This article is prejudicial and will likely instill fear and mistrust in uninformed or under-informed patients! Newborns in the nursery are circumcised and vaccinated without asking?? Circumcision is “very painful with psychological risks”?? Your OB will cut you up (episiotomy) even if you don’t need it?? Where are these hospitals that you are talking about?! “If an epidural is in place, the urge to push will not be present.” ??

I am a labor and delivery nurse at a large hospital where we do about 5000 deliveries a year. Many of my patients that have epidurals have the urge to push. SOME do not. Our OB’s cut episiotomies when they are NEEDED (usually if the baby is stressed)---not routinely. Circumcisions are NOT done without the parents’ knowing and consent!

I consider myself open minded and respect women who want and are able to go through labor and delivery without analgesia. I also have a great deal of respect for those women who choose to have an epidural. I don’t think that birth plans are a bad idea…..but this article is very biased. And it is articles like this one that have women coming to the hospital scared and on guard---feeling like the people who are taking care of her do not have her and her baby’s best interest in mind. That does not lead to a satisfying birth experience either; and I am ashamed to think that this article may have been written by someone who considers themselves a health-care professional.