Benefits Of Childbirth During Childbirth

For some, childbirth is one of the most wonderful and worthwhile experiences of their lives. In contrast, for others, their deliveries are looked back upon as harrowing and traumatic. Oftentimes a negative experience with delivery can be attributed to the attending medical staff—for example, their performance of situationally unnecessary medical interventions such as routine episiotomies. An episiotomy is a surgical incision made in the perineal area and the posterior vaginal wall during childbirth to hasten delivery. An article published by Kaiser Health News, shared by National Public Radio, and written by Jocelyn Wiener, entitled “Episiotomies Still Common During Childbirth Despite Advice To Do Fewer”, explores this issue.

The article first discusses the recent and ongoing case of Kimberly Turbin, an American mother who is suing the obstetrician that delivered her baby for assault and battery. During Turbin’s delivery, the obstetrician disregarded her repeated denial to have an episiotomy performed—and performed the procedure anyway. The article goes on to discuss how episiotomies are routinely performed despite substantial, growing, and increasingly available evidence that they are rarely necessary and rarely beneficial. This paper will explore violations in the case of Kimberly Turbin and the practice of routine episiotomies based on articles included in the American Association of Medical Assistants’ Code of Ethics.

In the recent case of Kimberly Turbin, the A.A.M.A. Code of Ethics article I, human dignity, is clearly violated. Despite persistent, urgent refusal of an episiotomy during the delivery of her child, now publicized in a viral internet video, Turbin’s obstetrician performed one anyway. This flagrant violation of...

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...edless routine episiotomies and, by extension, the knowledge and skills of their profession in that area and in general for the benefit of, above themselves, patients and professional colleagues. It bears repeating: for some, childbirth is a positive and life-changing experience. For others, like Kimberly Turbin, it is also a life-changing experience—for all of the wrong reasons. This is due in part to the practice of routine, unnecessary, and often psychologically traumatic episiotomies. Childbirth should never be a harrowing or traumatic experience, if possible, and reducing rates of routine episiotomies is possible. While these rates are currently on the decline, the goal is “less than 10 percent”. Awareness needs to be spread, stories need to be heard, cases need to be tried and routine episiotomies, a clear violation of ethics on more than one scale, need to end.