GRRRR

I need to vent here for a minute, as well as raise awareness about another ridiculous issue in childbirth.

I've been meaning to get a copy of my C-section report from Audrey's birth because it will determine my chances of having a VBA2C. If the doctor used a single layer suture to close the uterus instead of a double layer suture I may not be able to have one, so I need to get the report to find out and then prove it to my next care provider. Also, I'm curious if they mentioned anything about my scaring or how my uterus looked. According to my midwife who was with me for the surgery I had "hardly any scaring" and it "looked really good". I remember thinking to myself when she said that,"Then why am I laying on this table getting my baby sliced out of me?"

So I finally called to request a copy of my records. I knew there would be a fee because once it became a legal right to get a personal copy of one's records, doctors had to think of a way to try to prevent it from happening and to make money at the same time. At the pediatrician's office I worked at we charged a $25 flat fee for a copy of the records. After all, a lot of "work" went into it: the secretary had to copy the records, and as the nurse I took five minutes to look over them to make sure all the pages were there. Yeah, how come neither of us that actually did the work saw a cent of the $25 bucks?

My surgery report is apparently seven pages. I wonder what they had to say for seven pages. Did they detail how Audrey nearly died because I had a totally unnecessary c-section? I doubt it because they never admitted to me that her respiratory distress and persistent pulmonary hypertension were results of the c-section, even though those are side effects of a c-section. I read after Audrey's birth that the risk of pulmonary hypertension is 4 times greater in a baby that was born by elective c-section (one with no labor).

But I'm digressing. The point of my story is that my 7 page surgery report costs me $30. My entire records were $38, so I just swallowed it and decided to get it all. It's just really annoying.
I understand a $5, even a $10 fee if the record is long, because paper, copying, and mailing does cost money. But, like I said, it's just another way to make it difficult to get a copy of your records when they charge a large fee.

I think everyone should have unlimited access to their own records, with a reasonable copying fee. Have you noticed how the doctor tends to look at the records as theirs? When Audrey was in the NICU I was looking at her chart that was by her plastic bassinet and the nurse told me I couldn't look at it. She said if I wanted a copy I could call the hospital afterwords and request a copy. I really do want to read what was documented about her condition but I'm sure it will cost another thirty or fourty bucks. For now it was a big step just to get a copy of my records.