? Although these types of providers often have a much closer, personal relationship with their clients than do medical doctors, it is always a good idea to protect client's privacy (whether or not the provider is a HIPAA-covered entity) and to separate personal and professional online content.The Mommy Blawgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15089652068368856212noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606075.post-34319916310485879942010-10-19T22:08:00.000-06:002010-10-19T22:08:07.127-06:00Informed Consent<a href="http://midwifethinking.com/">Midwife Thinking</a> <a href="http://midwifethinking.com/2010/09/15/information-giving-and-the-law/">sums up informed consent</a>, according to Australian law.The Mommy Blawgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15089652068368856212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606075.post-62377800602733500482010-09-10T16:21:00.000-06:002010-09-10T16:21:56.717-06:00Legal Rights and VBACThe <a href="http://givingbirthwithconfidence.org/">Giving Birth With Confidence</a> blog has a new series titled <a href="http://givingbirthwithconfidence.org/birth/a-womans-guide-to-vbac/"><i>A Woman’s Guide to VBAC: Navigating the NIH Consensus Recommendations</i></a>. It includes a section on <a href="http://givingbirthwithconfidence.org/birth/a-womans-guide-to-vbac/legal-rights-and-protections-for-vbac-issues-from-the-nih-consensus-conference/">Legal Rights and Protections for VBAC</a> [Vaginal Birth After Cesarean].The Mommy Blawgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15089652068368856212noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606075.post-32684295691073793562010-06-30T09:10:00.000-06:002010-06-30T10:11:42.916-06:00Midwives in Australia<a href="http://www.sydneymidwife.com.au/">Private Midwife</a> Melissa Maimann explains the current legal situation in Australia in <a href="http://www.sydneymidwife.com.au/2010/06/homebirth-is-not-illegal/">Homebirth is not illegal!</a>The Mommy Blawgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15089652068368856212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606075.post-46154015704661239812010-06-17T19:51:00.000-06:002010-06-17T20:52:03.942-06:00Midwifery Legal/Legislative UpdatesI do mean to post these more often...<br /><br />In <span style="font-weight: bold;">Florida</span>, an appeals court confirmed the conviction of Tanya and Linda McGlade for practicing midwifery without a license. The two were charged after the 2004 childbirth death of a family member. Both women have been sentenced to a year in prison, but had been released pending appeal ("<a href="http://www.bradenton.com/2010/06/16/2365292/two-women-lose-appeals-in-midwifery.html">Two women lose appeals in midwifery convictions</a>").<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">North Carolina</span>'s effort to pass licensing legislation is reportedly dead ("<a href="http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/whqr/news.newsmain/article/1/0/1663476/Local.Interest/Midwife.Supporters.Will.Push.Again.Next.Session"><span>Midwife Supporters Will Push Again Next Session</span></a>").The Mommy Blawgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15089652068368856212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606075.post-80278008361911955322010-05-13T11:16:00.003-06:002010-05-13T11:36:24.329-06:00Pumping at WorkLawyer Jake Aryeh Marcus asks you to <a href="http://www.sustainablemothering.com/2010/05/10/curb-your-enthusiasm-about-the-new-federal-workplace-pumping-law/">Curb Your Enthusiasm</a> about the new Federal workplace pumping law on her blog, <a href="http://www.sustainablemothering.com/">Sustainable Mothering</a>. Also check out, for comparison's sake, <a href="http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2010/04/the_risks_of_noncompliance_wit.html">The risks of noncompliance with Oregon's milk expression law</a> by Marion Rice of <a href="http://nursingmotherscounsel.org/">Nursing Mothers Counsel</a>.The Mommy Blawgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15089652068368856212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606075.post-42919164017166570642010-05-08T12:32:00.003-06:002010-05-08T12:41:55.103-06:00Pumping at Work<div style="text-align: justify;">The Washington Business Journal <a href="http://washington.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2010/05/03/focus4.html?b=1272859200%5E3266461">reports on</a> the workplace-pumping provisions of the new health care package, focusing on the business aspects. Check out these facts about why businesses should support lactating women in the workplace:<br /><div> </div><blockquote style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);"><div style="text-align: justify;">In 2008, the Department of Health and Human Services outlined the bottom-line business benefits of accommodating breast-feeding mothers. They include:<br /><br />○ Breast-feeding employees miss work less often. Mothers of formula-fed infants take more than twice as many days off to care for sick children. Maternal milk boosts an infant’s immune system and helps protect the baby from common childhood illnesses and infections — a particularly high risk for children in day care. Health insurer Cigna Corp. conducted a two-year study of 343 employees who participated in their lactation support program. Among other things, the program saved $600,000 by reducing absenteeism rates.<br /><br />○ Breast-feeding lowers health care costs. Cigna’s program resulted in annual savings of $240,000 in health care expenses and 62 percent fewer prescriptions. The reduced health care costs for breast-fed infants translate into lower medical insurance claims for businesses. Mutual of Omaha Insurance Co. had a similar program and found that health care costs for its working mother employees who did not breast-feed were $2,146 higher per person.<br /><br />○ Workplace lactation support programs can improve employee retention rates. One study of several companies with lactation support programs showed that 94.2 percent of working mothers returned to their employers after maternity leave when lactation support programs were in place. That compares to the national average retention rate of just 59 percent. Another study estimates that companies save $75,000 for each employee who returns to the workplace after childbirth.<br /></div><div id="TixyyLink" style="overflow: hidden; background-color: transparent; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; border: medium none;"><br /></div></blockquote></div>The Mommy Blawgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15089652068368856212noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606075.post-55951750110276887492010-04-30T13:39:00.004-06:002010-04-30T13:56:34.568-06:00Vegetable purees can not be copyrightedSays a New York federal appeals court (<a href="http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202453313521&Jessica_Seinfeld_Wins_Culinary_Copycat_Claim">AP via law.com</a>). Jessica Seinfeld was sued for trademark and copyright violations after her book, <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0061251348?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookblawg-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0061251348">Deceptively Delicious</a> (reviewed <a href="http://bookblawg.blogspot.com/2008/01/deceptively-delicious-simple-secrets-to.html">here</a>) was published about the same time as Missy Chase Lapine's <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0762430753?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookblawg-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0762430753">The Sneaky Chef</a>. Both cookbooks involve sneaking vegetable purees into kid's foods. Lapine also<a href="http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202425643485"> sued Jessica's husband</a>, commedian Jerry Seinfeld, for defamation based on comments he made on The Late Show with David Letterman.The Mommy Blawgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15089652068368856212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606075.post-44261146429016035452010-04-27T17:00:00.001-06:002010-04-27T17:03:07.429-06:00Jury Duty<a href="http://www.kellymom.com/index.html">Kellymom</a> has a nice collection of resources regarding <a href="http://www.kellymom.com/bf/normal/jury-duty.html">jury duty</a> for breastfeeding moms.The Mommy Blawgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15089652068368856212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606075.post-31250223516038218342010-03-13T23:20:00.004-07:002010-03-13T23:39:20.123-07:00Legal warning over umbilical cord blood collectionInteresting article about cord blood collection in the UK - <a href="http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/Legal-warning-over-umbilical-cord.6133101.jp">Legal warning over umbilical cord blood collection</a>. The article implies that is illegal to collect cord blood without a license; however, a lack of uniformity among hospital policies, with some hospitals not allowing collection, leads some parents to take matters into their own hands:<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><blockquote style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">The Human Tissue Authority (HTA) has written to more than 150 organisations following concerns that parents, including new fathers, are collecting the blood themselves using kits delivered to their homes.<br /><br />Some midwives have said they are being put under pressure to collect the blood illegally and there are fears this could be compromising patient care.<br /></blockquote></div>The Royal College of Midwives supports the HTA's actions, saying, "[t]he time during the birth when cord blood is collected is one of the riskiest times, in terms of safety. Therefore, it is essential that midwives are able to concentrate on the birth and are not put under pressure to carry out unregulated and unlawful cord blood collections."The Mommy Blawgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15089652068368856212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606075.post-91161144193679865782010-02-26T15:22:00.001-07:002010-02-26T16:22:37.518-07:00Pregnant and ShackledRH Reality Check's <a href="http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/blog/2010/02/02/a-lack-restraints-washington-states-antishackling-efforts">Aimee Newman examines</a> Washington state's proposed legislation which would ban on the shackling of pregnant incarcerated women or youth in almost all circumstances. Newman points out that the majority of women in prison are first-time, non-violent offenders. And a startling 5% of incarcerated women in the US are pregnant. <br />
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New America Media <a href="http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=bc96e9bf40ad9ac97a78dba165ea2448">reports on</a> the shackling of pregnant undocumented immigrants in Arizona; and check out Boulder Weekly's <a href="http://www.boulderweekly.com/article-1745-pregnant-in-prison.html?current_page=1">Pregnant in Prison</a>.The Mommy Blawgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15089652068368856212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606075.post-69787346512791221322010-02-08T11:19:00.006-07:002010-02-08T12:09:43.202-07:00Lawyer MomsI've added a few more blog links to my side bar. <a href="http://lawyermommusings.blogspot.com/">A Lawyer Mom's Musings</a> has been caustically blogging since 2008. <a href="http://www.theunnecesarean.com/">The Unnecesarian</a>, one of my favorite daily reads, has recently gone to a group-blog format, <a href="http://www.theunnecesarean.com/blog/2010/1/31/introduction-mysteria-aka-anaturaladvocate.html">introducing Mysteria a/k/a ANaturalAdvocate</a>, who is a recent law school graduate and future bar-taker. And Sara has been blogging lightly, yet insightfully, for about a year at <a href="http://disfordoulablog.blogspot.com/">D is for Doula</a>. The last two join the small sorority of what I term "birthy lawyers".<br /><br />ETA: You may notice that I've added a list of Delicious Bookmarks. These are not bookmarks that taste good; it's merely interesting article that I've come across that I want to share, but don't necessarily want to blog about.The Mommy Blawgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15089652068368856212noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606075.post-3395142088764818292010-01-17T14:22:00.004-07:002010-01-17T14:30:31.495-07:00Pit PoliceWhat will it take for me to break my 10-month-long blogging silence (more on that later)? <a href="http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/national/overdue-pregnant-nsw-woman-gets-police-check-up/story-e6freuzr-1225820277538">This situation</a> out of Australia (HT <a href="http://www.theunnecesarean.com/blog/2010/1/15/pregnant-woman-in-australia-gets-a-visit-from-the-pitocin-po.html">The Unnecesarian</a>). Although the health service has since <a href="http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/home-birth-mum-receives-apology/story-e6frfku0-1225820359124">apologized</a>, it is things like this make me truly afraid for the direction our civilization is heading.The Mommy Blawgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15089652068368856212noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606075.post-60380316110120608292009-04-01T23:40:00.002-06:002009-04-01T23:54:49.560-06:00Grand RoundsPaul Levy is hosting <a href="http://runningahospital.blogspot.com/2009/03/grand-rounds-when-things-go-awry.html">this week's Grand Rounds</a> at his blog <a href="http://runningahospital.blogspot.com/">Running a Hospital</a> ('cause that's what he does). The topic is "when things go awry".The Mommy Blawgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15089652068368856212noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606075.post-80531371321998427782009-03-01T13:42:00.004-07:002009-03-02T10:31:20.981-07:00Is VBAC illegal? Is homebirth illegal?The <a href="http://vbacfacts.com/">VBAC Facts</a> blog has a <a href="http://vbacfacts.com/2009/02/28/is-vbac-illegal/">great explanation</a> of the legalities of VBACs and homebirth. To summarize, VBAC is legal everywhere in the US. Homebirth (whether VBAC or not) is legal everywhere in the US. The only legal restrictions are placed on <span style="font-style: italic;">providers</span>, what they may do and where they may do it.<br /><br />You may also be interested in my previous blog post, <a href="http://mommyblawg.blogspot.com/2007/07/is-it-legal-for-florida-midwives-to-do.html">Is it legal for Florida midwives to do VBACs?</a><br /><br />Oh, and if you haven't read it yet, don't miss <span style="font-style: italic;">Time</span> magazine's article <a href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1880665-1,00.html">The Trouble With Repeat Cesarians</a> in conjunction with <a href="http://www.ican-online.org/">ICAN's recently-released report</a> on the organization's hospital survey. I especially liked this quote from the <span style="font-style: italic;">Time </span>article:<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><blockquote>But while many obstetricians say fewer patients are requesting VBACs, others counter that the medical profession has been too discouraging of them. Dr. Stuart Fischbein, an ob-gyn whose Camarillo, Calif., hospital won't allow the procedure, is concerned that women are getting "skewed" information about the risks of a VBAC "that leads them down the path that the doctor or hospital wants them to follow, as opposed to medical information that helps them make the best decision." According to a nationwide survey by Childbirth Connection, a 91-year-old maternal-care advocacy group based in New York City, 57% of C-section veterans who gave birth in 2005 were interested in a VBAC but were denied the option of having one.</blockquote></span>Hm. Why give patients information about a "procedure" that is not offered by you or allowed by your hospital?</div>The Mommy Blawgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15089652068368856212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606075.post-58968657910002326192009-02-19T21:26:00.003-07:002009-02-19T21:36:58.736-07:00Midwifery Care in Canada<a href="http://mazely.wordpress.com/">Mazely</a> writes about <a href="http://mazely.wordpress.com/2009/02/19/a-midwife-crisis-maternity-care-in-canada/">A Midwife Crisis: Maternity Care in Canada</a>:<br /><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><blockquote><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">The practice of midwifery in Canada is regulated by provincial and territorial authorities. Midwives can only legally practice their profession if they are registered with these authorities, but only seven provinces and territories have regulatory systems in place. This means that midwifery is essentially illegal in the rest of Canada. Further compounding the problem is the fact that even where midwifery is legal, it isn’t always funded or covered by health care. A two-tier system of care has been established, where the standard of maternal care changes depending on your geographic location. Midwives are only available to some women, in some parts of the country, and only some of those women can afford their services. </span><br /></blockquote></div>In addition to giving a brief history of midwifery in Canada, Mazley links to the <span style="color: black;"></span><a href="http://cmrc-ccosf.ca/node/19"><span style="color: blue;">Canadian Midwifery Regulators Consortium's chart</span></a> of the legal status of midwives in Canadian territories and provinces.The Mommy Blawgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15089652068368856212noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606075.post-28517184557237389062009-02-10T12:13:00.004-07:002009-02-10T12:20:33.482-07:00Traveling mothers still "face hurdles"<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/10/business/10breastfeed.html">Traveling mothers still face hurdles</a> in pumping breastmilk, reports the New York Times' business section, despite updated TSA rules regarding the carrying of expressed milk on airplanes. There is encouraging news, though:<br /><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><blockquote style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><p>Ernst & Young, the New York City financial services company, provides free travel kits so that women on business trips can ship milk home to their babies. And the Boston Consulting Group, a management consulting firm based in Boston, helps women bring their babies on business trips by covering travel expenses for the infant and a baby sitter. </p>Ms. [Suzanne] Riss [editor-in-chief of Working Mother magazine] called such programs “very cutting edge” and noted that they “go a long way” toward creating loyal employees. “But they’re still the exception, not the rule,” she added.</blockquote></div>The Mommy Blawgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15089652068368856212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606075.post-27199542575228561252009-01-11T13:39:00.004-07:002009-01-11T14:32:12.519-07:00Top 'Lawyer Mom' BlogsI recently discovered that in December <a href="http://www.darlinghill.com/">Darling Hill</a> (a blog which I had never heard of but plan to keep an eye on!) named <span style="font-weight: bold;">The Mommy Blawg</span> one of the <a href="http://www.darlinghill.com/2008/12/20/darling-hills-1st-annual-top-lawyer-mom-blogs/">Top 'Lawyer Mom' Blogs</a> of 2008.<br /><br />Check out the other blogs on the list - there are some good ones. And you can find a wealth of information at Darling Hill, which is "the blog that’s devoted to that place where life and flexible lawyering meet. A 100% lawyer-parent friendly legal niche."The Mommy Blawgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15089652068368856212noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606075.post-88703004038060032012009-01-03T11:30:00.001-07:002009-01-07T23:36:38.110-07:00FDA raids Miami birth center; Placentas, medical records confiscatedOn Christmas Eve, federal, state, and local authorities <a href="http://www.wctv.tv/home/headlines/36945319.html">executed a search warrant</a> on the Miami Maternity Center following a 10-month joint investigation by the <span class="headlines" id="storyText">Florida Department of Health, the US Food and Drug Administration, and Miami Dade Police Department’s Medical Crimes Unit</span>. Birth center staff were allegedly dehydrating and encapsulating placentas in a process that resulted in placentas from various birth mothers becoming commingled. Midwife Shari Daniels <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/living/health/costs/story/835369.html">denies the allegations</a>, according to news reports:<br /><div style="text-align: justify; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><blockquote>"They charged in here as if I were making crack cocaine," Daniels complained. "They could have sent one person and we should have shown them everything." She suggested that the raid might have been caused by angry obstetricians, who charge several times what she does to deliver a baby. "The local docs are screaming their heads off.'' </blockquote></div>Jodi Selander, owner of <a href="http://placentabenefits.info/index.asp">Placenta Benefits</a>, a placenta encapsulation service, <a href="http://blog.placentabenefits.info/index.php/2009/01/miami-birth-center/">writes on her blog</a>:<br /><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><blockquote style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><p>I am (obviously) a huge proponent of placenta encapsulation. However, I can not in any way condone this type of activity. I created the <a href="http://placentabenefits.info/certification.asp" target="_blank">Training & Certification program</a> specifically to avoid these types of situations.</p> <p>As an advocate for the movement toward legitimizing the use of placenta for its natural purpose, this story is absolutely outrageous. People who operate with such a total lack of regard for the gravity of the process and who apparently do not realize that the FDA is not on our side, set the movement back and make it harder for the rest of us who are being safe and working toward legitimacy.</p> <p>Please, people - don’t think that you can find free instructions for drying placentas on the internet and just set up shop. This is serious. You need to comply with government standards and regulations. Get some training. Work with us. Together we can do it. But not when people like this are operating out there.</p></blockquote></div><br /><a href="http://whitecollarcrimenews.com/">White Collar Crime News</a> blogger Jef Henninger has <a href="http://whitecollarcrimenews.com/2009/01/01/search-warrant-at-birthing-center-shows-the-need-for-a-good-attorney-to-audit-businesses/">a lawyer's take</a> on the situation:<br /><div style="text-align: justify; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><blockquote>I hate to see good people get caught up in criminal cases when the entire problem could have been easily avoided if a good attorney got in there and essentially performed an audit on the entire business....I don’t know enough about the facts of this case to really figure out what the situation is here, but I see no indication that anyone was harmed. At the most, it seems like they had sloppy business practices while they performed a service that the people wanted; but the FDA does not agree with. This seems like it would be a good case for a lawyer to argue that this is a technical violation of civil law and not a criminal violation as no one was actually harmed.</blockquote></div>And, as I have <a href="http://mommyblawg.blogspot.com/2007/04/midwifery-legal-update-iowa-california.html">mentioned before</a>, I would love to have an expert's opinion about the HIPAA implications of confiscation of medical records. What happens to a person's right to his or her own medical records when those records become evidence? I assume that HIPAA exempts healthcare providers from liability when complying with a legitimate court order or other legal process, but do the police, prosecutors, and court personnel have the same duty as healthcare providers do to keep protected health information confidential? What if the health of a woman and her baby are compromised because her prenatal records are unavailable? Is there liability? Is anyone but me asking these questions?<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Update</span> 1/08/2008: For more information and continuing updates, please visit <a href="http://blog.placentabenefits.info/">The Placenta Blog</a>.The Mommy Blawgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15089652068368856212noreply@blogger.com64tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606075.post-71815294280213472782008-12-28T21:43:00.003-07:002009-01-03T12:12:26.632-07:00Midwife Sued<a href="http://midwifeintheclouds.blogspot.com/">Midwife in the Clouds</a> discusses being sued <a href="http://midwifeintheclouds.blogspot.com/2008/11/lawsuit.html">here</a> and <a href="http://midwifeintheclouds.blogspot.com/2008/12/lawsuit-part-ii.html">here</a> - for allegedly misrepresenting the fact that she was an "in-network" provider:<br /><div style="text-align: justify; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><blockquote>Obstetrics in America is filled with stories of birth workers who can no longer have loving relationships with their patients because they are scared to death of lawsuits. The only people who suffer from these lawsuits are the mothers and babies because it becomes harder and harder to get the care you want when your caregiver is scared or limited by malpractice insurance.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Thankfully, this </span><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.superiorcourt.maricopa.gov/docket/JusticeCourtCases/caseInfo.asp?casenumber=CC2008-044969">case</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> was not about my ability as a midwife or my care of the mother and baby but a question of contracts, insurance, and money</span>. I am so grateful to have learned what I did without anyone being seriously hurt - my heart goes out to midwives who are charged with an unwarrented medical lawsuit.</blockquote></div>The Mommy Blawgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15089652068368856212noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606075.post-74343690823580631062008-12-06T11:12:00.000-07:002008-12-06T11:12:27.853-07:00ABA Journal Blawg 100The American Bar Association Journal has published a list of this year's <a href="http://www.abajournal.com/blawgs/blawg100_2008">100 best legal blogs</a>. I didn't make the list. Neither did <a href="http://blawgreview.blogspot.com/2008/12/life-on-d-list.html">Blawg Review</a>, though, so I'm in good company.The Mommy Blawgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15089652068368856212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606075.post-34314969817424600972008-11-30T23:07:00.002-07:002008-11-30T23:07:55.223-07:00NaBloPoMo<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiidOp4qU_CapofM_VBN6xUFoZMH-Qp5LrZDRnhyphenhyphenECPoueOG3hMnuqBxIWwCf2cLHAKPtgvOwu-eytn0iE6r0gvc4g6iqKRCAY_WoDP0v8QE2Zvdrg24OuiX_QotpsWZHNZTvvS/s1600-h/nablo1108.didit.120x240.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 101px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiidOp4qU_CapofM_VBN6xUFoZMH-Qp5LrZDRnhyphenhyphenECPoueOG3hMnuqBxIWwCf2cLHAKPtgvOwu-eytn0iE6r0gvc4g6iqKRCAY_WoDP0v8QE2Zvdrg24OuiX_QotpsWZHNZTvvS/s200/nablo1108.didit.120x240.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5274699438907883874" border="0" /></a>The Mommy Blawgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15089652068368856212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606075.post-78642017729045511352008-11-30T22:49:00.001-07:002008-11-30T22:52:46.805-07:00Poland debates paying for childbirth pain medsFrom <a href="http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/blog/anna-wilkowskalandowska">Anna Wilkowska-Landowska</a> ("<a href="http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/blog/2008/11/14/poland-facing-declining-birth-rates-says-health-plan-wont-cover-anesthetic-during-childbirth">Poland Says No to Pain-Free Childbirth</a>"), the Polish health system no longer plans to pay for childbirth drugs. The Ministry of Health Director suggested (in <a href="http://www.dziennik.pl/wydarzenia/article249404/Chcesz_rodzic_ze_znieczuleniem_Zaplac_.html">an article in a Polish newspaper</a>) that not only can the state budget not afford to ensure free anesthetization during childbirth to all Polish women, but that there are not enough anesthesiologists in Poland. Says Wilkowska-Landowska:<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><blockquote><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">In Western European countries, as well as in Poland's neighboring countries, childbirth anesthetization is considered a standard service provided to women. The question becomes, then, why do Polish women have to pay for it? This situation divides the Polish women into two groups: those who can afford to pay for anesthetization and those who cannot afford to pay for something to which they are entitled.</span><br /></blockquote></div>The article also mentions that since the Polish government is encouraging families to have more children, the Minister's statements only make the decision to have a baby more difficult for women.<br /><br />Well, I guess it's another strike against socialized medicine.The Mommy Blawgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15089652068368856212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606075.post-32579083253203475652008-11-29T22:59:00.000-07:002008-11-30T01:44:41.862-07:00NaBloPoMo - almost there!Well, twenty-nine straight days of blogging, and I've run out of steam. Tomorrow we'll celebrate (it's also my birthday), but for now I'm going to get some sleep.The Mommy Blawgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15089652068368856212noreply@blogger.com3