Implied Consent Is NOT Informed Consent

I am becoming increasingly certain that the direction I have decided to take with my future studies (and by proxy my future career too) is the right choice to make. Going into medicine, and working within the system to make positive changes, seems to be only way to actually make changes happen.

It is also becoming increasingly obvious to me that the way that our current medical based maternity system is run (and other similar medical based maternity systems in the Western world as well) is not only outdated but also full of arrogant care providers with God and Rescue Complexes (yes I am perfectly aware that there are some good ones out there that I am not including in this, so spare me the #notallcareproviders crap).

Today I spoke with a US Doula, who also happens to be L&D Nurse first and foremost, who is under the, misguided, impression that implied consent means that a care provider (whether a doctor, midwife or a nurse) is free to do whatever they wish to do whenever they wish to do it without gaining verbal informed consent prior to doing whatever it is that they are doing simply because someone has signed a form at some point earlier consenting to things that might be necessary in case of an emergency situation where they cannot consent verbally themselves (note, there is a huge difference between an emergency or suspected emergency where a patient is unable to speak or give consent at all, and an emergency or suspected emergency where a patient is fully capable of speaking and deciding for themselves if given the chance for informed consent first).

This same L&D Nurse-Doula stated that a birthing person who is saying no and stop while something is being done to them without their consent should also "just be grateful" that they have a healthy living baby afterwards (which is the biggest fucking load of crap excuse in existence - we have a right to feel like we've been walked all over when we have been, we also have a right to be shitty and really pissed off about it too if and when it happens).

Said L&D Nurse-Doula also believes that Doctors have the final say, that if a birthing person is being told that something needs to happen by a Doctor that they should just accept it and go along with it with no questions asked and no compromises - essentially saying (though not in the exact words) "Doctor is always right. You must do what doctor says. You wouldn't want a dead baby now would you? Things could go really badly if you do not do what Doctor says. What if you said no and something went really wrong, how could you live yourself?"

NO. NO. NO. NO. NO!!!!!!!!

IMPLIED CONSENT with a patient who is awake, aware and capable of making their own CHOICES and DECISIONS IS NOT INFORMED CONSENT OR LEGAL CONSENT!

COERCION AND FEAR MONGERING e.g. "you wouldn't want a dead baby would you?", "could you live with yourself if something bad happened because you said no?" is NOT INFORMED CONSENT and IS A VIOLATION OF A BIRTHING PERSONS HUMAN RIGHTS.

LACK OF INFORMED CONSENT IS ILLEGAL and should NOT BE TOLERATED BY ANYONE!

As long as care providers are still learning that it is ok to treat birthing people this way, and as long as there are people who are OK with it, support it and DO NOT SPEAK UP AGAINST IT then it will keep on happening.

IT IS UNACCEPTABLE. 

IT IS DISGUSTING.

IT IS ILLEGAL.

IT IS A HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATION.

AND IT NEEDS TO BE STOPPED, RIGHT NOW!!!

If you are or have been on the receiving end of this kind of treatment please speak up. Lodge complaints with the relevant authorities and make sure that you are not just simply ignored.
The more people who speak up, who speak out, who actively work for positive change, the more likely it is that we will be heard and positive change will occur.