Want To start A Petition-Any advice?

[BettyUK]

Hi Everyone.

I am very disgusted with some of the horrible practices in childbirth here in the American hospitals. One of many is that barbaric practice of strapping down women during C Sections is some USA hospitals. The woman's arms are strapped to the operating table.

And it seems that many people are wring about what happens during C Sections and if you have a C Section in America or Canada you can expect to have your arms strapped down. But instead of that someone should be advocating and writing about banning this inhuman practice all all US hospitals, as it banned in the UK where I am from.

So I want to start a petition on Change.org

Where many people have petitioned about different things and some have got results. But the only problem is I don't know who to make the petition to.

In the UK if it was a hospital issue the body that regulates it would be The Department Of Health or the British Medical association. But here in the USA because they have different states each with different laws there does not seem to be a body or medical organisation that regulates the hospitals for the whole of the country as there is in the UK.

So any advice please? I think starting a petition is a good starting point but who do I send the petition to?

[runsalot]

Coming from a horrible speller. First spell Check your post so people take you seriously. Second. Pick a topic that people will actually sign a petition about. Third. So you do have enough to worry about in the UK or is it utopia?

[CrunchRN, ADN, RN]

None of the ladies I work with that had c-sections had any complaint at all about that. Either it is not widespread or see that it is a safety issue I guess.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

I am very disgusted with some of the horrible pratices in childbirth here in the American hospitals. One of many is that barbaric practise of strapping down women during C Sections is some USA hospitals. The woman's arms are strapped to the operating table.

Although I definitely agree that childbirth has become too 'medicalized' here in the States, in general the child-bearing women here do not see any barbarism in the practice of keeping the arms strapped during Cesarean section births.

Generally speaking, people are not willing to fight to ban something that is normal and customary to them.

[RNsRWe, ASN, RN]

If I'm understanding you correctly, you're describing a practice in which everyone who is having surgery has their arms strapped down in a posiiton perpendicular to the body? If so....it's not just for C-sections, it's for all surgeries in which a patient receives anesthesia/conscious sedation and may inadvertently swat, scratch, hit, or flail an arm.....potentially interfering with the surgery and quite possibly contaminating a sterile field. It's a safety measure, so.......not sure what the trouble is? I haven't heard of a c-section where NO anesthesia was used, but conscious sedation is common (and, consequently, the need to protect the patient and the participants).

I say if restraining an arm is going to keep the drugged-up patient from doing damage....it's a good thing.

[elkpark]

Hi Everyone.

I am very disgusted with some of the horrible pratices in childbirth here in the American hospitals. One of many is that barbaric practise of strapping down women during C Sections is some USA hospitals. The woman's arms are strapped to the operating table.

And it seems that many people are wring about what hapens during C Sections and if you have a C Section in America or Canada you can expect to have your arms strapped down. But instead of that someone should be advocating and writing about banning this inhuman practise all all US hospitals, as it banned in the UK where I am from.

So I want to start a petition on Change.org

Where many people have petionioned about different things and some have got results. But the only problem is I don't know who to make the petion to.

In the UK if it was a hospital issue the body that regulates it would be The Department Of Health or the British Medical assosiation. But here in the USA because they have different states each with different laws there does not seem to be a body or medical organisation that regulates the hospitals for the whole of the country as there is in the UK.

So any advice please? I think strating a petions is a good starting point but who do I send the petinion to?

You're still whipped up about this? Since you've been clear that you live in the UK and have nothing to do with healthcare in the US, why don't you spend your time and energy worrying about healthcare issues there. No one here seems to be terribly concerned about this issue, or traumatized by the experience.

And, FYI, CMS is the federal agency that regulates all hospitals in the US which receive Medicare or Medicaid funding, which is pretty much every hospital in the US, so there is, effectively, a single federal agency which has oversight over hospitals here (not that I am IN ANY WAY encouraging you to start a petition demanding that CMS get involved in this. I think this is one of the loopiest ideas I've heard in a long time).

On the other hand, maybe you're on to something here. I saw a truly horrifying documentary film a few years ago about barbaric dog-breeding practices in England ("Pedigree Dogs Exposed" -- look for it if you care at all about dogs). I had always thought of the British as great dog-lovers (in general, as a society), but clearly they love dogs in a v. different way than I do. I had figured that, since I don't live in England, it wasn't really any of my business and I had no say in the matter, but maybe I was wrong. Who do I talk to to demand that new rules be put in place to regulate the practice of dog-breeding in England, and outlaw the extremely cruel practices that are now common?

[AspiringNurseMW]

Not going to happen. A petition needs to be more specific. I've seen petitions on change.org in regards to having gas and air available at a SPECIFIC hospital. To get a maternity policy changed nationwide takes a hell of a lot of support and money. So first you'd need to find a whole lot of mothers that feel like you do, and perhaps possibly experienced it.... Whether you will find that, I doubt it.

There are so many MORE IMPORTANT and relevant aspects of US maternity care that should be addressed, like the choice to have a VBAC or the ability to have a medical providers at your homebirth legally.

So to me this is not a request that would get alot of support.

[BettyUK]

What does FYI, CMS stand for?

[BettyUK]

Well these are the people I am thinking of making it out to the following:

The President of the United States

The U.S. Senate

The U.S. House of Representatives

United States Congress

LETTER TO

Attorney General Kamala Harris

UNITED STATES SENATE, OBAMA

United States Department of Health and Human Services

And, FYI, CMS

Though I don'r even know what half of those organisations are> As they don't have health trusts or an NHS in American it's a different system, different in each state so maybe run by different bodies. unlike in England where the department of health the BMMA (british Medical Association and some time the government) regulates all the NHS hospitals in the UK, and I think the private ones as well.

[BettyUK]

Oh and one poster said on my other thread that they restrain you in the ICU by tying your wists to the bed.

Well I found out they don't do it here in the UK, unless the person is so mentally incompetent and only in very exceptional cases.

See this:

BBC Radio 4 - Inside the Ethics Committee, Series 8, Restraining Patients in Intensive Care

[RNsRWe, ASN, RN]

Well these are the people I am thinking of making it out to the following:

The President of the United States

The U.S. Senate

The U.S. House of Representatives

United States Congress

LETTER TO

Attorney General Kamala Harris

UNITED STATES SENATE, OBAMA

United States Department of Health and Human Services

And, FYI, CMS

Though I don'r even know what half of those organisations are>.....

Now that you've posted further......are you SERIOUS? If someone wishes to petition the President, it might be useful to note who he IS....you seem to have placed him as a Senator (which he was at one time, lol, but that's old news).

FYI=For Your Information, which is internet shorthand. Pretty commonplace, I thought, but....guess not everywhere.

And as for the rest, if you don't know what "half those organizations are" perhaps your petition is a tad premature? Have you no idea WHY this practice is in place.......and how is it you feel it's a matter of such importance to American women that it needs the attention of the President? And why would you involve the Attorney General of California (you named a representative from one specific State who deals with legal issues) rather than the Surgeon General (who respresents the entire country on medical issues)?

Sorry, but you are really REALLY out of your depth here; how can you feel you have some kind of mandate to make a change for AMERICANS that AMERICANS aren't pushing for??

Perhaps I ought to start a petition for your Queen, advocating changing medical practices in the UK? How do you think that'll fly?

[flyersfan88]

Oh and one poster said on my other thread that they restrain you in the ICU by tying your wists to the bed.

Well I found out they don't do it here in the UK, unless the person is so mentally incompetent and only in very exceptional cases.

See this:

BBC Radio 4 - Inside the Ethics Committee, Series 8, Restraining Patients in Intensive Care

Uh....yeah. this happens when the patient is trying to extubate them self, rip out their lines, etc etc. You are seriously misinformed and far too ill equipped to start such a petition. Worry about the UK, considering it's clear you've never set foot on US soil.