One of the region's largest hospital groups will soon forbid photography or
videotaping during childbirth, joining a national trend spurred by what some say
is concern over medical liability.
Beginning next month, Florida Hospital plans to bar cameras during labor
and delivery at its Orlando-area facilities with delivery rooms: the main campus
near downtown Orlando, and in Winter Park, Altamonte Springs and
Celebration.
"You don't go into the operating room and take pictures of
surgical procedures," said Pat DuRant, Florida Hospital's assistant
vice president of women's and medical-surgical services.
(HELLO, this isn't a surgical procedure. It's not an illness that needs to be treated. It's a miracle of life! I guess this shows just how many c-sections (probably unnecessary ones) this hospital does. They don't want to get 'caught ' in the moms seeing just how unnecessary it really was!!)
Florida Hospital had been allowing cameras, though with doctor approval and
"as long as it does not interfere with the care of the patient," DuRant said.
But under the new policy, parents will be able to film only after birth and once
a doctor says mother and baby are fine.
The change doesn't sit well with some mothers.
"I think it's terrible," said Sarah Baca, 25, of Orlando, who had a
professional photograph the birth two years ago of her son J.J. at Florida
Hospital's main campus. "It's such a personal, special time in someone's life,
and they're going to take that away."
Florida Hospital is falling in line with a number of hospitals across the
country, including Orlando Regional Healthcare and Central Florida Regional,
that say the birth of a child is not a time to be snapping photographs. Orlando
Regional, which operates the Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies in
downtown Orlando and a maternity unit at its South Seminole Hospital in
Longwood, decided to restrict photography about five years ago.
However, the policies at the other Central Florida hospitals are less
stringent than those at Florida Hospital. If the doctor agrees, Orlando Regional
and Central Florida Regional allow videos and photos during much of a woman's
labor, just not during delivery.
"When the mom goes into active delivery, the doctor's here getting ready
for the catch and that type of stuff -- that's the component they don't want
folks videoing," Central Florida Regional spokesman Craig Bair said.
(Why not? Are they going to do something they shouldn't be?? If they are truly doing their best, this "component" wouldn't scare them. IMO, this leaves more room for doctors to be careless and make rash decisions, including c-sections.)
In Daytona Beach, Halifax Medical Center has one of the region's most
lenient policies. The hospital allows photography during both labor and
delivery, with a doctor's approval. So do two Florida Hospital facilities
operated independently of the Orlando-area branches: Florida Hospital DeLand and
Florida Hospital Waterman in Tavares.
Officials of Orlando Regional and Florida Hospital's Orlando-area
maternity units said they are being strict because they are worried about
safety. A person moving around, trying to get the right camera angle, can
distract the staff, they said. They couldn't cite any examples of someone with a
camera causing problems.
Fears about liability
Others say liability is the real issue.
Although an official of the American Medical Association said
the issue was "not something we follow," last year then-President Dr. John C.
Nelson called videotaping "a potential nail in the coffin from a liability
standpoint" and said that's why he banned it in his obstetrics practice.
Florida Hospital and Orlando Regional officials agree liability is a
factor, though they emphasize safety as their main concern. But Bair at Central
Florida Regional said that hospital's policy was prompted by worries that a
photo or videotape could end up as evidence in a trial.
A birth video last year helped lead to a malpractice settlement in
Missouri, attorney James Guirl said. The case involved a child who suffered an
arm injury during delivery. But birth videos tend to be taken at discreet
angles, he said, so it's rare for them to be very useful in a legal case.
Officials of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists would
not comment. In a 2002 article in the organization's newsletter, Dr. Johanna F.
Perlmutter noted concerns about liability and privacy when videotaping, but
emphasized safety concerns.
Officials from the American Hospital Association could not be reached for
comment, and statistics were not available on the number of hospitals nationwide
restricting photography.
Questioning why not
Representatives of the Central Florida Birth Network, an
association of midwives, doulas and birth educators, don't buy arguments that
cameras compromise safety by distracting staffers.
"If as long as they ahead of time say, 'This is your videotaping
area; stay over here in this area,' I don't see why there should be a problem with it," said Sonia Eittson, co-chair of the group.
(Gotta love midwives!! Way to stand up for a mom and what SHE wants not what the hospital and doctors want for them.)
The group's communication director, birth photographer Cristy Nielsen, said
she already has seen more restrictions when shooting births at Florida Hospital
facilities -- something officials said could have been a doctor's or nurse's
preference.
"Instead of being worried about patient care, they're worried about
somebody screwing up and it being caught on film," she said.
Though many women might consider childbirth too graphic to film, some say
recording it allows them to remember one of life's most special events.
"When you're in labor, you have all those hormones and
adrenaline -- you don't remember it, not really," Baca said.
"When I look at the pictures, I can really recall everything -- moments
between my husband and I, when I was having a contraction and he was holding
my hand or looking into my eyes and helping me breathe, that were just
priceless."
This is my take. I want to remember this one. I want to be able to see exactly how I reacted, what I said, how I pushed, all the details. Unlike a surgery, I WANT to remember the birth of my child.
It's so sad to me that doctors these days have to be so worried about lawsuits that they have to make these rules. It's so sad that we are such a sue happy country that our freedom to choose how we birth, what we photograph, etc is being taken from us. I recently heard there are some hospitals that won't even let you take pictures of the baby being weighed and measured!!!! How tragic it's become. :(
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orange/orl-deliver2706sep27,0,2142220.story?coll=orl-home-headlines
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